Super Sayen Renaissance Man: Henry Lyman Saÿen Abstract/Fauvism Painting Style

Trained on 26 painting by the American Scientist/Inventor/Artist Henry Lyman Saÿen (April 25, 1875-April 27, 1918). He was a pioneer in the design of x-ray tubes, who also distinguished himself as an abstract artist, a true renaissance man. To see his works, please go to americanart.si.edu/artist/h-lyman-sayen-4281.

Most of his works are landscape, with a few portraits. What I found most interesting is how well this LoRA works as a portrait style, with strong brushstrokes and bold lines that remind me of that of Alice Neel 😁.

Trivia: when I typed in "sayen" to search for his work on pinterest, it showed me a bunch of "super saiyan" images, hence the bad joke in the title 😅😆

From ChatGPT:

Henry Lyman Saÿen (April 25, 1875-April 27, 1918) was an American artist and inventor whose short but influential career bridged the worlds of science, technology, and early modern art. Though lesser-known today, Sayen was part of the pioneering wave of American artists who embraced European modernism in the early 20th century, helping to introduce avant-garde styles—especially Cubism and Fauvism—to the U.S.

🎨 Artistic Background and Style

Sayen trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later studied in Paris, where he was exposed to the Salon d'Automne artists and the Post-Impressionist and Fauvist movements. His time in Paris was pivotal; he encountered artists like Henri Matisse and was influenced by the bold use of color and simplification of form.

His mature works feature:

• Strong color contrasts

• Geometric abstraction with Cubist influences

• Dynamic brushwork

• A fusion of decorative design and modernist experimentation

His style was marked by an attempt to harmonize scientific rationalism with aesthetic intuition, which is not surprising given his background in science.

🧪 Inventor and Scientist

Before committing fully to art, Sayen was a trained engineer and inventor, working in his family’s medical technology business. He held patents in X-ray technology and worked on electrical apparatuses, including some related to early diagnostic imaging.

This scientific training influenced his approach to art:

• He was interested in structure, form, and perception.

• His paintings often exhibit a calculated sense of design, as if trying to resolve color and geometry with mathematical logic.

🌎 Role in American Modernism

Sayen exhibited in the seminal 1913 Armory Show, which introduced European modern art to an American audience. He was one of the few American artists at the time exploring abstraction, and his work helped lay the groundwork for later American modernists.

Though he died young at 43, his role in American art history is that of a transitional figure, linking the academic traditions of the 19th century with the radical experiments of the early 20th.

🖼️ Legacy

Today, Henry Lyman Sayen is remembered as:

• One of the early American adopters of Cubism and Fauvism

• A scientific mind in the arts, blending logic and color

• A contributor to the early wave of American modernism