The Heavens Are Telling, Emil Carlsen (1918)
Carlsen’s seascapes convey a mood of eternal calm, and that is clearly visible in The Heavens Are Telling. The seas are not wracked by storms, but rather there is a harmonious element to them. The focus in the painting is not on the sea, but rather on how it responds to the skies and the light of the moon. There is an air of spiritual concern in the atmosphere created by Carlsen. Painted on a large canvas, as many of his seascapes were, the vision is majestic, powerful, and yet also serene. His use of colors contributes to the overall effect; blues and whites combine to allow the viewer to sense the moonlight.
