The Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme

Stella depicted the Brooklyn Bridge as a cathedral-like gateway to a shining city. The upper part of the painting shows the bridge cables rising up like a church spire, and tall arches frame a Manhattan skyline that glows like a stained-glass window. Lights that might be stars, theater lanterns, and car or subway headlights spread across the sky and throughout the various openings of the bridge. At the bottom of the painting, Stella included another view of the bridge in the style of a predella on a traditional church altarpiece. Here, an arch represents the heavens above the bridge and a skyline view of the city.