Solar Eclipse Paintings


There was an art show as part of multicultural night at our daughter’s school last night. This inspired me to post this about eclipse paintings.

There are lots of photographs of total solar eclipses, especially recently.

In the past, a few skilled artists painted solar eclipses.

Take this one, for example:


source:

http://palomarskies.blogspot.com/ 

In 1937, the artist D. Owen Stephens joined an expedition to the Andes Mountains in South America to record the total eclipse on June 8. His artistic skill was evident in his painting of the beautiful spectacle.

Astronomer George Lovi once commented on the painting:

"I've seen many photographs showing the sky and horizon during totality.  Yet to me not one has captured the true appearance, ambiance, and mood of the event as well as by D. Owen Stephens painting showing the June 8, 1937 total eclipse, for which he traveled to a 14,600-foot mountaintop in the Peruvian Andes.  Stephens portrayed the very delicate corona wonderfully -- the way the eye sees it and a film cannot. The realism of the painting is most evident in the texture of the coronal streamers.”

Another artist that painted several total solar eclipses was Howard Russel Butler. He painted several, shown on this link:


See the 4 total eclipses he painted, as well as his methodology.

He had to work fast!

These paintings, of course, can't compare to the real thing- but they have a beauty that no photo could ever show. 

I saw some paintings and sketches of the 2017 total solar eclipse, but they were all artsy or surreal, in my opinion. I didn’t see any that realistically captured the corona close up, or the wide angle scene showing the eclipsed sun above the landscape.

Is anyone up to the challenge for the 2024 eclipse?



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 1, 2024 at 10:54 AM

    To be totally caught up so much into the awe of the event. He reflected the scene as best he could. Love these images.

    ReplyDelete

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