Intermission
1929
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1929
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Intermission is a 1929 by Richard Beatty, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a crowded theater lobby during intermission—people in dark coats and hats, faces half-lit by dim overhead lights. Beatty drew this with a waxy crayon called a litho crayon, pressing hard to make thick, scratchy lines. The technique lets him show light and shadow without blending, like a rough sketch that feels alive. He worked nights to teach himself, then used these skills to show everyday scenes in Cleveland. To see how light and dark shapes a scene, look up chiaroscuro.
