CC0 · no rights reserved
The Thundershower
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Saÿen studied with Matisse in Paris and was among the first to bring modern art into Philadelphia's conservative culture. He created The Thundershower from a mix of European modernism and Native American decorative patterns. But this painting is not just "cross-cultural." It also marks a transition from an older world to a new and dynamic century. The two figures move through time and space like the frames of a filmstrip, and organic forms meld with angles and arcs of pure color. Before he began to paint, Saÿen was an electrical engineer who held patents for radiological instruments.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineThe Thundershower. ca. 1917-1918. H. Lyman Saÿen, born Philadelphia, PA 1875-died Philadelphia, PA 1918. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation. CC0.
