Film Noir Original Artwork The Saturday Evening Post interior

What makes this artwork special is not the narrative. It's the artist's unique approach to depicting it. He does it the hard way. Instead of showing the moment of an altercation between a break-in thief and a homeowner in the expected way, Rabut chooses to view the action from outside the house, looking in. He surrounds the exterior with an abstraction of winding vines to symbolize the scene's squeezing tension. With a spotlight on the subjects, his lighting and composition are a masterclass in narrative art. The painting has an unmistakable cinematic quality as the viewer enters the scene at a dramatic peak. Add its high-contrast chiaroscuro lighting, moody atmospheres, and thematic elements of mystery, cynicism, and crime... the work is a Film Noir movie in a single image. So who is this artist? He was important in the 1940's and 1950s but has since been off the radar. The present painting puts Paul Rabut front and center as one of the most creative illustrators of the Golden Age of Illustration. Signed lower right,

The present work is published on page 22 of the January 22, 1949, Saturday Evening Post.
Condition Report
Very minor diagonal abrasion at center left near extreme edge. Wear and markings to the margins of the board in keeping with the illustration and publishing process. Framed under acrylic, not examined outside of frame. Plexi has few scuffs.
Framed Dimensions 27.5 X 34.5 Inches