The Thundershower

H. Lyman Saÿen, The Thundershower, ca. 1917-1918, tempera on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.19
H. Lyman Saÿen, The Thundershower, ca. 1917-1918, tempera on wood, 3646 in. (91.4116.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation, 1967.6.19
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Thundershower
Date
ca. 1917-1918
Dimensions
3646 in. (91.4116.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of H. Lyman Sayen to his nation
Mediums
Mediums Description
tempera on wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female
  • Abstract
  • Allegory — other — nature
  • Landscape — weather — shower
Object Number
1967.6.19

Artwork Description

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. He died on the threshold of the Machine Age, shortly after completing this work, and The Thundershower suggests an artist who was already engaged in a new way of seeing.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (5 items)

Max Bohm, Ancient Seaport, 1921, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.5
Ancient Seaport
Date1921
oil on canvas
Not on view
Max Bohm, Untitled, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Eleanor Kotz Savorgnan, 1976.29.2
Untitled
Not on view
Max Bohm, Springtime in France, ca. 1923, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.7
Springtime in France
Dateca. 1923
oil on canvas
Not on view
Max Bohm, An Incident on the English Channel, 1919, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.6.6
An Incident on the English Channel
Date1919
oil on canvas
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

George Catlin, Osceola, n.d., lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1985.66.386,591E
Osceola
Daten.d.
lithograph
Not on view
George Catlin, Joc-o-sot, the Walking Bear, n.d., lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, 1985.66.386,592BBB
Joc-o-sot, the Walking Bear
Daten.d.
lithograph
Not on view
Unidentified (European), Marie Antionete [sic] D'Autriche, Reine de France et de Navarre, Nee a Vienna 2 November 1755, n.d., engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.7.23
Marie Antionete [sic] D’Autriche, Reine de France et de…
Artist
Unidentified (European)
Daten.d.
engraving on paper
Not on view
The Scalp Dance
Daten.d.
lithograph
Not on view