The Combination of Science and Art

 The artist Georges Seurat lived during the era of Impressionism. Surrounded by artwork created with short brush strokes that seemed quick and spontaneous, Seurat developed a technique called pointillism. Seurat was highly interested in scientific color theory, particularly the studies done by Michel Eugène Chevreul on optical perception. Instead of blending colors together on a palette, Seurat enjoyed placing contrasting colors side by side, allowing the viewer to blend them optically. This was achieved by placing tons of little, precise dots of pure color. Tiny little microscopic points placed in an analytical way that needs to be seen from a distance and at close to be fully appreciated.

The technique was quite different from most impressionist art and seemed dull in comparison. Pointillism was a polarizing technique that resulted in a range of reactions from condescension and skepticism to intellectual admiration. In fact, the term pointillism was originally coined by critics as a term to mock the technique. The technique was seen as robotic and reduced art to a simple science.

However, other critics like Félix Fénéon saw the potential of the new movement of neo-impressionism. Neo-impressionism was marked by this new technique of tiny, distinct dots of color. It was an entirely new form of impressionism that favored calculated and structured compositions instead of the spontaneity of impressionism. The paintings below all have been influenced by this technique, with The Gardener actually preceding its establishment, but still demonstrates Seurat’s early interest in color theory. 

 

Georges Seurat - The Gardener

1882–83

Medium: Oil on wood

6 ¼ x 9 ¾ in. (15.9 x 24.8 cm)

Ascension: 67.187.102

This painting depicts an elderly laborer in his simple urban life. The piece precedes the first major work created with the pointillism technique, but echoes can still be seen in the bright hues of the picture. Seurat creates a seemingly simple painting with little detail that actually hides a multitude of complex actions that create a visual sense of wholeness. If the viewer looks closely at the painting, the relatively few colors used actually hide a crowd of many colors blending together. 

Georges Seurat - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

1884

Medium: Oil on canvas

27 3/4 x 41 in. (70.5 x 104.1 cm)

Ascension: 51.112.6

This painting is perhaps the most famous of Georges Seurat, and it was what put pointillism on the map. It depicts a leisurely day on an island in the Seine that seems at first quite flat. But this painting is incredibly detailed and methodical when it comes to using color and light. The painting shows all the different types of people who enjoy a leisurely Sunday afternoon. There are kids, rich women, and animals. But even though this should be a relaxed activity, the figures are stiff, similar to Classical Egyptian art.  

Maximilien Luce - Morning, Interior

1890

Medium: Oil on canvas

25 1/2 x 31 7/8 in. (64.8 x 81 cm)

Ascension: 67.187.80

Maximilien Luce is one of the first artists to adopt Seurat’s technique while also adding his own flair to it. The painting shows the everyday man getting ready for a day at work. Luce chooses not to focus on the rich and elite of society but rather wants the ordinary, the less idealized. Luce uses red, orange, yellow, and blue to make the colors vibrate throughout the painting and maximizes the light with pointillism. Morning, Interior is a great example of how Neo-Impressionism was being used to depict the modern social dynamics of that day. 

Paul Signac - Evening Calm, Concarneau, Opus 220 (Allegro Maestoso)

1891

Medium: Oil on canvas

25 1/2 × 32 in. (64.8 × 81.3 cm)

Ascension: 1975.1.209

Paul Signac was probably the most dedicated follower of Seurat and is often credited with helping Seurat develop Pointillism. Similar to other paintings of Neo-Impressionism, it seems relatively simple at first. The painting depicts some boats along the riverbank on a calm day. This quiet harbor actually hides some extremely methodical and thoughtful uses of light and color harmony. The work is even titled after Opus 220 (Allegro Maestoso), highlighting Signac’s visual rhythm in this piece. This painting, along with the others, is best seen at a distance but is also greatly appreciated up very close as the viewer can see the thousands of little dots. 

 

Henri-Edmond Cross - Valley with Fir (Shade on the Mountain)

1909

Medium: Oil on canvas

29 x 35 1/2 in. (73.7 x 90.2 cm)

Ascension: 1975.1.163

Henri-Edmond Cross is another artist who kept the neoimpressionist style going. In this painting, it is slightly more difficult to tell what is going on than in previous neoimpressionist paintings. The reason behind this is that Cross favors larger, blocky, color strokes instead of the strict dots as seen in the others. This style can be viewed as the second generation of Neo-impressionism. This style favored more emotional and expressive forms of art, resulting in much more vibrant color. The painting depicts a woman walking through the valley of a mountain surrounded by vivid colors on all sides, showing a peaceful and beautiful landscape.

