''The Rocket'' is an 1909 oil on canvas painting by

Edward Middleton Manigault Edward Middleton Manigault (June 14, 1887 – August 31, 1922) was a Canadian-born American Modernist painter. Biography Manigault was born in London, Ontario, on June 14, 1887.. His parents were Americans originally from South Carolina who had ...

. It depicts a fireworks display over water, in the fall of 1909 on the Hudson River. The painting shows an intense, almost fauvist color palette. In the middle of a radiant circle of light reflecting on the water, a boat can be seen, filled with people viewing the fireworks from the river.

Background

(1887–1922) was considered an experimental, visionary artist and today he is seen as an early representative of the

Modernist movement Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

from Canada and America. He was born in London, Ontario. The artist may have been inspired by the sight of firework displays along the Hudson River in the fall of 1909, commemorating Henry Hudson's discovery of the river in 1609 and the launching of Robert Fulton's

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

'' Clermont'' in 1807. This was one of the first steamboats, and the first one to float on the Hudson.

Painting

As an artist, Manigault was considered by art historians to have developed a highly personal and original artistic style. Disconnected patches of luminous

golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

, red and orange colors overflow the canvas, creating the effect of the light of the fireworks showering down over the river; the river in turn acts as a mirror, reflecting the display above. The artist used glowing colors to create a vivid depiction, applying the

post-impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

techniques that he had learnt in the early years of his career. These post-impressionist techniques had been developed and used during the last years of the 19th century by, among others, artists like Van Gogh and Gauguin, and the

pointillist Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

painters Seurat and

Signac Signac (; oc, Sinhac) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and t ...

. The first two artists used bold, vibrant intense colors, while Seurat's

pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

consisted of creating the image by means of colored dots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocket 1909 paintings American paintings Modern paintings