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Part of: The Moon: A Silent Titan  (33 resources )
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The Moon: A Silent Titan 

The Moon has been looming overtop of humans since before recorded history. The silent counterpart to the mighty sun, the moon is ever present in our eyes, our minds, and in our imagination. The way the moon has been weaved into different mythologies, religions, traditions, and cultures from all around the world is astounding but also not surprising, as the moon is something we all experience. This introspective look at artworks featuring the Moon strives to make comparisons between works that span centuries and many different style and mediums, all of whom share the same goal of depicting something we see every night, the Moon. 

Copyright
All Rights Reserved
Created by
Casey Rae DeMoss
Last Updated
May 25, 2022 1:13 p.m.

33 Items in this Learning Collection
The Four Times of Day: Night
This print is vertically oriented with gray markings. A cream border surrounds it and it has “NIGHT” written below it. The lower half of the print has a busy street scene with lots of people taking parts of several stories (e.g. someone empting a chamber pot on people on the street, a tipped over carriage that is being set on fire, a quack doctor performing an operation in a candlelit room). The upper half of the print shows the tops of the buildings that line the street, iron-wrought shop signs, a statue of a man on horseback in the distance, and a crescent moon in a cloudy sky.
Collection Object
Untitled
This print is an abstract composition in black, white and lavender. In the upper right, there is a black circle on a white background shape. The left and lower portions are made up of black shapes. At the lower center, a lavendar rectangular form is also included, overlapped by a black shape that is slightly broken up by thin white lines. The print is numbered (l.l.) "275/300" and signed (l.r.) "Louise Nevelson" in pencil.
Collection Object
The Underworld
This print shows a chaotic scene with a white skeleton in the center. In the upper left, there are a series of sea creatures, including a grey colored shark, pink colored squids and two octopuses in shades of orange. At the bottom of the print, the skeleton is surrounded by a large lizard, skulls, and other figures. A moon and stars are in the upper left corner. The print is signed (l.r.) "Underground Ann McCoy" and numbered "18/100" in red pencil.
Collection Object
Sultana's Dream: Leaving the House
No. 3 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.&nbsp; A woman looks out from a second-story window on a moonlit night. Outside, a disembodied hand seems to beckon her. On the street below a man sleeps atop a rickshaw, while another man and dog sleep nearby. &nbsp;<br /> Sultana&#39;s Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.<br /> &nbsp;
Collection Object
The Black Tree + Mountain
This photograph depicts a hilly landscape enveloped in fog and low-lying clouds. In the foreground stands a black leafless tree.
Collection Object
Flight of Night

Collection Object
Virabhadra plaque

Collection Object
La Ultima Cena del General Sandino
A group of men sit at a round table drinking. The full moon is seen through a window on the right.
Collection Object
The Kiss
This work is a photomontage of a couple kissing. The image of the couple has been cut into squares and disjointed, pasted over a scene of a moon and river.
Collection Object
Underworld
This hand colored lithograph shows a chaotic scene with three, masked figures at the lower left surrounded by a variety of sea creatures: squids, octopusus, sharks and turtles. 
Collection Object
Moeurs conjugales. Pl. 53: Madame Anastasie Boujot est de première force...

Collection Object
Sultana's Dream: Justice is Virtue
No. 5 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.&nbsp; A human figure, who appears to have three heads and three arms, stands before a large, moon-like circle. One right arm holds a balance scale, while two monkeys sit on the left arm. At the feet of the figure are a peacock and a lizard-type creature.<br /> Sultana&#39;s Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.
Collection Object
VIII. ETOILES FILANTES - Cover sheet for printed musical composition (poem by Ri

Collection Object
Evening Scene in Tokyo: Bon Dance
A circle of festival-goers dances under a full moon. They only appear in silhouette, but the shapes of their kimono and fans in hand can be seen.
Collection Object
Arabian Nights. Pl. 11. The Tale of the Ebony Horse. "He went up to the couch and found a young lady asleep, chemised with her hair as she were the full moon rising over the Eastern horizon..."

