The Birth of Modern Leisure in Art

    Before the 19th century rise of impressionism and the plein-air technique (painting outdoors), the subject matter that dominated European paintings–especially those from the French Academy–was formal and historical. Artists painted in a studio and focused mostly on painting historical events, biblical narratives, mythology, and portraits of royal or wealthy patrons. There was some focus on everyday life at the time; however, these paintings were centered on peasants or domestic scenes and were ranked low in the hierarchy of painting genres. Also low in the hierarchy were landscape paintings, which, to gain significance, had to feature mythological figures or historical subjects on the landscape. These paintings were often created from imagination or sketches and not painted outdoors. Artists such as Eugène Boudin and Johan Barthold Jongkind were of the first to paint directly outdoors. Their works were a precursor to the Impressionist movement, as many artists who are known for Impressionism today were inspired by their pieces and their advice. Claude Monet was one who was mentored by both Boudin and Jongkind and is known to be one of the earliest true Impressionist painters along with Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cézanne, and Armand Guillaumin. These particular students decided to team with artists like Boudin and break away from the French Academy’s standards for good painting. Because the Impressionist movement featured many landscapes and outdoor everyday scenes, the subject matter mostly depicted the bourgeoisie–a wealthy social class that had emerged–enjoying leisure time outside. These new patrons desired to see themselves and their lifestyles of vacations, pleasure, and the outdoors reflected in art. Leisure grew in popularity and began to embody the characteristics of modern life as it represented cosmopolitan free time and mobility. Each artist during this time had their own unique methods for representing this idea of leisure.

On the Beach, Dieppe

Eugène Boudin, 1864, Oil on wood painting, 12 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2003.20.1

Boudin enjoyed capturing beach scenes along the Normandy coast–an area that grew in popularity for Impressionist painters over time. The Bourgeoisie peppered the coast, strolling down the long stretches of sand or sitting and chatting, their dresses and coattails blowing around in the ocean breeze. Boudin claimed he was less interested in the “little dolls” in his paintings (how he referred to the figures) and more interested in representing them as a group bathed in an atmosphere of nature and light. Boudin’s subject matter mainly consisted of Bourgeois families, women in fashionable dresses, and people relaxing and gazing at the horizon. His work elevated ordinary leisurely activities into legitimate fine art subject matter that was respectable and commercially successful. After Boudin’s work, many artists became fascinated in this region of France, and they would follow tourist routes to find scenes to paint, meaning that the viewers would have recognized the scenes. Many wealthy patrons enjoyed seeing their everyday activities depicted in a painting. Boudin also popularized the technique of painting en plein air (outdoors), which made it easier to find candid subjects and to capture real moments of leisure. Because of his work, leisure became central to the Impressionist aesthetic.

Regatta at Sainte-Adresse

Claude Monet, 1867, Oil on canvas painting, 29 5/8 x 40 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 51.30.4

Monet, inspired by Boudin’s plein air technique, began painting outdoors as well and capturing the Bourgeoisie during their leisurely activities. However, Monet was not trying to communicate his approval of the social practices of the upper classes but rather experimenting with this new subject matter. The finished products of Monet’s paintings seemed to transcend the canvas, which is what made him one of the most prominent Impressionist painters of all time. In this particular painting, men and women watch the regatta from the shore, and the viewers see a traditional seacoast scene that has been infiltrated by modern life. The only representation of local life is the small fishing boat pulled onto shore surrounded by fishermen, which implies that only those who are wealthy can relax; the fishermen must keep working. The parasol held by the woman in the bottom left reveals the woman’s social status as the device was known to protect middle to upper class women from the effects of natural sunlight. This regatta was likely put on by a local yacht club as a commodity for those who could afford free time. Nearer to the beginning of his career, Monet enjoyed painting tourists; however, he later began painting lonely scenes free of tourists as he realized that modern culture was turning local villages into resorts.

