{"id":108957,"date":"2025-02-25T10:49:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/art\/anatomy-of-a-painting-more-shimmering-than-venice\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T10:49:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:49:54","slug":"anatomy-of-a-painting-more-shimmering-than-venice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108957","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of a Painting: More Shimmering Than Venice"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u2713<\/span>Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through – enter an art competition<\/a> today!<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Pastelist Joseph Pennell documented the rapidly changing New York skyline more than a century ago.<\/h2>\n

The original Waldorf Astoria, depicted here by Joseph Pennell (American, 1857\u20131926), was the result of a merger between two adjacent luxury hotels in midtown Manhattan. The Waldorf Hotel opened on Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street in 1893, and the Astoria Hotel opened four years later on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. Both palatial structures were built by feuding members of the Astor family, who eventually reconciled and joined the hotels with a nearly 1,000-foot corridor called Peacock Alley. The Waldorf Astoria\u2014 the largest hotel of its time\u2014was notable for its opulent interior, fine dining, and prominent clientele.<\/p>\n

After the hotel\u2019s popularity flagged, the Astors sold the property to developers in 1929. The structure was promptly razed, and the Empire State Building was erected in its place. The current Waldorf Astoria opened further north, on Park Avenue, in 1931.<\/p>\n

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Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Thirty-Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue<\/em> (ca 1904\u20131908; colored crayons over pencil sketch on brown paper, 11.52\u00d79) by Joseph Pennell CREDIT: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell Collection, 2007666147<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pennell drew Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Thirty-Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue<\/em> during one of his visits to New York, in 1904 or 1908. The artist, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, attended the Philadelphia School of Industrial Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. By the 1880s, his illustrations of architectural subjects were published in magazines, and a commission to draw European subjects induced him to settle in London. A friendship with painter James McNeill Whistler profoundly influenced his style as a draftsman and printmaker, and reinforced his interest in urban subjects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pennell\u2019s New York City works were produced at a time when there was much discussion as to how artists could best depict the modern cityscape. According to art historian Margaret J. Schmitz, Pennell \u201cplayed a key role \u2026 in popularising iconic visions of the metropolis and in establishing a new aesthetic vocabulary to describe it.\u201d Works like Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Thirty-Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue documented the economic growth of the city, while also building a bridge between landscape traditions and modern urban art.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a Closer Look at the Painting<\/h2>\n
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Framed by architectural devices on either side, Pennell depicts the Waldorf Astoria towering over neighboring buildings on Fifth Avenue. The white building with classical columns was the office of Knickerbocker Trust, a major bank that triggered a national financial crisis when it failed in 1907.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pennell began drawing Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Thirty-Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue<\/em> in pencil on brown paper, laying out the architectural structure and shadow accents before adding color with pastels. His limited palette is reminiscent of Whistler\u2019s Venetian pastels. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pennell described the city in romantic terms; to him, New York offered \u201ccolour by day more shimmering than Venice, by night more magical than London.\u201d His painting focuses on a more prosaic subject\u2014the subtle red of the hotel\u2019s facade, which was comprised of sandstone, brick, and terra cotta. The artist took special interest in the hotel\u2019s domes and rooftop details.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Art historian Mahonri Sharp Young said of the artist, \u201cIn an age indulgent to eccentricity, Joseph Pennell was remarkable for sheer irascibility. \u2026 young Pennell had a genius for not getting along with people. Yet he was immediately successful in the fiercely competitive field of illustration, and he was never dislodged from the strong position he at once assumed. Hard-working, he had remarkable ability and a specific talent for drawing, and he produced a tremendous volume of highly regarded work. He offended many, but he knew everybody, including the most talented.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

This article appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Pastel Journal<\/em>,<\/a> available in print and digital format.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jerry N. Weiss<\/a> is a contributing writer to fine art magazines and teaches at the Art Students League of New York.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2713Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! Discover competitions in a variety of media and enter for your chance to win cash prizes, publication in leading art magazines, global exposure, and rewards for your hard work. Plus, gain valuable feedback from renowned jurors. Let your passion shine through – enter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[43211,13843,45256,1887,49359,7435],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-108957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-anatomy","tag-art-history","tag-artists-magazine","tag-painting","tag-shimmering","tag-venice"],"yoast_head":"\nAnatomy of a Painting: More Shimmering Than Venice - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=108957\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anatomy of a Painting: More Shimmering Than Venice - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2713Showcase your talent and win big in Artists Network prestigious art competitions! 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