Collection Object
Coyote

Collection Object
Nayika who casts away her jewels
The painting depicts a scene at night with a panel of text at the top. A central female figure sits on a rectangular carpet gazing upwardly at a male face. Three female attendants are standing beside her. A moon shines in the background. 
Collection Object
Les Quartre Parties du Jour: La Nuit ou le Claire de Lune
A nocturnal scene with ships, a dockyard, and a mountain range in the background.  People are gathered in the foreground partaking in various activities, illuminated in part by the moon and its reflection on the sea, as well as by a fire.
Collection Object
Afro-Cuban Dancers and Percussionists
This print shows two figures dancing in front of three musicians by the water with a moon in the sky and reflected in the water. A far away seaside fort is visible in the upper left corner.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Crescent Moon (Matsue in Izumo)
A man ferries a passenger along a river at sunset. The buildings and stone walls along the river are reflected along with the colorful sky above.
Collection Object
Stereoscope Image, Sample Set No.2: The Moon Age 9 Days
This black and white stereoscopic image features two images of a moon
Collection Object
Moon Shot

Collection Object
Famous Views of Snow, Moon and Flowers: Trout Fishing by Moonlight on the Tamagawa River
The dark color pallette and the moon indicate that the image is set at night. There are people standing in the water, bending over in search of fish. Others stand on the bank, helping with the fishing process. Also shown are the silhouettes of a bridge over the water and the mountains in the distance.
Collection Object
Galileo Showing Milton the Moon while Milton is on a Visit to Italy in 1637
A group of men with one woman discussing the moon in a room with a large opening on the left side.
Collection Object
Moon Worshippers (Prayer to the Moon)

Collection Object
Moon over Lausanne
Three figures stand in the bottom left corner. The image is mostly tan and light blue except very dark in the center. The blue horizon line is in the top third of the image stretching from a cityscape on the left side to a sweeping hill on the right side. There is a small moon in the middle at the very top of the image.
Collection Object
Moon Over Cypress
This is a colorful abstract print with geometric shapes in blue, yellow, green and red outlined in black. There are also three white areas with black line drawings that depict a plant in a flower pot and two cypress trees in the bottom section and a landscape with mountains and a yellow moon in the upper right portion.
Collection Object
Danza de la media luna
Centered on the page, this print shows two figures dressed in long robes. One figure wears a blue robe with maroon circles and the other is the opposite. Each faceless figure, carries a knife in one hand. On their heads are headdresses with a black cap and large white half-moon shape attached. The figures look like they are in motion.
Collection Object
The Night Riders of Nacton, Plate II (The Large Field near Biles's Corners)

Collection Object
Illuminated Landscape
This print has an abstract, monotone composition of irregular shapes set against a dark background. Two stars are at the top of the print alongside a white orb that looks like a moon. The print is numbered (l.l.) "15/20", titled (l.c.) "Illuminated Landscape" and signed (l.r.) "Chet La More" in pencil. 
Collection Object
Autumn Moon at Mt. Dongting
Dark, wet ink wash and light accents of color capture the lyrical mood of an autumnal moonlit night at Lake Tai and Mount Dongting. A round moon hangs low in the sky at top right, with a diffuse glow slightly brightening the clouds and sky below. Two islands sit in the water below, the larger (closer) of the two has four boats moored just offshore. Up close the boats appear as freely brushed lines, and yet at a distance, their forms come into focus. A building sits on the closer island, light shining in the windows. The silhouette of a pagoda can be seen on the further island.
Collection Object
Moonlight Over Albuquerque

Collection Object
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
Photographed at dusk, this image depicts a waxing gibbous moon rising above a flat, desert landscape. In the foreground, along with some other small structures and trees, is a small church and a cemetery.  
Collection Object

The Moon has been looming overtop of humans since before recorded history. The silent counterpart to the mighty sun, the moon is ever present in our eyes, our minds, and in our imagination. The way the moon has been weaved into different mythologies, religions, traditions, and cultures from all around the world is astounding but also not surprising, as the moon is something we all experience. This introspective look at artworks featuring the Moon strives to make comparisons between works that span centuries and many different style and mediums, all of whom share the same goal of depicting something we see every night, the Moon. 