Garden at Sainte-Adresse

Claude Monet, 1869, Oil on canvas painting, 38 5/8 x 51 1/8 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 67.241

Monet spent a summer with family in Sainte-Adresse along the Normandy coast, a trip funded by his father. He has a collection of several paintings derived from this trip. Seaside tourism was growing in popularity in Normandy. Boudin had taught Monet that everything in the sky was beautiful, so Monet took advantage of sky and ocean scenes to experiment with light, shadows, moving water, and atmospheric depth. His paintings often placed the viewer just outside the leisure activity, as with this painting, the viewer is placed behind the flower-covered stone wall. This placement suggests that he was depicting leisure as something to be observed but not participated in which enforces the idea that leisure is a performance or display of social status. It could also allude to Monet’s own financial insecurity at the time, and the way he felt like an outsider who could only observe upper class activities. He skillfully depicts the sunlight and weather–which likely would have changed during the process of painting–to capture a single moment in time. This piece was painted in a similar spot as his Regatta at Sainte-Adresse; with the two paintings side by side, he shows the differences between private and public leisure as these figures enjoy an ocean view from a more secluded area lifted above the beaches.

The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil

Edouard Manet, 1874, Oil on canvas painting, 24 x 39 1/4 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 1976.201.14

Manet was not explicitly part of the Impressionist movement; however, this portrayal of Monet’s family is his experimentation with Impressionism as a technique. With this painting, Manet successfully intertwines Impressionist values with the depiction of a bourgeoisie family, emphasizing the values of leisure, work, child-rearing, and outdoor living all at once. It is a snapshot of the modern bourgeois ideal while also representing the artistic community that made the Impressionist movement possible. Manet was used to working in a studio, but with this piece, he experiments with the idea of painting en plein air as he enjoyed a beautiful day outside with the Monet family. Manet enjoyed specifically depicting figures in a way that communicated to the viewer the effects of social conventions and, perhaps, boredom on vacationers and high class tourists. He combined the skills he had for spotting these phenomena with Monet’s eye for nature depictions. Some scholars describe this summer in Argenteuil as a crossroads in history where two distinct artists begin combining their techniques and learning from one another. Manet’s painting shows his support for the development of vacation and leisure painting as legitimate and iconic. Depictions of leisure in art became snapshots of shifting cultural values and lifestyles.

The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene)

Paul Cézanne, 1875, Oil on canvas painting, 21 3/4 x 32 1/4 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 2001.473

With this painting, Cézanne refers back to paintings by Manet and Monet from the 1860s as he depicts outdoor leisure time for elegantly-attired men, women, and children on a beautiful afternoon by the water. He represents both the upper and lower classes in the same scene, which emphasizes that the working class must spend their time working while the upper class enjoys free time on the grass in conversation with one another. It is thought that the man with his back turned in the lower left corner of the painting may be Cézanne himself enjoying a stroll in the scene. His subject matter mostly includes everyday activities of working-class men and communal activities like fishing and bathing. Encouraged by the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, Cézanne began painting en plain air as well. Cézanne was less entranced by the upper-class leisure life and more interested in mastering the depiction of landscapes; however, his paintings often included figures taking joy in the simplicities of nature. Leisure scenes gave him an excuse to put group people together in his paintings to represent social phenomena. He bridges Impressionism and modern art by transforming simple leisure into something profound that makes the viewer question the way he lives life.

Figures on the Beach

Auguste Renoir, 1890, Oil on canvas painting, 20 3/4 × 25 1/4 in.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, 1975.1.198

Many of Renoir’s paintings feature activities of modern leisure. This particular painting presents two women enjoying time on the beach together, carefree and not in the presence of any men, along with a child playing in the water. Their ability to visit the beach during their free time and rest clearly represents modern, middle to upper class life, but Renoir turns the experience into a more familial, intimate, and warm moment. He employs Impressionist techniques like visible brushstrokes and vibrant hues of color. He elevates leisure into an activity that fosters joy and deepens relationships between people. The child splashing in the ocean suggests that leisure is play for both children and adults. This particular depiction of free time activities emphasizes the simple pleasures of being together without the pressures of the public eye. Renoir shows the viewer that modern life does not always imply industrialization and public performance. Humans still enjoy the simple and the ordinary despite shifts in cultural values, norms, and lifestyle. Renoir skillfully captures the fleeting moments of spending time with loved ones through the leisure activities of modern culture. He uses the growing popularity of representing modern culture in art to communicate this theme throughout many of his pieces.

