White Cathedral

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Raphael Gleitsmann, a lifelong Ohioan, found beauty in the ordinary. White Cathedral, painted just a few years after he served as a combat artist in World War II, reflects the quiet and thoughtful tone of his later work. While some of his postwar paintings took on darker, more dystopian views of nature, this scene feels still and calm. The snow-covered building, possibly a local factory or church, is shown with crisp lines and pale colors that reduce it to its most basic shapes. The lack of people focuses attention on the building itself, giving it a quiet strength. Yet nothing about this landscape is particularly grand, hinting back to Gleitsmann’s desire to capture the ordinary in beautiful ways. Living and working in Akron, Gleitsmann captured the Midwest’s winter skies and quiet streets from different perspectives.

Keywords

Cathedrals
Regional
Ohioan
Haunting
Steeple
Painting