Luminism Within the Hudson River School

    Beneath the large umbrella of Romanticism was a group of American landscape painters commonly referred to as the Hudson River School. This was not a formal school, nor a unified gathering of particular people. This was, however, a label for a group of distinctly American artists that were developing an American style through their portrayal of the American landscape. Separate from this school, but sometimes overlapping, were the Luminists. The Luminists had a particular interest in the way light and atmosphere interact and creating realistic depictions of light in their artwork.

    Although many Luminists were not a part of the Hudson River School, preferring to paint subjects other than the grand American landscapes that the school was known for, there were artists who could be considered both members of the Hudson River School and Luminists. This was especially true of artists in the second generation of the Hudson River School, as Luminism originated a couple of decades later than the Hudson River School. The artists who merged these two movements depicted the serenity and divinity of nature through their use of light in their landscape paintings. There use of light highlighted the all ready important thread of Hudson River School paintings of the majesty of the American landscape. All of the paintings in this expedition show the ways in which artists were able to combine these two styles.

Albert Bierstadt, Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, oil on canvas, 72 x 120 1/8 in, Smithsonian American Art Museum

This painting does a marvelous job of combing both elements of the Hudson River School and Luminism. The majesty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is exactly the kind of thing that Hudson River School painters loved to paint. It shows off the wonders of the American landscape and the beauty that America has. What is most striking about this painting, though, is the use of light. The mountains are bathed in a light coming down from a gap in the clouds. This is reminiscent of portrayals of a heavenly light seen in past paintings. It is this almost divine nature of light that the Luminists loved to focus on.

John Frederick Kensett, Lake George, 1869, oil on canvas, 44 1/8 x 66 3/8 in, 

Accession Number: 15.30.61

Lake George was a popular location for painters in the Hudson River School. The still lake with a mountainous backdrop was a great image of the beauty of the American landscape in a time in which a lot of land was being threatened by industrialization. This is just one of a number of paintings that Kensett made of the location. Kensett’s luminist tendencies shine through in the way that he depicts light reflecting off of the lake and the way it is diffused through the atmosphere. This adds a sense of calm and serenity to the landscape that Luminist loved to emphasize.

Sanford Robinson Gifford, A Gorge int he Mountains (Kauterskill Clove), 1862, oil on canvas, 

48 x 39 7/8 in, Accession Number: 15.30.62

Sanford Robinson Gifford was a little different in style from the other Luminists. Instead of having very clear atmosphere, in his paintings the light is filtered through a lot of atmosphere and moisture so that he creates a very hazy effect. As seen in the painting shown above, this unifies the entire painting by bathing it all in a very yellow light. In a way, light is the focus of this painting in a way that goes beyond even that of the other Luminists.

Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863, oil on canvas, 73 1/2 x 120 3/4 in, Accession Number: 07.123

This painting really captures the grandeur of the American west. Bierstadt painted it after traveling out west with Frederick West Lander, a military man who is the namesake for the mountain featured in this painting. Bierstadt uses light to draw our eyes to the waterfall in the middle of the painting and up the slopes into the mountains which, bathed in sunlight, are brighter than the ground below. Despite the presence of the Native Americans in the foreground, it is the majesty of the land that captures our attention, with the people seeming small and unimportant by comparison.

John Frederick Kensett, Hudson River Scene, 1857, oil on canvas, 32 x 48 in, 

Accession Number: 07.162

This painting is one of many paintings that artists within the Hudson River School did of the Hudson River, hence the name, and just one of the number that Kensett himself made of this location. From this vantage point above the river Kensett is able to portray his ability to manipulate light in his paintings. The shadows of the trees in the foreground are contrasted by the light-bathed hills in the background. The light reflects off of the river, causing it to glow and brightening the entire scene. The beauty of the land can thus be further revealed.

Albert Bierstadt, Sunset in the Yosemite Valley, 1868, oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 52 1/4 in, 

Haggin Museum

Although significantly smaller than some of his other paintings, Bierstadt still manages to portray the sublime nature of the American landscape in this painting. The soaring cliffs on either side of the painting reach to the top of the canvas. This low perspective that the painting has leads to the viewer feeling in awe of the grandeur of the land. The light from the sunset adds to this effect. It lends a sense of mystery and almost spirituality to the scene by casting shadows across the right side of the painting. It draws our attention down through the valley and into the scene beyond which is shrouded by the glare of the light. This creates a sense that was pervasive throughout Hudson River School paintings of the almost divine nature of the land.