Day Forty Two: Sunrise by George Inness
Hello and welcome to day 42 of 100 days of Tonalism.
Today's study is 'Sunrise' by George Inness.
I'm not sure which George Inness this is in our series but I imagine we are getting around the halfway mark of 15 or 16 of George Inness studies so far. On today's video I read a bit from the book "George Inness" by Nicolai Cikovsky. I'm afraid there were quite a few mispronunciations of foreign names in my reading, however if you refer to Mr.Cikovsky's book I'm sure all will come to light readily.
Over the past several weeks we been discussing different aspects of Tonalism and definitions thereof. Today I like to discuss the flattening of form in landscape painting and how it applies to Tonalism.
If you are aware of art history you'll know that previous to the Renaissance that much Western art evidenced a very flat quality and decoration was generally valued over the correct representation of volume. For this reason much early European art looks quite juvenile to our modern eyes. As artists ability to accurately represent natural forms progressed, the ability to draw correct perspective and to accurately render forms so that they appeared to be placed in space correctly became commonplace.
With the introduction in the west of Asian art, many Western painters began to use various aspects of the Asian style in their work. James McNeill Whistler was famous for his incorporation of Asian design motifs and also for incorporating flattening of form into his painting. Another artist who is well known for inspiration taken from Japanese woodblock prints is Vincent van Gogh. In van Gogh's case there was certainly some flattening of form in his painting but the aspect that he borrowed the most was more of a linear design quality.
Many Tonalists used flattening of form and simplification of design in their work as well, and the influence of Asian art is not always the obvious reason.
The effect that flattening forms has on a landscape picture is to help the viewer more readily enter the picture plane. Also, flattening enables a simplification of color into subtle warm gradations where the rendering of forms is concerned lending an atmospheric quality. This tends to create a rather pleasing effect and also emulates the way that light acts upon forms after the sun has set in the twilight or early morning hours.
You'll notice that many times just after the sun has gone down, that the landscape around you is actually quite well lit but there is no harsh direct light source unless you are looking directly west.
Although my recent posts on the defining aspects of Tonalism do not generally follow the scenes in a post by post manner that I have done for a particular day, you'll notice in today's study 'Sunrise,' that Inness utilized quite a lot of flattening in the silhouetted trees against the sky and that the painting has a highly decorative approach.
I would not consider flattening of forms to be an exclusively Tonalist trope but it was utilized by many Tonalist artists effectively and often, and for that reason, I've included it in our survey of defining aspects.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Sunrise' by George Inness, as I stated in the video this is a scene that I added after having started the series when I discovered that I had some duplication at number 42. I don't recall the piece that I duplicated now but I went searching about and I found this scene. I'm quite fond of the sky in this painting and I really enjoyed rendering all the myriad variations of colors and glints off the aerial formations. You'll note that I did some extensive squishing of the original's panoramic format to get it to work as a 5x7.
This is a study that I completed in one drawing pass and then the first color pass. I did not do a second color pass nor did I do any glazing, but I did spend quite a while meticulously painting the colors in the sky which I feel is the main subject of the painting, namely the light itself of the sunrise.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Painted after - Sunrise by George Inness, Study by M Francis McCarthy - Size 5x7, Oil on wood panel |
Today's study is 'Sunrise' by George Inness.
I'm not sure which George Inness this is in our series but I imagine we are getting around the halfway mark of 15 or 16 of George Inness studies so far. On today's video I read a bit from the book "George Inness" by Nicolai Cikovsky. I'm afraid there were quite a few mispronunciations of foreign names in my reading, however if you refer to Mr.Cikovsky's book I'm sure all will come to light readily.
Over the past several weeks we been discussing different aspects of Tonalism and definitions thereof. Today I like to discuss the flattening of form in landscape painting and how it applies to Tonalism.
If you are aware of art history you'll know that previous to the Renaissance that much Western art evidenced a very flat quality and decoration was generally valued over the correct representation of volume. For this reason much early European art looks quite juvenile to our modern eyes. As artists ability to accurately represent natural forms progressed, the ability to draw correct perspective and to accurately render forms so that they appeared to be placed in space correctly became commonplace.
With the introduction in the west of Asian art, many Western painters began to use various aspects of the Asian style in their work. James McNeill Whistler was famous for his incorporation of Asian design motifs and also for incorporating flattening of form into his painting. Another artist who is well known for inspiration taken from Japanese woodblock prints is Vincent van Gogh. In van Gogh's case there was certainly some flattening of form in his painting but the aspect that he borrowed the most was more of a linear design quality.
Many Tonalists used flattening of form and simplification of design in their work as well, and the influence of Asian art is not always the obvious reason.
The effect that flattening forms has on a landscape picture is to help the viewer more readily enter the picture plane. Also, flattening enables a simplification of color into subtle warm gradations where the rendering of forms is concerned lending an atmospheric quality. This tends to create a rather pleasing effect and also emulates the way that light acts upon forms after the sun has set in the twilight or early morning hours.
You'll notice that many times just after the sun has gone down, that the landscape around you is actually quite well lit but there is no harsh direct light source unless you are looking directly west.
Although my recent posts on the defining aspects of Tonalism do not generally follow the scenes in a post by post manner that I have done for a particular day, you'll notice in today's study 'Sunrise,' that Inness utilized quite a lot of flattening in the silhouetted trees against the sky and that the painting has a highly decorative approach.
I would not consider flattening of forms to be an exclusively Tonalist trope but it was utilized by many Tonalist artists effectively and often, and for that reason, I've included it in our survey of defining aspects.
Cheers,
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'Sunrise' by George Inness, as I stated in the video this is a scene that I added after having started the series when I discovered that I had some duplication at number 42. I don't recall the piece that I duplicated now but I went searching about and I found this scene. I'm quite fond of the sky in this painting and I really enjoyed rendering all the myriad variations of colors and glints off the aerial formations. You'll note that I did some extensive squishing of the original's panoramic format to get it to work as a 5x7.
This is a study that I completed in one drawing pass and then the first color pass. I did not do a second color pass nor did I do any glazing, but I did spend quite a while meticulously painting the colors in the sky which I feel is the main subject of the painting, namely the light itself of the sunrise.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
 |
| Original painting, Sunrise by George Inness |