Night Scene (Dayton Art Institute, undated) is a dreamlike painting by Carl Rudolph Krafft that was bought using resources offered by the 2006 Associate Board Art Ball. The subject manner and the painting technique evident in the Night Scene seek to share, according to; Wall label “emotions initiated by the picturesque landscape rather than highlighting the details of the view Krafft plays a crucial role in expressing his perception of nature through his paintings”. He was born in Ohio, and many people know him for incorporating rich landscapes in his work. The piece is oil on canvas is striking due to the use of contrasting colors and light to give a magnificent image of the landscape.
The artwork is both vertical and horizontal in its presentation as both the left and right side of the painting use three strips of color running in a vertical direction. The bottom and middle part of the art use horizontal direction, and the overlapping of colors helps to highlight the tranquil and calm nature of the landscape. Krafft uses warm and earthy undertone on the left side of the painting, which comprise line drawings in green, red, and grey. Similarly, there is a shift in color, especially in the vines and the tree trunk. The tree trunk’s color changes from a dark or black color at the base to grey on the upper part of the tree, while the vines are a shade of green and earthy red color. The same is true to the right of the painting, where the vines are green and red, while the tree trunks are grey and dark.
In the middle of the painting, Krafft uses overlapping colors to show the varied landscape that includes hills and vegetation. For instance, the mountain and their accompanying plants are warm and naturalistic, and the top part of the cliff uses the piercing sunrays to show the beautiful landscape. Similarly, indirect and faint light reaches the bottom of the cliff to reflect the glistening ground. A refreshing hue of blue also showcases the large body of water in the middle of the painting, which also includes an overlapping white and purple color. The horizontal nature of the lines shows the calm state of the waters, which might be a lake.
In the vines arrangement, Krafft uses an intense red and green color to outline the color of the vegetation. It is a technique that pushes the subject. It makes the plant stand out, especially in a painting that also uses the sunlight to show the beauty of the landscape. The overall use of overlapping and straightforward color and shape of the mountain and vegetation provides an accurate reflection of the nature of the view. The thin, simple, and delicate lines show the naturalistic state of the landscape.
Similarly, Krafft uses color to depict unity and variety in the landscape. For instance, he uses warm colors that enhance the sunrays to show how beautiful the view is. Similarly, the background includes a solid color that creates unity in the artwork since the colors do not contrast with each other but rather enhance the picture. However, there are small patches of cool colors, like grey, that help to create variety. The tree trunks and vegetation at the bottom create variety since it shows the diversity of the landscape. The painting is unique due to all the images complement each other to provide a novel and consistent picture.
The way in which Krafft uses colors in the painting gives it a modern look as they show the kind of landscape that people would typically marvel in during the summer. The red color used in the vines, vegetation, and mountain ranges makes the portrait very beautiful, especially due to the incorporation of light from the sun. Through his use of color, Krafft can create a painting that is bold, strong, and pleasing to the eye. According to wall label “The bold nature and strength of the image are especially important as the creation of the work coincided with the period of destruction when the World War I and the Depression were having a negative toll on the environment”. The Night Scene is a painting that highlights the beautiful nature of the landscape at a time when the world was engaged in warfare and going through an economic downturn.
Krafft did exceptional work by painting the beautiful piece that is important since it highlights the beauty of our natural world. He purposely painted the artwork from a specific point to capture the essence of a virgin landscape that is hard, diverse, and unaltered. The most important thing about the artwork is that it depicts the harmony of the view and the importance of preaching peaceful coexistence.