Bodies: 19th Century Perceptions of Native Americans in Painting and Sculpture

    With the west perceived as a vast, essentially unoccupied frontier, and a path to fulfillment of the American Dream, settlers pushed westward throughout the course of the 19th century. The draw of this land would only increase as gold was discovered in California in 1849 and as industry and technology (such as the railroad) made American expansion desirable and available to more. This drive forcefully removed Native Americans from their lands, eliminating or permanently altering traditional ways of life for thousands of aboriginal people.

    Contemporarily, there would have been two major justifications given for westward expansion and native displacement. 

1. Manifest destiny: the idea that God had spiritually ordained white men to control the continent, convert the Indians to Christianity, or both. 

2. Racial superiority: the idea that the white race is above others. This includes cultural and religious superiority. However, it was believed at the time that these character traits stem from a racial, biological propensity towards intellect and morality.  

    These ideas are not mutually exclusive in any means. In many cases, they are entwined, with either mode of thought justifying the other. They also share the same core thesis: the white colonization of native land is inevitable.

    This exhibit focuses on the ways artists in the 19th visually depicted these ideas, especially through native and female bodies. Specifically, how painting and sculpture were used to justify Westward expansion and ethnic genocide. Along with how these artists' belief in the inevitability of white colonization is reflected in their depictions of natives.

Erastus Dow Palmer
The White Captive
1858–59
Marble, 65 x 20 1/4 x 17 in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

Erastus Dow Palmer, born in 1817, was an American sculptor born in New York. He remained in the state, working out of Albany. His sculpture The White Captive depicts a Caucasian woman who had been abducted by Native Americans. From the nightgown hanging by her side, the viewer can tell she was taken in her sleep. To the contemporary audience, the race of The White Captive was distinctly American, visually distinct not only from depictions of Native Americans, but also from idealized Greek figures, which were popular figures in neoclassical sculpture. This piece specifically alludes to the contemporary fear of native violence and visually depicts Americans as morally pure compared to the imagined native savage.

John Mix Stanley
Osage Scalp Dance
1845
Oil on canvas 40 3⁄4 x 60 1⁄2 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, New York, United States

John Mix Stanley was an American artist and explorer. The scene in Osage Scalp Dance is fictional, playing off a current American story of natives kidnapping whites to kill, rape, or enslave them. However, Stanley claimed to have based his composition on his experiences traveling west. Stanley used value and space to emphasize his central figure, a white woman with her child. Viewers are clearly meant to sympathize with this figure, and visually it shows the cruelty of natives juxtaposed against the moral purity of the white women and child. In addition, a native figure defending the women wears a presidential peace medal. This shows how natives can gain moral purity through association with America and her institutions.

Erastus Dow Palmer 

Indian Girl, or The Dawn of Christianity

1855–56

Marble 60 x 19 3/4 x 22 1/4 in

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

Erastus Dow Palmer’s sculpture Indian Girl, or The Dawn of Christianity, shows a young native girl holding a crucifix in front of her and a handful of feathers down to her side. She holds the cross in front of her, looking down on it. Palmer uses form and implied line to emphasize this object, suggesting its importance and diminishing the importance of the feathers, which help show the women as native. This sculpture shows the role of religious assimilation in the context of native colonization. It also alludes to the universal spiritual beauty and truth of Christianity and shows visually its prescience over native identity.

John Gadsby Chapman 

Baptism of Pocahontas

Oil on Canvas 12' x 18'

1840

Capitol Rotunda, Washington DC, United states

Born in the United States in 1813, John Gadsby Chapman began studying painting in the United States before moving to Italy to study with masters and then eventually moving back to New York. Commissioned by the U.S. government, this massive painting depicts Pocahontas and a minister baptizing her as its central figures. Among many other figures, her future husband, John Rolfe, stands behind her. Her brother looks the other way during the ceremony, and her sister sits on the floor with an infant. This painting shows the role of Christianity in native assimilation into the United States. While aware of the cultural conflict, Chapman frames Pocahontas’s bowing to America and her religion as the morally correct decision.

Albert Bierstadt 

The Landing of Columbus 

1893 

Oil on canvas 72 x 121 in.

