Artwork Page for Moonrise

Details / Information for Moonrise

Moonrise

c. 1915

Arthur Wesley Dow

(American, 1857–1922)
Culture
America
Medium
color woodcut
Support
Japanese Laid Paper
Measurements
Sheet: 15.1 x 24 cm (5 15/16 x 9 7/16 in.); Image: 10.8 x 17.7 cm (4 1/4 x 6 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1999.324
Catalogue raisonné
Acton and Goddu 61
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

An influential teacher, Dow articulated his artistic beliefs in Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers (1899). His revolutionary approach was rooted in the idea that music was "the key to the other fine arts, since its essence is pure beauty." Dow believed that modern art should aspire to be "visual music."
A color woodcut depicts a landscape beneath a muted purple-gray sky. A pale moon hovers above reddish-brown landmasses, casting staggered white reflections across a wide river. Tan banks dotted with dark mounds flank the water flowing from the left. The composition features layered blocks of gray, brown, and ochre, with a visible woodgrain texture that emphasizes the quiet, nocturnal atmosphere.

Moonrise

c. 1915

Arthur Wesley Dow

(American, 1857–1922)
America

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