Lot Essay
Crosshatching was a central theme in Johns' process for many years and refers to his interest in automatism and repetition. In Corpse and Mirror, both the title and the division of the picture plane into six parts allude to the surrealist game of 'cadavre exquis,' or 'exquisite corpse,' which consists of creating a composition through assembling parts created in sequence by different players. The evolving image is passed from player to player with each in turn expounding on a sliver of the previous drawing.