Evening 1907

Editor: We're looking at "Evening," an oil on canvas painting created in 1907 by Childe Hassam. The sunset captured here is truly mesmerizing with layered hues of blue and yellow! As an initial reaction, it’s the composition that draws me in with how Hassam seems to blur the line between the sea and the sky. What formal elements stand out to you in this piece? Curator: The layering of those hues you mention, note how each is distinct yet intimately related through the materiality of the paint. Observe how he employs visible brushstrokes. Do they blend seamlessly, or is there a sense of fractured light being captured? Editor: I'd say the brushstrokes give it a fragmented effect, which gives it that airy lightness to it, reflecting the Impressionist movement. I’m thinking about the horizon line as a structural component. Curator: Precisely. Now consider the horizontal orientation versus a vertical one. What effect does it have on your interpretation of the scene, thinking specifically about how it distributes our attention as viewers? Editor: Well, its horizontality seems to flatten and widen the pictorial space, causing me to focus on the relationships of shapes, textures, and how light moves across its surfaces, rather than any depth that the image provides. Curator: Consider then how the upper and lower registers engage: The texture in the sky reflects in the application of the sea below and reinforces your recognition of formal balance through their juxtaposition. What do we then make of the ships breaking this consistency? Editor: It really makes you think about it – it brings it back into perspective as being an artwork, even if the consistency wasn’t even at all consistent in the first place. I definitely noticed something new through this. Curator: And I believe that kind of analysis helps to further develop and understanding and enjoyment of Hassam’s Impressionist sensibilities.