| ||||||||
Earl Johnston's Susquehanna Sunset--Dredging River Coal is painted with large brushstrokes and a heavy impasto. Painted with a dynamic sense of perspective, the view dramatically sweeps back into the distance, where the bright yellow rays of a sunset radiate out from behind the dark silhouette of Harrisburg's Market Street Bridge.
There is an abrupt change of color, shifting from the dark forms of the foreground to the light areas indicated in the background. This color shift is most noticeable in the rendering of the river embankment to the right of the canvas. Painted with bold, thick streaks of black in the foreground, its progressively lightens in tone as it narrows into the distance, its last segment done in a bright yellow. Each transition in color is also marked by the street lamps on the footpath, their spherical, white lampshades adding to the sense of recession into space. The transition form dark to light can be seen in the treatment of the bridges as well; the heavy, black brushwork of the bridge in the foreground stands in sharp contrast to the smooth grey form of the bridge behind it, and even more so against the bright rays of the sun.
In the foreground, the artist has depicted the recovery of coal from the riverbed. A long, narrow work-barge occupies the center of the view, a pile of coal shown on its deck. To the left of the barge sits a steam-powered dredge. The dark cylinder of a tall smokestack projects from a slightly curving canopy, under which is located the dark form of a boiler, with highlights of red added to indicate its cylindrical shape. Completing the scene are the mottled, blue-green dabs of pigment denoting the river, with a few touches of red to indicate the barge's reflection. These red highlights can be seen in the green foliage along the walkway as well, creating a unity of color, form and line throughout the entire scene.
Sources:
This document copyright © 1996, Eric John Schruers