The American painter Charles Bell was a pioneer of Photorealism and is known for painting vintage objects using a hyperrealistic technique. In the late 1960s he began depicting gumball machines on which light was reflected. In 1976 his interest turned to pinball machines, which project light as opposed to reflecting it.

Thunder Smash shows a fragment of a pinball machine that combines two effects of light: the machine’s illuminated panel where light is projected from behind, and the metal ball that reflects the light and everything around it in, in trompe l’oeil fashion.

Using a language typical of illustrations or comics, the picture features white and yellow stars and a crescent moon together with bursts of thunder and explosions. The combination of cold and warm colours and these explosive forms, which infuse the work with rhythm and vitality, may be inspired by recent landmark events such as the showing of the first colour photographs of the surface of Mars, taken by US space probe Viking 1, or the premiere of George Lucas’s first feature film Star Wars in 1977. The Cold War and these happenings triggered a general interest in the control of aerospace.

Siglo XXPaintingAcryliccanvas
Download image Print page
Thunder Smash. Charles Bell
Thunder Smash
Charles Bell

©

Charles S. Bell. Courtesy Louis K. Meisel Gallery

Terms of Use

The exploitation rights of the images correspond to the Fundación Coleccion Thyssen-Bornemisza, F.S.P. The Fundación authorizes the downloading of high-resolution images from its website for private use, use for educational and research purposes, and non-commercial uses.

Use for educational and research purposes is understood as the non-commercial or advertising use of images in presentations, conferences, school or university work, in classes at regulated education institutions, as well as in academic publications, with a circulation of less than 1,000 copies, provided that it is non-profit.

Non-commercial use is understood as the use of the images in a context where no profit, monetary or commercial, is generated, directly or indirectly.

Any use other than those indicated above will require the prior written authorization of the Fundación.

Any request for educational and research use or for non-commercial use (including academic publications), should be directed by email to the Museum Photo Library through the email address archivo.fotografico@museothyssen.org. This department manages the worldwide distribution of the images of the works of the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum and the management of their reproduction rights for those uses.

The user agrees to use the image of the website solely and exclusively for the purposes described above and in accordance with the following terms of use:

Terms of use

  • If the image is used for reproduction, the work must be reproduced in its entirety. The image may not be manipulated, deformed, modified or altered in any way. In particular, no superposition (of images or texts) on the reproduction is allowed.
  • The reproduction of a detail or part of the work may only be made with the prior written authorization of the Fundación. In this case, the credit line must include the following mention: “detail”.
  • Any total or partial reproduction of the images authorized by the Fundación must be accompanied by the following mention: Author's name. Title, Date © Coleccion Carmen Thyssen.
  • The user will send to the Museum Photo Library one (1) free copy of the edition, publication or reproduction to the following address: Archivo Fotografico, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Paseo del Prado, 8 28014 Madrid, Spain.
Download image