Permanent Collection of The city of Plainfield, New Jersey, United states

Painted by the acclaimed landscape artist Albert Bierstadt late in his career, The Landing of Columbus mythologizes the initial moments of contact between Columbus and the native population. Bierstadt uses value to put emphasis on Columbus and his group of settlers as Columbus raises his hands towards the sky in celebration. Real and implied lines from the natives’ gaze, along with their pointed bodies, additionally focus the viewer on the settlers. Being painted in the late 19th century, after America had widely established dominance across the continent, this painting is in response to, in addition to being a justification of, the colonial project. This piece suggests that, from the first moment of contact, white, and in this case European, culture is inherently superior. This is so obvious that natives, who do not know and have not interacted with Columbus, are bowing down to him.

Hiram Powers 

California

1858 

marble, 71 x 18 1/4 x 24 3/4 in.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

Hiram Powers, born in the United States in 1805, would move to and build his international reputation as a bust sculptor in Florence, Italy. California is an ideal, allegorical work depicting the process of mining, relating to both the potential riches and dangers of gold. While the figure was initially intended to be more explicitly native, Power's decision to portray her as entirely nude removed many racial signifiers. Through an understanding of phrenology (the practice of mapping a person's character to the shape of their face and head), Powers still intended this figure to be identified as native. By choosing to depict her race this way, Powers alludes to the idea that differences between natives and whites are due to distinct, physiological differences. By depicting her with a divining rod, Powers makes the native body a physical tool for finding gold, in addition to a symbolic tool to show his allegory.

Hiram Powers 

The Last of the Tribes 

1876-1877

marble 66 1⁄8 x 22 3⁄4 x 32 in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Washington DC, United States

Sculpted significantly after California, The Last of the Tribes builds upon themes found in Powers’ previous work. From a phrenological lens, her more rapidly receding forehead shows her as possessing lessened mental fortitude, an attribute understood to be associated with her race. She runs from civilization, looking back almost confused and scared, almost like an animal. By raising this fictitious native figure in marble sculpture, he gives her identity significance. Powers suggests that the perceived elimination of natives is significant, and should even inspire melancholy. However, Powers makes it clear that, due to racial inferiority, it is inevitable that they vanish in lieu of white settlers. It is inevitable that their numbers reduce until there is, eventually, a last of the tribes.

References: Baigell, Matthew. “Territory, Race, Religion: Images of Manifest Destiny.” Smithsonian Studies in American Art 4, no. 3/4 (1990): 3–21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3109013. Colbert, C. (1986). “Each Little Hillock hath a Tongue” - Phrenology and the Art of Hiram Powers. The Art Bulletin, 68(2), 281. https://doi.org/10.2307/3050938 Colbert, C. (2000). Spiritual currents and manifest destiny in the art of Hiram powers. The Art Bulletin, 82(3), 529. https://doi.org/10.2307/3051400

Facing the Sublime

During the Romantic period, German painters developed a type of landscape known in German as a stimmungslandschaft, which roughly translates to “emotional landscape.”  Rather than painting a topographically accurate depiction of the details of the landscape before them, these painters emphasize the mood that the landscape evokes and seek to portray the aesthetic of the sublime. The city of Dresden served as a major center for German Romantic landscape painting with Caspar David Friedrich at its core, famous for his spiritual and allegorical imagery. Among his close associates was the Norwegian painter Johan Christian Dahl, who sought to depict the interplay between the figures and their environment - the overall mood or atmosphere they create. Stimmungslandschaft is the key element connecting Dahl to Friedrich and the broader circle of Romantic landscape painters centered around Dresden who all sought to depict landscapes full of romantic feeling. Closely related to this element is the compositional device known as Rückenfigur, in which a figure is seen from behind, contemplating the natural scenery. The viewer is invited to join the painted figure in experiencing the sublime and recognizing the transcendence of nature. This technique evokes in the viewer an emotional and spiritual connection to the landscape. 

