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Nocturne: Forest Spires, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a forest at night. Tall trees are painted in black and grey in front of a light purple sky.

Tom Thomson, Nocturne: Forest Spires, 1916, oil on plywood, 21.6 x 26.6 cm, Vancouver Art Gallery.

This work stands out among Thomson’s depictions of darkness—he painted at least twenty-three nocturnal paintings—because it catches not only the atmosphere but also the character of the forest at night, mysterious and looming. Thomson depicts with accuracy and emotion the feeling of being in the night—a sense of peace, of night like a comforting blanket, wrapping itself around both the subject and the viewer.


Thomson found mystery in the night, when shadows were deep, and the light of the moon and the stars shone across the surface of a lake.

Gallery

Painting by Tom Thomson of a river running through a forest with each element (hills, trees, rocks, flowers) drawn with a black outline. The piece is divided into 5 frames with rounded corners; the top and bottom frames span the width of the work, while three run in a row in the middle. The centre frame contains text drawn in a medieval "blackletter" style with enlarged dropcaps.

Burns’ Blessing, 1906

Painting by Tom Thomson of bare trees standing in a body of water, some branches floating on the surface. There is a forest of green trees in the distance on the shore. The sky overhead is blank and grey.

Drowned Land, 1912

Painting by Tom Thomson of a river winding through a forest in low light. In the foreground, shadowed skinny trees block the view of the river, with one tree leaning to form a diagonal. Warm autumnal colours appear in places where light hits the ground.

Northern River, 1914–15

Painting with large, visible brushstrokes by Tom Thomson depicting a sunset over lake. Dark hills sit on the low horizon line while the sky above is large and vibrant, featuring acid yellow and green peeking out between crimson clouds. The colours are reflected in the water.

Sunset, 1915

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes. Skinny, bare trees stand precariously on rolling hills painted in greens, blues, and purples with occasional spots of orange. Near the bottom of the frame, fallen tree trunks lay on rocks. The sky overhead is light purple, gradually blending into orange and light blue.

Fire-Swept Hills, 1915

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a forest at night. Tall trees are painted in black and grey in front of a light purple sky.

Nocturne: Forest Spires, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a lake shore in autumn. In the foreground, scrawny trees with yellow and red leaves rise from rocky ground. A dark blue lake runs the width of the piece and in the distance sits golden land and dark hills along the horizon line. The sky is a muted blue with sweeping clouds painted in light grey.

Autumn, Algonquin Park, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a dense patch of trees with their branches and the ground beneath them covered in snow. Some dark green is still visible while the snow is shades of blue-grey and white where the light shines on it.

First Snow in Autumn, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a marsh. Golden land and hills rise above patches of bright blue water while the sky above is a vibrant gradient of green and blue.

Cranberry Marsh, 1916

Pointillist-style painting by Tom Thomson of large, forested hills rising above a lake where people are rowing three red canoes. The scene is rendered with small contrasting dabs of bright oranges, blues, and yellows.

The Pointers, 1916–17

Painting by Tom Thomson depicting a lone pine tree with long, curving limbs on the rocky edge of a lake. Choppy water is in the middle ground while dark hills run along the horizon line under a sky filled with clouds.

The West Wind, 1916–17

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting bright green land and trees under a swirling grey clouds. It has few details, opting for large, indistinct shapes that veer towards abstraction.

After the Storm, 1917

Painting by Tom Thomson of a river running through a forest with each element (hills, trees, rocks, flowers) drawn with a black outline. The piece is divided into 5 frames with rounded corners; the top and bottom frames span the width of the work, while three run in a row in the middle. The centre frame contains text drawn in a medieval "blackletter" style with enlarged dropcaps.

Burns’ Blessing, 1906

Painting by Tom Thomson of bare trees standing in a body of water, some branches floating on the surface. There is a forest of green trees in the distance on the shore. The sky overhead is blank and grey.

Drowned Land, 1912

Painting by Tom Thomson of a river winding through a forest in low light. In the foreground, shadowed skinny trees block the view of the river, with one tree leaning to form a diagonal. Warm autumnal colours appear in places where light hits the ground.

Northern River, 1914–15

Painting with large, visible brushstrokes by Tom Thomson depicting a sunset over lake. Dark hills sit on the low horizon line while the sky above is large and vibrant, featuring acid yellow and green peeking out between crimson clouds. The colours are reflected in the water.

Sunset, 1915

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes. Skinny, bare trees stand precariously on rolling hills painted in greens, blues, and purples with occasional spots of orange. Near the bottom of the frame, fallen tree trunks lay on rocks. The sky overhead is light purple, gradually blending into orange and light blue.

Fire-Swept Hills, 1915

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a forest at night. Tall trees are painted in black and grey in front of a light purple sky.

Nocturne: Forest Spires, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a lake shore in autumn. In the foreground, scrawny trees with yellow and red leaves rise from rocky ground. A dark blue lake runs the width of the piece and in the distance sits golden land and dark hills along the horizon line. The sky is a muted blue with sweeping clouds painted in light grey.

Autumn, Algonquin Park, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a dense patch of trees with their branches and the ground beneath them covered in snow. Some dark green is still visible while the snow is shades of blue-grey and white where the light shines on it.

First Snow in Autumn, 1916

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting a marsh. Golden land and hills rise above patches of bright blue water while the sky above is a vibrant gradient of green and blue.

Cranberry Marsh, 1916

Pointillist-style painting by Tom Thomson of large, forested hills rising above a lake where people are rowing three red canoes. The scene is rendered with small contrasting dabs of bright oranges, blues, and yellows.

The Pointers, 1916–17

Painting by Tom Thomson depicting a lone pine tree with long, curving limbs on the rocky edge of a lake. Choppy water is in the middle ground while dark hills run along the horizon line under a sky filled with clouds.

The West Wind, 1916–17

Painting by Tom Thomson with large, visible brushstrokes depicting bright green land and trees under a swirling grey clouds. It has few details, opting for large, indistinct shapes that veer towards abstraction.

After the Storm, 1917

Nocturne: Forest Spires - Art Canada