Title:
Distant View of Old Mission in Carmel
Creator/Contributor:
Sugimoto, Henry
Date:
c. 1939
Identifier:
92.97.52
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Carmel, Calif.
Inscription:
Signed in medium, bottom left corner: Henry Sugimoto
Description:
Unstretched and unframed canvas. View of the Pacific Ocean behind the Mission San Carlos Borromeo complex, also known as the
Carmel Mission, with a stretch of sandy beach at mid-left and small hills at center-right in between. A fence runs in front
of the Mission structure, with a smaller fence behind the structure at left. A mountain appears across the water in the background.
The Mission has red roofs and a red domed bell tower. Sky is dark and cloudy.
Historical Note:
In this painting of the Old Carmel Mission, Sugimoto captures the expansive quality of the landscape by taking a more distant
point of view than in previous works. The Mission cluster with its distinctive red roofs and bell tower extends across the
right portion of the canvas while a stretch of sandy beach to the left adds depth. Reminiscent of those in Japanese woodblock
prints, the mountain looming in the background furthers the sense of an endless horizon. The light's bleached quality contributes
to a mood of serenity and timelessness unusual in Sugimoto's early landscapes.
Sugimoto's choice of a Pacific landscape also reflects a turn in his work during the period. Always attracted to the relationship
between architecture and nature, Sugimoto painted several landscapes featuring the Pacific Ocean and the Yosemite River when
he returned to California. The steady movement and immense power of these bodies of water seemed to appeal greatly to Sugimoto
when he returned to the region where he began his early formal training in art.
Subject:
Carmel (Calif.)
Pacific Ocean
California
Beaches