Jasper Cropsey's Sunset Painting

For your inspiration today is an untitled sunset by Jasper Cropsey. Cropsey was an American artist and a core member of the Hudson River School. This painting is a bit more relaxed than his typical work. It may have even been a study. But the execution is strong and there’s much to learn from it.

(The painting is untitled and I assume it depicts a sunset, but it may be a sunrise.)

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876 — Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled, 1876, 4 1⁄4 x 7 3⁄4 Inches

It’s a fairly dark painting in terms of value, especially for a sunset. Below is a grayscale of the painting. Most of the colors are around the middle of the value scale. Even the highlights are not that light. A benefit of painting in this middle-value range is that you can use stronger colors in terms of saturation (most colors are at their strongest around this middle-value range, then they get weaker as they approach white.)

The value range is also fairly compressed. Notice how flat the painting appears in grayscale, with color out of the equation. That suggests saturation and hue (or temperature) are doing a lot of work in conveying realism, particularly in the subtle areas around the edges of the painting.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876, Grayscale

The sunset itself is the clear focal point. Notice the playful display of brushwork and color to draw our attention.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876, Detail 2

And notice how Cropsey’s strokes gently radiate out from this point.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876, Radiating Light

As we move away from the sun, the colors get softer and more restrained. Grays start to dominate with small bursts of saturated red and yellow.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876, Detail 3

The highlights on the clouds vary as you move around the painting. I see pink, orange, yellow, and blue highlights. These highlights help define the clouds and provide information about where they are located in relation to the sun.

In the “quiet” areas, Cropsey did a good job of using subtle color variance and visible brushwork to inject life and interest. You can see what I mean in the close-up below. Also notice the subtle gradation from warm at the bottom to cool at the top.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, Untitled Sunset, 1876, Detail 1

The land is there merely for context and to provide a dark anchor of contrast. Cropsey did just enough to convey the land and not a detail more. He also simplified the distant mountains a bit and made them a touch lighter to push them back in perspective.