Cane Fire: Tragic Beauty

The second painting I chose is Cane Fire. It is a 20 by 24 inch oil and watercolor on canvas and was painted by Leslie Lounsbury in 1941. This piece is mostly made up of reds and browns and depicts a Barbados cane field on fire. There are three central columns of fire as the focus of the painting, with smoke billowing around them and smoldering sugarcanes toppling in all directions.

What initially attracted me to this painting was its vivid colors. The bright reds and oranges of the fire in contrast to the deep browns and grays of the sugarcanes create a powerful display. The strength of the colors in this painting accurately depicts the mesmerizing, yet terrifying power held by these blazing flames. Additionally, there aren’t any real identifiable shapes visible, only hazy dark objects, which adds to the general feeling of chaos and confusion that accompanies fire. All these components lend themselves to the mystique of the work and the conflicting emotions that it triggers.

When I was looking at this piece of art, I didn’t know whether to feel sorrow for the livelihood that was being destroyed or pleasure for the beauty of the piece. Obviously these two emotions aren’t in any way mutually exclusive. However, there is a certain guilt involved with finding beauty in something that has caused others devastation. In the end I made peace with myself, concluding that this conflict of emotions is probably what makes this a piece of art to begin with. If it had not been so contrastingly beautiful than I would not have given it much notice, and it would not have been able to effectively convey the mourning of a livelihood reduced to ash.