33 Items in this Learning Collection
The Four Times of Day: Night
This print is vertically oriented with gray markings. A cream border surrounds it and it has &ldquo;NIGHT&rdquo; written below it. The lower half of the print has a busy street scene with lots of people taking parts of several stories (e.g. someone empting a chamber pot on people on the street, a tipped over carriage that is being set on fire, a quack doctor performing an operation in a candlelit room). The upper half of the print shows the tops of the buildings that line the street, iron-wrought shop signs, a statue of a man on horseback in the distance, and a crescent moon in a cloudy sky.
Collection Object
Untitled
This print is an abstract composition in black, white and lavender. In the upper right, there is a black circle on a white background shape. The left and lower portions are made up of black shapes. At the lower center, a lavendar rectangular form is also included, overlapped by a black shape that is slightly broken up by thin white lines. The print is numbered (l.l.) "275/300" and signed (l.r.) "Louise Nevelson" in pencil.
Collection Object
The Underworld
This print shows a chaotic scene with a white skeleton in the center. In the upper left, there are a series of sea creatures, including a grey colored shark, pink colored squids and two octopuses in shades of orange. At the bottom of the print, the skeleton is surrounded by a large lizard, skulls, and other figures. A moon and stars are in the upper left corner. The print is signed (l.r.) "Underground Ann McCoy" and numbered "18/100" in red pencil.
Collection Object
Sultana's Dream: Leaving the House
No. 3 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.&nbsp; A woman looks out from a second-story window on a moonlit night. Outside, a disembodied hand seems to beckon her. On the street below a man sleeps atop a rickshaw, while another man and dog sleep nearby. &nbsp;<br /> Sultana&#39;s Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.<br /> &nbsp;
Collection Object
The Black Tree + Mountain
This photograph depicts a hilly landscape enveloped in fog and low-lying clouds. In the foreground stands a black leafless tree.
Collection Object
Flight of Night

Collection Object
Virabhadra plaque

Collection Object
La Ultima Cena del General Sandino
A group of men sit at a round table drinking. The full moon is seen through a window on the right.
Collection Object
The Kiss
This work is a photomontage of a couple kissing. The image of the couple has been cut into squares and disjointed, pasted over a scene of a moon and river.
Collection Object
Underworld
This hand colored lithograph shows a chaotic scene with three, masked figures at the lower left surrounded by a variety of sea creatures: squids, octopusus, sharks and turtles. 
Collection Object
Moeurs conjugales. Pl. 53: Madame Anastasie Boujot est de première force...

Collection Object
Sultana's Dream: Justice is Virtue
No. 5 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.&nbsp; A human figure, who appears to have three heads and three arms, stands before a large, moon-like circle. One right arm holds a balance scale, while two monkeys sit on the left arm. At the feet of the figure are a peacock and a lizard-type creature.<br /> Sultana&#39;s Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.
Collection Object
VIII. ETOILES FILANTES - Cover sheet for printed musical composition (poem by Ri

Collection Object
Evening Scene in Tokyo: Bon Dance
A circle of festival-goers dances under a full moon. They only appear in silhouette, but the shapes of their kimono and fans in hand can be seen.
Collection Object
Arabian Nights. Pl. 11. The Tale of the Ebony Horse. "He went up to the couch and found a young lady asleep, chemised with her hair as she were the full moon rising over the Eastern horizon..."

Collection Object
Coyote

Collection Object
Nayika who casts away her jewels
The painting depicts a scene at night with a panel of text at the top. A central female figure sits on a rectangular carpet gazing upwardly at a male face. Three female attendants are standing beside her. A moon shines in the background. 
Collection Object
Les Quartre Parties du Jour: La Nuit ou le Claire de Lune
A nocturnal scene with ships, a dockyard, and a mountain range in the background.  People are gathered in the foreground partaking in various activities, illuminated in part by the moon and its reflection on the sea, as well as by a fire.
Collection Object
Afro-Cuban Dancers and Percussionists
This print shows two figures dancing in front of three musicians by the water with a moon in the sky and reflected in the water. A far away seaside fort is visible in the upper left corner.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Crescent Moon (Matsue in Izumo)
A man ferries a passenger along a river at sunset. The buildings and stone walls along the river are reflected along with the colorful sky above.
Collection Object
Stereoscope Image, Sample Set No.2: The Moon Age 9 Days
This black and white stereoscopic image features two images of a moon
Collection Object
Moon Shot

