Church Explosion
Ca. 1930
Charcoal study on yellow trace
17 ½” x 18 ¾”
Another study for a finished work that remains a mystery. In Church Explosion, there is a sense of drama and movement in this study, which includes eight fascinating perspectival and compositional studies in the margins. In the main scene, angels enter from the lower left-hand corner into the cinegraphic town square which is dominated by a church. It appears that they’re ushering people to the safety of a small cafe, while the church steeple swells to the point of looking as if it is about to explode.Religious faith was at the center of daily life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This shows the congregation being led to safety by an angel and man who is presumably the pastor. The town square and church are drawn at sharp perspectival angles suggesting the imminence of an explosion caused by a large bolt of lightning striking the top of the church. Similar to the earlier depiction of a church at the top of a village square,these studies are presumed to have been drawings for an unknown painting or lithograph.