Solar Fade-Out 1937

Rockwell Kent made this image, Solar Fade-Out, with lithographic crayon on a sheet of paper. The controlled tonal range here is pretty amazing; the sun, the second sun or eclipse, and the sky all seem to breathe. Lithography is a process that welcomes the hand of the artist, and there’s so much of Kent's hand in the drawing. The crayon marks build tone in a gentle but effective way. The contrast in textures is also cool, for example, compare the grainy, almost glittery texture in the sky to the smoothness of the sun and the figures. And the way the light beams are drawn and how they interact with the clouds adds to the sense of magic. Kent spent a lot of time in Greenland, so it makes sense that the light and landscape are such a strong presence in his work. His work reminds me a little of Emil Nolde. Both used stark imagery and a strong tonal range. Art isn’t about fixed meanings. It’s about creating a space for different experiences and feelings.