Art of Kansas Home Art of Kansas and the Region

What kinds of contrasting colors do you see?
(light and dark, warm and cool, solid color areas and areas with several colors side by side)

Birger Sandzén liked to put different colors next to each other in his paintings rather than mix the colors ahead of time.

Where do you see different colors side by side?

Look closely at the paint. What did the artist use to put the paint on?

When you visit the Spencer in person, stand back from the painting. How does it change?

Do you think the artist meant for you to look at the painting close up or far away?

What is the mood?

How would the mood change when you are up close versus far away?

• You can see the agitated brushstrokes close up.

You can see how the strong and vigorous brushstrokes can make the picture seem active and agitated, can’t you, even though the landscape scene itself seems calm and still.

Let’s all look at the label for this artist’s name.
It is Birger Sandzén (Beer’ yer San’ zane).
Let’s practice pronouncing it together.

He was from Sweden, but he moved to Lindsborg, Kansas, when he was a young man.

Sandzen painted scenes of Kansas and of the Rocky Mountains. This painting is of the Rocky Mountains, and the rocks are actually red as they are shown here.