California, which is famous for nothing so much as its sunshine, has been depicted throughout the greater part of its history in terms of twilight, darkness, and a mute, somber atmosphere. Inness followed this tradition but with a greater richness of painter-craft than most and with greater simplicity in composition. Inness liked the big, bulky horizontal forms of hills and ranges, and, consequently, the stripe of water at the bottom of the painting emphasizes its horizontality.
The Sunset
oil on canvas • -
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George Inness