Sculpture of Medardo Rosso: Metamorphosis

Cornell linked himself to the history of art by including images of other artists' work in his own. Here, he featured a photograph of a sculpture by 19th-century Italian artist Medardo Rosso. Rosso blurred distinctions between painting and sculpture by creating three-dimensional objects with shallow, unified surfaces meant to be seen from a single angle. Like Rosso's, Cornell's work defies placement into traditional art historical categories. The idea of metamorphosis-conveyed in Rosso's sculpture by the human form materializing from wax-would have appealed to Cornell, who transformed everyday, often discarded objects into high art.