Precious Blood
Artist
Andres Serrano (American, born 1950)American, born 1950
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Precious Blood
Date1990
MediumSilver dye bleach print
DimensionsFrame: 44 1/2 × 32 11/16 in. (113 × 83 cm)
Credit LineGift of Manfred Heiting, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2002.3029
Non exposé
Explore Further
Department
PhotographySpecial Collections
Object Type
A master provocateur, Andres Serrano is infamous for his transgressive use of bodily fluids as a material for his art and his frequent engagement of taboos surrounding sex, politics, and religion. Precious Blood is one of Serrano’s abstract compositions created from blood and photographed to emphasize the luminous red tonalities of the sustaining bodily fluid. Created during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Serrano’s use of blood built on public anxiety surrounding the transmission of HIV as well as its religious associations to draw out the tensions between beauty and danger.
ProvenanceArtist.
Bought by Manfred Heiting from Lunn Ltd. 3/11/1987.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