Hippolyte Petitjean - Le Pont Neuf

1912-14

Medium: Watercolor and gouache on cream wove paper, upper edge torn from notebook

9 13/16 x 7 1/2 in. (25 x 19 cm)

Ascension: 1975.1.681

Hippolyte Petitjean is another example of late Neo-impressionism, choosing to use more widely spaced, rounded dots instead of Seurat’s tiny ones. It is still loyal to the delicate and difficult style, but is much more vibrant as well. Compared to the first four paintings, this piece is significantly brighter and more expressive. After all, the neo-impressionist painters like Petitjean would go on to influence Fauvism. This painting depicts a bright sunny day around a strong Paris bridge. The dots in this painting are more pronounced than in previous pieces created by the pointillism technique. 

Signaling a Deeper Reality: Abstraction, Distortion and Breaking from Illusionistic Art

From the mindset of a Western 21st century viewer, it can be confusing to know how to look at art that is intentionally unfinished, distorted, or "off." Depicting people and the world in a highly naturalistic and illusionistic way is what is considered good art by much of our popular culture: good art is that which utilizes immense technical skill to transfer what we see with our physical eyes onto paper, stone, clay and canvas. 

While hyper-realism does require a high level of technical ability and genres tending towards realism are often easier to recognize and appreciate in a culture that values the physical, material world, art has not historically been made for the sole purpose of recording the intricacies of what we see with our own eyes. Often, making art that shows some kind of "break" from what we know the real world to look like helps us to visually understand that there is a deeper message or an underlying reality being communicated. These kinds of distortions were common in Byzantine or Medieval art, as bodies were flattened and almost caricatured to jar the viewer into understanding themes of spirituality, stories with religious significance, or representations of the world to come. As artmaking continued to shift with time, this way of communicating "deeper realities" changed in appearance, but didn't disappear, with modern artists like the Expressionists and Abstract Expressionists embracing the idea of incorporating the artist's emotional state, political message or spiritual meaning through intentional distortion and breaking from the tradition of what finished artworks should look like. 

This collection of art includes a number of works in which intentional distortion signals to the viewer that we are looking at a deeper reality -- an otherwise invisible one -- rather than simply looking at a visual description of the material world around us.

Bernardo Daddi, The Crucifixion, ca. 1325–30, tempera on wood, gold ground, overall 18 1/4 x 11 3/8 in. (46.4 x 28.9 cm); painted surface 17 1/2 x 11 3/8 in. (44.5 x 28.9 cm), 1999.532

This medieval Christian artwork by Bernardo Daddi shows the crucifixion of Christ. While we can clearly see Daddi's skill at portraying fabric, rocks, and bodies in a naturalistic way, it's also clear the ways in which he breaks from naturalistic depiction in order to emphasize the spiritual significance of the event. He signals this most obviously through the golden background, as gold was often used to symbolize spiritual reality within artworks, and the angels which float around Christ's head. He also lengthens and emaciates the body of Christ Himself to convey the depth of pain that is being experienced both by the subjects and the viewer of this artwork, and to remind us that Christ is not only a human body like our own, but also fully God. 

Byzantine or Crusader, Icon of the Virgin and Child, Hodegetria variant, 13th century, tempera on wood, 10 × 7 1/4 × 1/2 in. (25.4 × 18.4 × 1.3 cm), 2020.401

In this 13th century Byzantine artwork, the artist intentionally distorts aspects of the Madonna's and Christ's features to help the viewer understand that this is not an everyday mother and child. These two figures are set apart from the rest of humanity because of their spiritual roles. The Christ child is painted with the features and anatomy of a much older person who has been shrunken down to the size of a baby, and while potentially unsettling, the viewer is meant to understand that this way of representing Christ tells us that He is not a normal human child, but sinless and perfect -- God, who has taken on flesh and become human. Likewise, Mary's eyes and face are asymmetrical and tilted towards her son, and the hand that points to him is thin and waifish; this too tells us that though Mary is human, the emphasis in on her spiritual role as the mother of Christ, pointing us to her son. 

