Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Nighttime Landscape

The current theme being investigated is "Nighttime Landscape." The following paintings were chosen for their use of it as an element.

Lesser Ury
1992
Hochbahnhof Bülowstraße
Museum of Art and History of Judaism

In this painting, the artist shows a dark rainy scene with cars lined down the street. The use of deep purple and blue throughout the piece establishes the setting of nighttime. By representing the long building face with a continuous region of black the viewer becomes aware of the consuming shadows that the night has created. On the other hand, the artist depicts glowing yellow lights down the slick street, which create a certain elegance in terms of mood. We see the illuminated window to the right, the golden strip in the distance, and small headlights in succession, giving the work a dark yet quietly delicate nature. Though the sky looms above the street with am midnight blue, this city scene still has a vibrance to it through light cast by the cars. The nighttime establishes the setting, while still allowing the piece a sense of charm.

George Bellows
1909
Summer Night, Riverside Drive
Columbus Museum of Art

In contrast to the previous painting, the role of darkness in this work is much more prominent. With the exception of minor shading variations, about three quarters of it is covered by a nearly suffocating darkness. Bellows uses a faint white streetlamp on the sidewalk as a focal point, giving one small spherical region illumination. This use of nighttime conveys a mood of loneliness, as the people walk down the dim area into the bleak darkness. Though the region of green that the streetlight reveals gives some sense of color, as a whole this painting does not represent the elegance and vibrance that Ury's does.


Vladimir Ovchinnikov
1975
Moonlight Night on the Volga River
The State Russian Museum

Ovchinnikov takes a vastly different approach to showing a nighttime setting. There is a great similarity in shade between the water of the river, and the turquoise sky, with the radiating moon at the top. This white focal point is complimented by the city lights illuminating the horizon. While two previous artists took an approach characterized by darkness, Bellows especially, this piece uses the brightness of the moonlight to show a glowing night sky which alludes to a sense of romance, and puts emphasis on its nautical theme. The lightness of the blues and greens in portions of the sky, perhaps painted using pallet knife, adds a much more dreamy feeling to painting.

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