Two Men Contemplating the Moon, Caspar David Friedrich, ca.1825-30, Oil on canvas, 2000.51

Friedrich was known for his allegorical landscapes in which contemplative figures are featured from behind. The painting is meant to evoke an emotional response to nature, and the viewers are invited to join the figures' experience of the sublime. German Romantic painters like Friedrich were also deeply fascinated by the moon, which created a serene atmosphere conducive to deep thoughtfulness. Friedrich gave this painting to his friend and contemporary, Johan Christian Dahl, who responded by creating a painting in homage to Friedrich’s work.

Two Men Before a Waterfall at Sunset, Johan Christian Dahl, 1823, Oil on canvas, 2019.167.3

Dahl invites the viewer to appraise the sunset, the waterfall, and other inanimate parts of nature in the painting rather than focusing on the two human beings in the left corner. This painting was created in homage to his friend and contemporary, Casper David Friedrich, who gifted him with a similar painting featuring contemplative figures facing the scenery rather than looking out at the viewer. Dahl hoped to emphasize the transcendent beauty in nature has the power to pull us out of ourselves and cause us to realize that the world is a great and mysterious place.

Wanderer in the Storm, Julius vol Leypold, 1835, Oil on canvas, 2008.7

If the moon symbolized pious contemplation for German Romantic painters, a wanderer in an untamed land signified restless yearning. The solitary traveler looks small and insignificant in comparison to the barren and unkempt landscape. This painting emphasized nature’s impermanence and human solitude, themes that can be seen in many landscape paintings during this time period in Dresden. Leypold’s efforts to evoke an emotional response in his viewers using an emotive landscape connects his work to those of his contemporaries who sought to create emotional landscapes.

Carl Gustav Carus, Gothic Windows in the Ruins of the Monastery at Oybin, ca. 1828, Oil on canvas, 2007.192

Like his Romantic contemporaries, Carus emphasized the mood that the landscape evokes for the viewers. Unlike the other paintings we have looked at so far in this collection, nature does not dominate the area of this canvas. Instead, we look through two windows to a pale blue sky and a distant hill. This deserted church had become a motif for German Romantic artists. Although it is no longer inhabited, Carus depicts young trees to inspire hope in the viewer that new life can be created even among ruins.

Carl Gustav Carus, Schloss Milkel in Moonlight, 1833-35, Oil on canvas, 2018.749

This painting by Carus is meant to evoke in the viewers a sense of deep calm. Like in Friedrich’s work above, the moon in this painting creates a serene atmosphere ideal for contemplation. Carus was interested in the way that truth and meaning reveal themselves both within the rational mind and in the natural world. The two lit windows signify a wakeful human presence within the house while the moon illuminates the ever-present nature surrounding the house. 

Martinus Rørbye, View from the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight, 1839, Oil on canvas, 2007.164.7

The darker values in this painting create a quiet sense of expectation, as do the figures of the men facing out towards the sea. Rørbye employed the technique of Rückenfigur to create the sense of longing that is so prevalent in works of Romantic painters. Moonlight provides the only light in this painting, and though the moon itself is hidden, the light reflects up from the water. Although Rørbye is a Danish painter, he is greatly influenced by German painters of the time period including Dahl and Friedrich. 

Light in the Midst of Darkness: Van Gogh's Work Among Mental Illness

This exhibition looks at the final and most defining years of Vincent van Gogh’s life and centers on one of the strongest themes in his work: the ongoing tension between life and death. Rather than repeating the usual tragic storyline we often hear about him, the exhibition focuses on how he responded to his suffering with both creativity and intention. At the time, many medical professionals viewed his illness as a total collapse of his abilities. Van Gogh challenged that idea. In his letters to his brother Theo, he wrote about how painting helped him stay steady and care for himself, reflecting a conscious effort rather than an uncontrollable symptom. Through this, he questioned the narrow medical assumptions of his era.

The exhibition features seven major paintings that reveal this tension. Works like Wheat Field with Cypresses and Irises, both created during his time in the hospital, show the emotional weight he was carrying. In contrast, quieter pieces such as La Berceuse and Olive Trees offer a sense of order and calm. Together, they suggest that Van Gogh was committed to finding light, structure, and meaning even while navigating deep personal challenges. Ultimately, the exhibition argues that art became his way of resisting despair and reshaping his pain into something lasting.