Collection Object
Famous Views of Snow, Moon and Flowers: Trout Fishing by Moonlight on the Tamagawa River
The dark color pallette and the moon indicate that the image is set at night. There are people standing in the water, bending over in search of fish. Others stand on the bank, helping with the fishing process. Also shown are the silhouettes of a bridge over the water and the mountains in the distance.
Collection Object
Galileo Showing Milton the Moon while Milton is on a Visit to Italy in 1637
A group of men with one woman discussing the moon in a room with a large opening on the left side.
Collection Object
Moon Worshippers (Prayer to the Moon)

Collection Object
Moon over Lausanne
Three figures stand in the bottom left corner. The image is mostly tan and light blue except very dark in the center. The blue horizon line is in the top third of the image stretching from a cityscape on the left side to a sweeping hill on the right side. There is a small moon in the middle at the very top of the image.
Collection Object
Moon Over Cypress
This is a colorful abstract print with geometric shapes in blue, yellow, green and red outlined in black. There are also three white areas with black line drawings that depict a plant in a flower pot and two cypress trees in the bottom section and a landscape with mountains and a yellow moon in the upper right portion.
Collection Object
Danza de la media luna
Centered on the page, this print shows two figures dressed in long robes. One figure wears a blue robe with maroon circles and the other is the opposite. Each faceless figure, carries a knife in one hand. On their heads are headdresses with a black cap and large white half-moon shape attached. The figures look like they are in motion.
Collection Object
The Night Riders of Nacton, Plate II (The Large Field near Biles's Corners)

Collection Object
Illuminated Landscape
This print has an abstract, monotone composition of irregular shapes set against a dark background. Two stars are at the top of the print alongside a white orb that looks like a moon. The print is numbered (l.l.) "15/20", titled (l.c.) "Illuminated Landscape" and signed (l.r.) "Chet La More" in pencil. 
Collection Object
Autumn Moon at Mt. Dongting
Dark, wet ink wash and light accents of color capture the lyrical mood of an autumnal moonlit night at Lake Tai and Mount Dongting. A round moon hangs low in the sky at top right, with a diffuse glow slightly brightening the clouds and sky below. Two islands sit in the water below, the larger (closer) of the two has four boats moored just offshore. Up close the boats appear as freely brushed lines, and yet at a distance, their forms come into focus. A building sits on the closer island, light shining in the windows. The silhouette of a pagoda can be seen on the further island.
Collection Object
Moonlight Over Albuquerque

Collection Object
Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico
Photographed at dusk, this image depicts a waxing gibbous moon rising above a flat, desert landscape. In the foreground, along with some other small structures and trees, is a small church and a cemetery.  
Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

Les Quartre Parties du Jour: La Nuit ou le Claire de Lune

Accession Number
2015/1.374

Title
Les Quartre Parties du Jour: La Nuit ou le Claire de Lune

Artist(s)
Artist Unknown

Object Creation Date
19th century

Medium & Support
oil on canvas

Dimensions
29 in x 19 1/8 in (73.66 cm x 48.58 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Penny and John Tropman

Subject matter
This marine painting features a nocturnal scene with a shipyard in the distance to the viewer’s right and ships at sea, either approaching or leaving the port.  In the foreground, people take part in various activities such as fishing, gathering water from a fountain, and cooking over a fire, highlighting the nightlife of a port town.  Some of the figures’ poses cite classical art or well-known paintings such as the woman who rests on the ledge of the fountain and extends her hand in a pose derived from Rembrandt’s painting of Danaë (1636, oil on canvas, Hermitage State Art Museum).  Billowing clouds reveal a bright moon that reflects onto the surface of the water and gives way to mountains in the far distance.  The kindling fire creates a warm light that contrasts to the cool cast of the moonlit sky.  The 19th century dress and classicizing architectural features such as the water fountain and gazebo lookout (middleground) are attributes of neo-classicism.

Physical Description
A nocturnal scene with ships, a dockyard, and a mountain range in the background.  People are gathered in the foreground partaking in various activities, illuminated in part by the moon and its reflection on the sea, as well as by a fire.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
landscape

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
boats
classicism
clouds
dockyards
harbors
landscapes (representations)
marines (visual works)
seascapes

3 Related Resources
Landscape and Nature, Comparative and Historical
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
Transportation
(Part of 5 Learning Collections)
The Sea
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved