Ein Kunstwerk auf weißem Grund zeigt oben eine kurze Zeile schwarzer Notenschrift und darunter das Wort „Petite“ in großen gelben Buchstaben. Das Werk ist in einen schlichten Holzrahmen gefasst.

Jannis Kounellis

Senza titolo, Petite, 1964

Translated titleUntitled, small
MaterialOil and pencil on canvas
Dimensions190 x 230 cm
Year of acquisition1985
Inventory number15586
On viewOn view
Copyright© Jannis Kounellis. VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn [2026]. Photo: Haydar Koyupinar, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Museum Brandhorst, Munich

More about the artwork

This painting shows two measures from “Petite Fleur” (“Little Flower”), a popular jazz standard composed by Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) in 1952, which had already sold 10 million copies by the early 1960s. The yellow, stencil-like inscription “Petite” may derive from a record cover or concert announcement. Jannis Kounellis here problematizes the limitations of the painting medium by turning the image into a readable and playable template using typography and musical notation. Like “Primavera,” this work was created during a short phase in which Kounellis used bright, colorful imagery and a popular visual language. It aligns with the Roman school of Piazza del Popolo, whose artists incorporated motifs and slogans from the consumer and advertising world, reflecting cultural change in the context of European reconstruction and the rapidly evolving urban landscape.