The Sunlight
Monastic life was a popular subject among painters working in Munich, where Ture Nikolaus Cederström spent much of his career. The monk seen here is immersed in thought, looking pensively through a window and using his finger to hold his place in a book. Such paintings were popular for the access they provided to private life within monasteries, which were closed to the public. The monk’s casual pose and absorption in the view provide an approachable vision of religion, showing the figure’s longing for the outside world.
Colors in this work
Details
- Date
- 1890s
- Medium
- oil on fabric
- Dimensions
- unframed: height 0.47 m, width 0.335 m
- Origin
- Sweden, 19th century
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Gift of the Frances W. Ingalls Trust
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Human Figure Both · 99%
A solitary male figure occupies the center of the composition, and the catalog identifies the subject as male.
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Related to Religion Metadata · 98%
The catalog describes monastic life and identifies the central figure as a monk, establishing a religious subject.
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Interiors Visual · 98%
The figure stands within an enclosed architectural space defined by walls, a deep window recess, shutters, and a tiled floor.
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Implied Narrative Both · 97%
The monk holds a book while looking through the window; the catalog describes him as absorbed in thought and holding his place in the book.
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Light as Subject Both · 97%
Sunlight entering through the window is a major compositional element, and the title is The Sunlight.
Visual Qualities
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Earth Tones Visual · 96%
The palette is dominated by warm ochres, browns, muted greens, and cream-colored highlights.
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Dark Colors Visual · 92%
Deeply shadowed walls and architectural recesses contrast with the illuminated figure, window, and patch of floor.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art identifies the work as a painting in oil on fabric.
Time Periods
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19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The work is dated to the 1890s, placing it within nineteenth-century art.
Source & rights
Ture Nikolaus Cederström (Swedish, 1843–1924). The Sunlight. Cleveland Museum of Art.
High-resolution sources
- Original TIFF ↗ 5,289 × 7,494 · Cleveland Museum Of Art · Available