Telhados e Nuvens, Paris
1910-1912
Henry Lyman Saÿen captures a moody Parisian afternoon where the sky seems ready to swallow the city whole. Painted around 1910, this piece reflects his time in France where he became one of the first Americans to embrace the radical new styles of modernism, hanging out with Cubist pioneers like Robert Delaunay. Instead of a polite, postcard view of Paris, we get a raw, energetic scene where swirling gray clouds battle against the bright blue facade of a building and the sturdy red rooftops. It feels like a snapshot of a storm rolling in over the chimneys, freezing a moment of atmospheric tension.
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