Clouds in art
- 1. This presentation is a classroom resource from Windows to the Universe with funding from the Center for Multi-Scale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes (CMMAP) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Clouds in Art www.windows.ucar.edu
- 2. Title: Route de Louveciennes Artist: Camille Pissarro, a nineteenth century French Impressionist painter Clouds: There are puffy little cumulus clouds in the sky above the town. The clouds have distinct edges and cumulus shapes.
- 3. Title: The Lake of Terni Artist: Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot , a nineteenth century French painter Clouds: The clouds in this painting look like mid-level clouds made of little puffs of white – perhaps altocumulus clouds.
- 4. Title: The Old Berkshire Hunt Artist: John Goode , a nineteenth century British artist Clouds: It may have rained on the day depicted in this painting. The clouds may be the bottom of cumulonimbus.
- 5. Title: The Beach at Sainte-Adresse Artist: Claude Monet , a nineteenth century French Impressionist painter Clouds: Altocumulus clouds that look like little puffs are painted with large brushstrokes of soft white and blue
- 6. Title: Field of Poppies Artist: Claude Monet , a nineteenth century French Impressionist painter Clouds: low cumulus clouds with distinct edges and puffy shapes
- 7. Title: The Tower of London Artist: Robert Havell , an early nineteenth century British artist Clouds: Mostly elongate mid-level clouds called altostratus
- 8. Title: Seascape Study with Rain Cloud Artist: John Constable (1776-1837) British artist Clouds: Cumulonimbus clouds can turn dark and cause rain. The rain is usually not widespread. Instead it is in one spot, as he painted.
- 9. Title: Weymouth Bay Artist: John Constable (1776-1837) British artist Clouds: Cumulus clouds that are beginning to grow vertically. They might have turned into a thunderstorm later in the day.
- 10. Title: Cloud Study Artist: John Constable (1776-1837) British painter Clouds: Cumulus clouds in front and wispy cirrus clouds behind
- 11. Title: Place Saint-Marc a Venise, Vue du Grand Canal Artist: Eugene Bourdin (1824-1898) nineteenth century French painter Clouds: The clouds that are higher in the atmosphere might be altocumulus or stratocumulus. The low clouds look like cumulus.
- 12. Title: The Grand Canal, Venice Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner , British artist Clouds: This is a type of altocumulus cloud sometimes called a mackerel sky because it is like the markings of a mackerel.
- 13. Title : View of Delft Artist: Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) Dutch painter Clouds: The clouds in this painting look like stratocumulus clouds .
- 14. Title: Garden of Rockies Artist: Albert Bierstadt , nineteenth century American landscape painter Clouds: In the center of the valley in this painting there is a low stratus cloud also called fog. There are some stratocumulus in the upper right .
- 15. Title: Storm in the Rocky Mountains Artist : Albert Bierstadt , nineteenth century American landscape painter Clouds: The clouds have the rounded crisp edges and vertical development of cumulonimbus clouds.
- 16. Title: The Lackawanna Valley Artist: George Inness , a nineteenth century American painter Clouds: There is a low and uniform layer of stratus clouds. Note that the smoke from the chimney is going straight up so there must be little wind.
- 17. Title: Saint-Mammes Artist: Alfred Sisley , nineteenth century English Impressionist painter Clouds: There are just a few small cumulus clouds in the upper left.
- 18. Title: Seacoast Artist: Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) English landscape painter Clouds: This sky has a uniform cover of stratus or altostratus clouds.
- 19. Title: Le Pont des Arts Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) French painter Clouds: There appears to be two cloud types in the sky: mid-level altocumulus clouds and lower stratocumulus clouds.
- 20. Title: View of Toledo (Spain) Artist: El Greco, a 17th Century artist from Greece who lived in Spain Clouds: The towering dark clouds in the sky look like thunderstorm clouds called cumulonimbus.
- 21. Title: Evening on the Volga Artist: Issac Levitan (1860-1900) Russian landscape painter Clouds: There are large stratocumulus clouds above the calm river.
- 22. Title: After the Rain The Lake of Terni Artist: Issac Levitan (1860-1900) Russian landscape painter Clouds: After rain has ended, broken pieces of low cloud called scud are left in the sky. Behind the scud are altocumulus clouds.
- 23. , Title: Cloud Shadows Artist: Winslow Homer ( 1836-1910) American painter and illustrator Clouds: Stratocumulus clouds. Do you see the cloud shadows?
- 24. , Title: Flower Beds in Holland Artist: Vincent van Gogh , nineteenth century Dutch painter Clouds: Stratocumulus clouds look elongate like stratus, but are puffy like cumulus.
- 25. , Title: Wheat Field with Cypress Trees Artist: Vincent van Gogh , nineteenth century Dutch painter Clouds: What types of clouds did van Gogh see in the sky when he captured this scene? It is difficult to tell!
- 26. Title: Altocumulus Artist: Graeme Stephens, contemporary artist and atmospheric scientist at Colorado State University Clouds: Altocumulus clouds!
- 27. Developed by Lisa Gardiner for Windows to the Universe www.windows.ucar.edu Cloud art review: Julia Genyuk, Becca Hatheway, Peggy LeMone, and Lisa Gardiner Cloud type identification: Peggy LeMone (National Center for Atmospheric Research) For credit information about the images used in this presentation, please visit the online Clouds in Art Gallery at: www.windows.ucar.edu/art_and_music/cloud_art/cloudart_gallery.html For a teacher’s guide to using Clouds in Art, please visit: www.windows.ucar.edu/teacher_resources/teach_cloudart.html