Vincent Van Gogh,  La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustine-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851–1930), 1889, oil on canvas,  36 1/2 × 29 in.

Painted shortly before his stay in the asylum, this portrait shows how Van Gogh understood art as something purposeful and even healing. The sitter, Augustine Roulin, is presented as a calm and steady presence, which he hoped would make the painting feel like a visual “lullaby.” The curved lines in the background and the warm red and green color palette create a sense of rhythm and comfort. Rather than reflecting his illness, the structure and care put into the work emphasize his belief that painting required discipline and intention. It illustrates how committed he was to creating pieces that could soothe others and how this goal contradicted the idea that his art was simply the result of mental instability.

Vincent Van Gogh, Corridor in the Asylum, 1889, brush and oils over black chalk on pink laid paper, 25 5/8 x 19 5/16in.

Created soon after Van Gogh admitted himself to Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, this piece offers a quiet but unsettling look at his new surroundings. Despite just experiencing a major crisis, he returned quickly to his artistic routine. The long, precise hallway shows careful perspective, suggesting a desire to create order during a chaotic moment in his life. Compared to the energetic landscapes he would paint later, this interior feels restrained and controlled. It highlights his determination to maintain a sense of stability through his work. Rather than supporting the view that he had lost his capacity, the drawing reveals how painting served as a grounding practice and an intellectual approach for holding onto clarity.

Vincent Van Gogh, Irises, 1890, oil on canvas,  29 x 36 1/4 in.

Painted in the asylum garden immediately after a severe mental episode, Irises pushes against the belief that someone in his condition was incapable of producing thoughtful, complex work. Van Gogh focused intently on the shapes and rhythms of the flowers, creating a composition that feels both vibrant and controlled. The single white iris in a field of purple becomes a focal point and demonstrating a high level of precision. By immersing himself in the natural order of the garden, he used painting as a form of self-therapy. This work shows that he approached his craft with discipline, even in moments of personal difficulty.

Vincent Van Gogh, Wheat Field with Cypresses, ca. 1889, oil on canvas, 28 13⁄16 × 36 3⁄4 in.

In this painting, Van Gogh brings together his emotional intensity and his careful attention to structure. The towering cypress, often associated with death, rises, suggesting the difficulty of what he was feeling internally. Yet his technique is steady and organized. The rolling fields create a calm horizontal balance that offsets the energy of the tree. This painting demonstrates how he worked to transform his emotional struggles into something meaningful through observation and disciplined practice. It challenges the assumption that his illness weakened his artistic abilities and instead shows how committed he was to shaping powerful images with intention.

Vincent Van Gogh, Olive Trees, 1889, oil on canvas, 28 5/8 x 36 1/4 in.

Olive Trees reflects Van Gogh’s effort to find order and meaning at a time when his inner world felt unstable. He was drawn to the olive trees’ twisted strength and saw them as symbols of endurance. While the forms are expressive, the repeated brushstrokes in the foliage and ground create a sense of rhythm that feels grounding. He painted this subject many times during his asylum stay, treating the process almost like a routine that kept him connected to a tangible reality. By focusing on their resilience, he used painting to stabilize himself and present nature as a model for persistence.

Vincent Van Gogh, Oleanders, 1888, oil on canvas, 23 3/4 x 29 in.

Van Gogh admired oleanders for their constant bloom, which he saw as a sign of vitality. This painting, completed during a period of relative clarity, celebrates that sense of life. The flowers appear full and bright, reflecting his desire to show the world’s energy rather than its darkness. The work also demonstrates the belief that painting could serve as a kind of personal therapy. Its focused composition and lively colors reveal how much effort he put into creating order and optimism. 

Vincent Van Gogh, Roses, 1890, oil on canvas, 36 5/8 x 29 1/8 in.

Created near the end of his time in Saint-Rémy, Roses is part of a still-life series meant to create a sense of calm and stability. The blooms seem abundant and almost overflowing, emphasizing their vitality. Van Gogh’s careful layering of greens and varying pink tones shows how disciplined and attentive he remained in his process. Even while facing continued mental distress, he worked with a steady hand and clear purpose. The painting conveys that beauty can still be found and shared, making it both an act of hope and evidence of his enduring creative commitment.

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.