Sunrise

Theodore Clement Steele's Sunrise from 1886, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, captures an early morning sky with the Impressionist directness he was developing through his European studies. The sunrise subject required speed and conviction — the moment passes rapidly — and Steele's treatment shows the plein-air confidence he was building during this period. Morning light was a subject the French Impressionists had explored extensively, and Steele's version reflects their influence while developing his own relationship to the specific light conditions he observed.

The sunrise palette is warm and atmospheric — the specific colors of early morning light, from the cool gray of predawn through to the warm pinks and golds of actual sunrise. Steele captures the specific transient quality of this light with Impressionist directness. His brushwork is varied and responsive to the changing light conditions he was rendering.