Composition for XXe Siècle - Sonia Delaunay
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Description
A striking abstract lithograph by Sonia Delaunay, featuring bold, interlocking geometric forms and a high-contrast colour palette.
Sonia Delaunay was a central figure in the development of abstract art during the twentieth century. Her work is defined by a rigorous exploration of colour theory and geometric form. This specific composition, created for the influential art journal XXe Siècle, demonstrates her mature style, which moved away from the strict grid-like structures of her earlier period toward more fluid, organic shapes.
The image features a series of interlocking, curved forms set against a bright yellow background. Delaunay employs a high-contrast palette of primary and secondary colours, including deep blue, lime green, and vermilion red. These shapes appear to rotate or drift across the paper, creating a sense of kinetic energy. The edges of the forms retain a tactile, hand-printed quality, characteristic of the lithographic process used for the journal's limited editions.
Delaunay's approach to abstraction was rooted in the concept of simultaneity, a theory she developed alongside her husband, Robert Delaunay. This concept posits that the juxtaposition of contrasting colours creates a sense of movement and rhythm for the viewer. By placing warm and cool tones in direct contact, she forces the eye to perceive depth and vibration without relying on traditional perspective. This print captures the essence of her later career, where she distilled her visual language into bold, simplified elements that maintain a balance between structure and spontaneity. Her work remains a significant example of how abstract art can communicate through pure colour and form, stripped of representational content.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Composition for XXe Siècle - Sonia Delaunay
Artist Biography
Sonia Delaunay
She was born Sara Stern in 1885 in Hradyzk, Ukraine. At five, her wealthy uncle Henri Terk adopted her and took her to St Petersburg. She grew up with access to art collections, European travel, and a good education. She studied in Karlsruhe, moved to Paris in 1905, and absorbed the Fauvists and Post-Impressionists. After meeting Robert, they developed what Guillaume Apollinaire named Orphism: a variant of Cubism built on pure colour, geometric abstraction, and dynamic movement. Their shared foundation was Chevreul's colour theory of simultaneous contrast, where adjacent colours alter each other's appearance.
In 1913, she sewed the simultaneous dress by hand from scraps of men's tailoring cloth, velvet, silk, and fur. It was designed to match the energy of the foxtrot and tango at Le Bal Bullier, a popular Parisian dance hall. Apollinaire urged readers to visit the Bal Bullier on Thursdays when the Delaunays arrived wearing her creations. The same year, she collaborated with Blaise Cendrars on La Prose du Transsiberien, a two-metre vertical fold-out combining his poem with her abstract colour panels. It is described as the first complete fusion of poetry and painting.
She treated painting, textiles, and fashion as a single practice. She set up a studio in their apartment, opened a fashion house called Sonia, and had her textile line picked up by one of Europe's biggest fabric manufacturers. In 1964, she became the first living woman to have a retrospective at the Louvre. She was seventy-nine. She died in 1979, aged ninety-four.
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