Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night
Burchfield considered this drawing among the greatest accomplishments of his “golden year.” This period followed a time of self-doubt and uncertainty: after graduating from the Cleveland School of Art, Burchfield enrolled in the National Academy of Design in New York City, but dropped out after one day, returning to Salem to work an office job. He painted inexhaustibly during his breaks and at night, depicting Salem and its environs in an increasingly abstract style.Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night shows the spire of Salem’s Baptist church rising up between two houses. Burchfield ho...
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- sheet: height 0.772 m, width 0.5 m; secondary support: height 0.775 m, width 0.5 m
- Origin
- America
- Department
- Drawings
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Gift of Mrs. Louise M. Dunn in memory of Henry G. Keller
Art Genome Taxonomy
12 tags
Subject Matter
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Related to Religion Both · 95%
The central subject is Salem’s Baptist church, identified in the catalog, and the church spire dominates the image.
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The Elements Both · 96%
The title and catalog description identify a rainy winter night, while the image visibly contains storm bands and numerous descending streaks suggestive of rain.
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Times of Day Both · 95%
The title specifies a night scene, and the dark sky and limited illumination establish nighttime visually.
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Symbolic Composition Both · 96%
The catalog explicitly identifies recurring symbols, including hooked forms associated with Fear and architectural doors and windows associated with Morbidness and Evil; the image visibly emphasizes these transformed forms.
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Unsettling Both · 97%
Distorted buildings, looming dark masses, dripping marks, and face-like architectural forms produce an ominous and unsettling visual effect consistent with the catalog’s account of childhood fear.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 99%
Black, charcoal gray, brown, and muted green-gray dominate the composition, with limited blue and warm candlelight accents.
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Irregular Curvilinear Forms Visual · 96%
Sweeping storm bands, hooked forms, warped rooflines, and winding foreground marks create prominent irregular curves.
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Angular Visual · 94%
The church spire, pointed roofs, narrow windows, and sharply angled architectural contours create a strong angular structure.
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Dense Composition Visual · 94%
Buildings, storm bands, rain streaks, symbolic forms, and foreground marks occupy most of the sheet, creating a visually packed composition.
Medium and Techniques
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Drawing Both · 99%
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies the work as a drawing, and the image visibly presents a hand-rendered composition on a sheet.
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Watercolor Both · 99%
The catalog identifies watercolor and gouache over graphite; the image shows transparent washes alongside opaque painted passages and linear graphite-like marks.
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Work on Paper Both · 99%
The catalog specifies wove paper as the support, and the image visibly presents a vertically oriented composition on paper.
Source & rights
Charles Burchfield (American, 1893–1967). Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night. Cleveland Museum of Art.