A Recipe for Success: William Trost Richards’ Synthesizing Technique in 19th Century Landscape Painting

 The Western tradition of landscape painting has experienced many iterations over the centuries, but many traits have remained the same – the painting is often divided in thirds, with land, sky, and water filling the space horizontally. Perhaps a desktop wallpaper is called to mind, or the logo for an outdoor equipment brand. Landscapes are so familiar to us that it may seem odd to describe such a painting as dramatic, momentous, or dynamic. However, with close examination to the techniques used in 19th century landscape painting, a viewer can come to appreciate the innumerable stylistic variations within a seemingly straightforward genre. William Trost Richards’ Lake Squam from Red Hill, painted in 1874, is an excellent example of this – by drawing from the detail and precision of British Pre-Raphaelitism, the Luminist attention to the particularities of light and atmosphere, and the majestic wilderness portrayed by members of the Hudson River School, Richards creates movement within stillness, and immense depth on a flat piece of paper. This curation will lead you through various artists and styles that inspired Richards’ watercolor, and bring you to a fuller understanding of the pieces that go into landscape painting.

John Ruskin, Amboise (c. 1840-45)

Watercolor on paper, 15 ¼ x 11 ¼ inches.

Private collection.

John Ruskin was a British artist and art critic who held immense influence in the art world, especially due to his outspoken support of the controversial Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This painting, as the oldest one in this collection, still finds its roots in Romanticism, as seen through the mysterious translucence of the rocks, castle, and sky. The gestural softness within such a grand scene evokes the sublime, comparable to Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. Though Richards did not draw directly from Romantic qualities, he was trained by Ruskin’s books and criticism, and thus the emotion of Romanticism is evident in Lake Squam from Red Hill. Both Ruskin and Richards employ atmospheric perspective, glazing large portions of their watercolors in a misty blue to build a real, dramatic depth.

John Everett Millais, Ophelia (c. 1851-2)

Oil on canvas, 30 x 44 inches.

Tate Britain.

Though formally different from Ruskin’s work, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was staunchly defended by him. This group of students intended to revive painting by studying Italian art before the era of Raphael, in which they observed a unique freshness of emotion. Millais’ painting is an excellent example of the Pre-Raphaelite dedication to detail and botanical accuracy, as well as their distinct vibrancy of color. Their ability to capture the precise nuances of light and nature was largely due to their innovative plein air technique, which reads very clearly in this painting; the grassy bank seems to come beneath and around the viewer. Richards achieves a very similar effect in Lake Squam from Red Hill, as the foreground depicts Red Hill’s hardy shrubbery and wild grasses, among which Richards likely stood.

William Trost Richards, Sunset on the Meadow (1861)

Oil on canvas, 20 ¼ x 27 inches.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The technical rigor of this oil painting marks Richards as an American Pre-Raphaelite, and informs the choices he makes in Lake Squam from Red Hill. Though darker than Millais’ Ophelia, the colors in this painting are very saturated, and the intricate blossoms pop out against the greenery. In fact, the attention to lighting is characteristic of 19th century landscape painting, echoing Luminist tendencies. No details are simplified here, in the way that we see Ruskin’s trees and rocks simplified in Amboise. Instead, each individual leaf and stem is visible, immersing the viewer in the lush, thriving environment.

Thomas Cole, The Hunter’s Return (1845)

Oil on canvas, 40 ⅛ x 60 ½ inches.

Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

Richards, like many other American artists, spent years in England studying from the rigorous English draftsmen and critics, such as Ruskin. Thomas Cole is one of these, having been born and educated in England, and emigrating to America. He used the drama and sublimity developed by the European landscape tradition to capture the fearsome essence of the American wilderness. Cole is recognized as the father of the Hudson River School, a movement of New York City-based artists who sought to revive landscape painting. The sky in particular holds a strong resemblance to Richards’ Lake Squam from Red Hill, with the clouds drifting out towards the viewer, inviting us into the warmth of sunlight and home.

John Frederick Kensett, Lake George (1869)

Oil on canvas, 44 ⅛  x 66 ⅜  inches.

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Kensett was a member of the Hudson River School. Though the colors are muted compared to other paintings created within the movement, the contrast in value still grants the scene the momentous quality that Hudson River School artists strove for. Everything seems to thrust itself powerfully upwards; even the tufts of grass reiterate the authority of the mountains and heaping clouds. 

Edward Church, Twilight in the Wilderness (1860)

Oil on canvas, 40 x 64 inches.

The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Church was a very significant member of the Hudson River School, and here he exhibits the movement’s Luminist tendencies. Luminism is a broad descriptor that applies to other 19th century American art outside of the Hudson River School, and refers to a focused attention upon realistic light and atmosphere. Though we see a hint of Luminism in Cole’s The Hunter Returns, it is the star of the show in this painting; Church chose light as his subject, rather than a particular landscape. The mountains and trees are nearly silhouettes, acting as a convenient contrast to highlight the blazing sky and glowing water. Notice that he does not name the painting after the location, like many artists in this collection do, but lets the sunset speak for itself.

William Trost Richards, Lake Squam from Red Hill (1874)

 Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on light gray-green wove paper, 8 ⅞ x 13 9/16  inches.

80.1.6

Finally, we come to Richards' small, unassuming painting. It leaves out the melodramatic tendency of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the sentimentality of some American landscape painting, and instead utilizes the best features of each. The panoramic quality allows no space to be unaffected by the gentle golden light, recalling the dynamism of Church’s clouds, and the still reflection upon Kensett’s water. The foreground is detailed enough to remind the viewer of Richards’ Pre-Raphaelite leanings, and yet remains gestural enough to focus our attention upon the immense distance and scale, a technique seen in Ruskin’s Amboise. Though the painting is small, it is deep, precise, and illuminated, enveloping the viewer in the vast stillness of Red Hill.