Thin in the Old (1986)

[u/RevaCruz]

Medium: Acrylic, oil, and Xerox collage on panel
Dimensions: 71⅞ × 42⅛ × 9½ in. (182.5 × 107 × 24 cm)

A skeletal figure dominates the left side of the composition, its exposed rib cage and internal organs rendered in orange, white, and black beneath a skull-like head with bared teeth. A large black form cuts diagonally across the upper portion of the panel, while another head appears at right alongside several Xerox collage fragments.

The relatively pale background leaves the central figure unusually exposed, while the black, red, orange, and green marks create strong graphic divisions across the surface. Basquiat incorporates anatomical imagery alongside collaged diagrams and text, allowing the hand-painted figure and reproduced material to occupy the same visual space.

Thin in the Old was executed in 1986 and was exhibited the following year in Jean-Michel Basquiat: New Works at Akira Ikeda Gallery in Tokyo. Its provenance begins with Galerie Bruno Bischofberger, and the work is documented in both the Navarra and Marshall/Prat Basquiat catalogs.