Brown Durand Curation

 The Met artworks in this curation are from American Artists Asher Durand Brown who lived from 1796-1886. Durand was born in Maplewood, New Jersey and became a part of the group called the Hudson River School. They emphasize the ideal of naturalism in their paintings. Thomas Cole is regarded as the founder purely because he inspired Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstandt and Durand to make this artistic fraternity. Durand soon became the president of the National Academy of Design. He was also commissioned by Luman Reed to paint a series of American Presidents. He visited part of Europe, but it was a little while before he made seasonal trips to hills along the Hudson River and Adirondacks and New England. There he gathered a love for painting outdoors, which he encouraged other artists to do. He painted a few more landscapes and commissions before retiring in Maplewood in 1872. There were many art movements that Durand lived through, but the ones in this curation come from the Romanticism, Impressionism art movements. Art made during the Romanticism movement made references back to classic Roman art and architecture. In America there were a lot of landscape paintings and paintings about views on preservation and cultivation of the land. Art made during the Impressionism movement would express more about the artist and focus on urbanization or industrialization, and the changes that came with a more modern world. This meant landscapes, everyday life and working class paintings. How can different art movements affect the artist's work? 

Asher Brown Durand 

Ariadne, 1831-35, oil on canvas,

Asher Brown Durand, Ariadne, 1831-35, oil on canvas, 17 ⅛  x 19 ⅜ in.

This is very reminiscent of the Venus paintings we see during the Italian Renaissance and is revisited during the Romanticism period. Though normally a Venus inspired portrait the nude woman is looking right at us, while here she has her eyes closed and is looking above her. This is inspired by the Cretan princess, who was not aware that was being abandoned by her lover, Theseus, on the island of Naxos, since she was peacefully sleeping. 

Asher Brown Durand, Luman Reed, 1835, oil on canvas, 30 ⅛ x 25 ⅜ in. 

Though this isn’t a landscape painting ,a portrait about the working class or everyday life I think that it still shows the Impressionists value of artwork as a way for the artist to express themselves. Though it isn’t a self portrait we still get an idea that Reed was an important figure in Durand’s life that he wanted to honor with this portrait. Luman Reed encouraged Durand to become a fulltime painter and desert his engraving career. Jonathan Sturges commissioned this portrait a year before Reed died.  

Asher Brown Durand,  The Beeches, ca. 1845, oil on canvas, 60 ⅜ x 48 ⅛ in. 

This painting is an image of daily country life, which has a shepherd, who is part of the working class. Though most painters in the Impressionium era stayed away from painting the working class. This painting was inspired by the work of the British painter John Constable and was submitted to the National Academy of Design a year after he was elected president. This was the first time Durand painted based on a sketch he made while outside.   

Asher Brown Durand, High Point: Shandaken Mountain, 1853, oil on canvas, 32 ¾ x 48 in.

This painting shows the urbanization of America during the Impressionism period. It also shows a couple getting ready to do the mundane task of fishing. Paintings of mundane tasks were very popular during this period. This painting was first shown in the National Academy of Design's 1853 exhibition. This is based on the many sketches he made in the summers of 1853 and 1855 of this mountain near Olive, New York. Durand, unlike his other paintings, focused more on depicting light and shadow.

Asher Brown Durand, River Scene, 1854, oil on canvas, 24 x 34 ⅛ in.  

This painting shows the beautiful landscape of the countryside. Now this painting in particular shows the preservation side of industrialization, which was more of a Romanticism characteristic, but I’m sure it happened during the Impressionism period too. Hudson River School paintings were normally more dramatic in mood and composition. However, this painting is full of light, which makes the shadows not as dark as they normally would be. It also has a more similar composition that isn’t busy. 

   

Asher Brown Durand, Summer Afternoon, 1865, oil on canvas, 22 ½ x 35 in. 

This is another landscape painting that shows the preservation side of industrialization. 

This painting along with Beeches and many other Hudson River School paintings was owned by Morris K. Jesup. This painting shows how Durand could easily depict changes that happened in nature. Like Durand’s other painting the River Scene it also has cows, except these cows guide you across the composition, while in the other painting they are more of a focal point in the middle of the painting.