Behind the Scenes
Changing his mind was Ryder's curse, from which he found no salvation. The paint film on Jonah is so thick that it still is slightly tacky to the touch, even after a century, so we keep it framed under glass. He worked on the picture for years and years; as he changed his ideas, he just kept painting over what was underneath. It's interesting to see what lies beneath the surface.
A technique called autoradiography lets us see the organic elements in the picture. Here in this autoradiograph of Jonah we see Ryder's expressionistic brushwork with broad slashing strokes. He was hailed as a precursor of modernism because he was just as concerned with the process and the materials of painting as he was with rendering an image. This is one reason Jackson Pollock thought Ryder was so great.
Sometimes when you look below the surface, you find a surprise. Look closely at this autoradiograph of Jonah just in the left area near the hull of the boat. If you put the left edge of the painting at the top, you can see there's a woman staring at us! (If you don't see it at first, look closer; it's fainter than the dark lines of Ryder's painting.) Interestingly, Ryder painted his greatest masterwork on a canvas that already had a portrait on it.
I could go on and on with surprises and discoveries about Ryder. He's inexhaustible! I guess that's one reason he remains my favorite.
Pictured: Albert Pinkham Ryder, Jonah, about 1885–95; oil, 27 1/4 x 34 3/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Musuem, Gift of John Gellatly.
Part 6
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Jonah
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