Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) was an American artist. He and Jasper Johns are known as the immediate predecessors of Pop art. His landmark Combines series (1954-1964) used everyday objects to collide painting and sculpture in his art. For the artist, the brushstrokes of a painting were the equivalent of text in a newspaper or a stitch in a baseball used. For example, in the work Bed from 1955, a pillow, a sheet and a blanket are attached to the base, which in turn is scribbled with a pencil and dripped with paint in the spirit of Abstract Expressionism. According to a legend, the bedding belonged to the artist, and for him, painting is related to both life and art.