Gabor Peterdi Analysis

Gabor Peterdi is a Hungarian-American artist, instructor, and author who is known for inventing new printmaking techniques, some being large scale and others involving copper plates. He was born right outside of Budapest in 1915 and from a young age, his artistic abilities were quickly noticed. He studied on scholarship at various prestigious schools around Paris before moving to the United States. In addition to creating a copious amount of art, he was a professor at Hunter College and later Yale University. Peterdi published Printmaking Methods Old and New in 1959 which now serves as a standard for all printmakers alike. Although Gabor Peterdi died in Stamford, CT in 2001, his masterpieces will live on forever.
Peterdi’s works as a whole
The top segment contains two circles which together resemble a hot sun (a red circle overlapping a blue one) when viewed next to the single blue circle seen in the bottom portion. The lower part, separated by a white line, resembles the moon, or sunset and is therefore depicted in cool colors. The overall use of color and shape is simplistic, depicting a calm, serene mood. The tone of the piece is overall uniform with the exception of a couple light spots in the blue portion of the sky. The slight variation in colors make the piece cohesive and give it a realistic look, because oftentimes the sky isn’t even and different shades and tones can be
He executed this exceptionally well and it is evident that he put a large amount of thought and time into this particular piece. The colors utilized fit with the subject of the print, because the sky is undoubtedly blue, sunsets can vary in color from red to pink to orange (in this case red was used), and the sky gets darker at night time. He uses shapes to represent natural objects and although basic, it is apparent to the viewer what the subject matter is. I first noticed the three circles. Taking the name of the work into account, I viewed the top segment as dusk and the bottom as night. The overlapping red and blue circles represent the boundary between light and dark that comes with the setting of the sun. The bottom circle has no red, because it is nighttime. The different elements in this piece create meaning because he takes simple things like circles, lines, and the colors blue and combines it all in a way that something beautiful is