During the 19th century
there was a movement towards spirituality and nature. This progression is most
notably seen in the artwork of the time. This period also known as Romanticism,
focused heavily on man, nature and spirituality. American Romanticism in painting
focused on the beauty of nature in the US. Whilst in Europe Romanticism focused
on ruins and man made tributes to god, the US painters believed that their
countries natural landscape was more of a tribute to god then any cathedral.
This period in time gave rise to some of the most famous painters in the US’
history, and perhaps the greatest romantic painter of all time.
Thomas Cole was the pioneer of the
American Romantic movement also known as the Hudson River School. Cole created
the standard of painting for this era whilst on a boat trip up the Hudson
River. Cole’s style was to take European ideas of Romanticism and give them a
uniquely American twist. The Hudson
River School quickly became a popular name in the art world drawing the
attention of art connoisseur to the ideas of the pastoral and the sublime. This
branch of Romanticism quickly became associated with the area’s they painted
such as the Catskills, the Adirondacks, the Rockies and marine areas around the
east coast. Thomas Cole is credited with the founding of this style of
painting. Cole’s sublime side of nature is frequently depicted in many of his
works, and the works of his followers such as Durand, and Bierstadt. Perhaps the best example of Cole’s
style of painting is The Oxbow. The Oxbow portrays a landscape scene of a
river, farmland, a storm, and forest. The painting is divided in its themes of
nature; the right side of the painting portrays the pastoral, or the
romanticized escape that nature can offer which is inhabited by man. On the
left we see an untamed forest and a fast approaching thunderstorm. This is
meant to represent the sublime omnipotent power of nature. This depiction of
nature sums up the Romantic Movement better then any other work of the time. It
shows mans insignificance against nature, a key theme of Romanticism. If you
look at the actually paint on the canvas you will notice an actual change in
painting style between the right and left sides of the painting. The right side
is careful; it is hard to actually tell what his brush did on the canvas. The
left side is comprised of much larger almost violent strokes. Cole manages to
fit the themes of Romanticism into his technique for painting. The motifs of
this painting coupled with Cole’s superb brush stroke style make it one of the
best examples of 19th century Romantic Painting. Below is the Oxbow, by Cole.
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picture source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cole
You make some very interesting points here and I think the relationship between art, the environment and religion is quite compelling. Thomas Cole's paintings are very representative of the romantic and spiritual conceptions of nature that existed in the 19th century. I think it is also interesting to consider how perceptions of religion in the environment have changed over time and how these changing notions are reflected in artwork. Cole aspired to illustrate landscapes in their most wild, sublime states and often sought to convey the power of God over nature and humans. In comparison, Luminist painters, who surfaced following the Civil War, depicted much more harmonious and peaceful views of nature. God's relationship with nature is less power related and more symbiotic. I don't find this surprising considering these paintings were done following a terribly violent period of time, but I find it interesting how notions of religion and nature reflected the American mood at the time. Even today, nature seems to carry some kind of intrinsic spiritual value and I think many of attested to this when we discussed in class the appeal of mountains. It seems in a lot of ways, religion and nature are closely related.
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