Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35". 
    Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.
   The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is a geometry lover's dream, completely dedicated to every kind of shape: rectangles, parallelograms, triangles and more.
 But take a long look.  What do you NOT see? Here in this huge slice of city space there are no letters, no signs, no icons or logos.  Spaces probably dedicated to advertising have been muted, blurred away, so not a distraction from the strength of the image.
   It is sunset so the light is at an angle, creating dramatic shadows if they meet Thiebaud's goal.  Examine the colors,  The sun may be setting but it is far from below the horizon.  This angle, facing what must be east, creates stark contrasts of values.  I have always been aware how colors differ in different parts of the United States.   Summer landscapes in the east will use deep tones of blue and brown; the midsection deep greens with light skies; and orange, yellow, pink, lime green will dominate tropical areas of the south.  Certainly there are exceptions, but compare colors used in an Edward Hopper landscape, with this painting.
   If you would like to respond, I encourage you to either e-mail me directly or comment to the blog.  I have been told some people have been asked to provide a password and such, so if you prefer not to, please e-mail and I will add your confidential comment.
   Make Art a part of your life, its a beautiful thing to do.

Comments

  1. charguthSeptember 29, 2019 at 7:13 PM

    This complicated composition boggles my mind. The visible sky looks like a sunset to me, but the shadows indicate otherwise. So much to see and so much to study in one painting. We see the big city and also the country, but no indication of people except a couple cars on the road and a small smokestack in the distant. The geometric shapes that lead one's eye through the picture is amazing. I feel compelled to try and study it through the artist's vision. Not easy!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JudithMarie5May 26, 2021 at 6:33 PM

    Oh em gee! Thiebaud. Favorite contemporary artist of mine, bar none. I get lost in Wayne's delightful compositions AND colors.

    ReplyDelete

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