Joshua Johnson, Emma Van Name, ca. 1805, oil on canvas, 29 × 23 in. (73.7 × 58.4 cm), 2016.116

This work by 19th century folk artist Joshua Johnson uses surrealist distortions to present a dream-like portrait of a young girl who stands by a glass goblet (full of strawberries) which is so tall that it reaches to her waist. The room that she stands in is sparse, without furniture, and dimly lit. It has been suggested by some that the huge goblet and excessive amount of strawberries represent the wealth of this little girl's family, or that the fruit symbolizes a broader longing for peace, prosperity, and freedom (related to Johnson's identity as a man of color). Regardless of the specific intended meaning of this artwork, Johnson continues in the path of distorting or changing recognizable symbols (like the goblet) to hint at the non-physical. 

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. (65.1 x 49.1cm), 48.190.2

Van Gogh's quiet, empty hallway in this artwork is not intended to be a record of how the asylum really looked, or an exact portrayal of its architecture. Through heightening the mustard yellow of the walls, the violets and reds of the shadows, and the bright greens of the receding hall, van Gogh communicates the hollow loneliness that someone may feel while standing in the asylum corridor. These colors and organic lines are not strictly descriptive, but help to create an emotional feeling, signaling to the viewer the deeper, emotional and mental relationship that this physical place has to van Gogh. 

Paul Cezanne, Madame Cezanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850-1922) in the Conservatory, 1891, oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in., 61.101.2

This portrait of Paul Cezanne's wife Hortense is relatively naturalistic, and the viewer recognizes quickly the subject matter of a young woman wearing a black dress in a garden. However, as the eyes linger on the portrait, more and more areas of deliberate alteration or warping come to our attention. Cezanne uses minimal detail in the surroundings and includes areas in which the white of the canvas is allowed to shine through, building up paint most thickly in the areas around Hortense' face. Cezanne's heightened colors, emphasized shapes and abstracted features help the viewer to grasp the hint of underlying emotion and relational reality that lies beneath the depiction of the physical moment; we are meant to understand that this is not a random woman, but one that has a deeply personal and intimate relationship with the artist.

Marc Chagall, Susanna and the Elders, 1912,  metallic paints, opaque watercolor, and brown ink on paper, 1984.433.57

In this artwork by Marc Chagall, he tells the story from chapter 13 of the book of Daniel, in which a young woman named Susanna is lusted after and trapped by two elders from her community. Though this artwork depicts recognizable objects such as trees, houses, figures and the outdoors, all these objects are uncomfortably distorted; the tree trunk is green, house is bright red and blue (and roofless), the figures are seemingly weightless, and the landscape flattened. These intentional abstractions are meant to signal to the viewer an emotionally charged scene, as well as communicate the spiritual weight that this Biblical story holds. 

The Coming Collision of Nature and the Manmade

    In the mid 1800s, the Industrial Revolution was picking up speed in the United States and bringing massive changes with it. Areas of the country that had once been considered wilderness were starting to attract settlers who preferred the country life over the ever expanding cities. Technological advancements such as trains led to far off places being more accessible to travelers and settlers alike. What had once been land that was left largely unspoiled was beginning to turn into small villages, then towns, then the cities that we know today. Painters of the 1800s saw these changes happening and created striking glimpses into a world the modern viewer no longer knows. The pieces below at first glance seem to be simply landscape paintings, but with a closer look reveal people and man-made things such as trains and houses. I think it is interesting to see the contrast between views we now only see in national parks and the people and things that were changing the landscapes of our country forever.

Thomas Cole, View on the Catskill- Early Autumn, 1836-37

Oil on Canvas, 39 x 63 inches

This painting shows the beautiful Catskill River and the surrounding mountains in New York. Thomas Cole paints a mother and child in the foreground with a man running after horses slightly back from them. However, with a closer look at the base of the mountains slightly right of the center, you can see smoke rising from a train that is passing by.

Jasper Francis Cropsey, The Valley of Wyoming, 1865

Oil on canvas, 48½ x 84 in

This painting shows a valley in what was then the territory of Wyoming. Though it did not receive statehood until 1890, settlements arrived much earlier. While the first things the viewer’s eyes are drawn to are the tree in the foreground or the sloping mountains and foothills, it does not take very long to spot the cows standing under the tree, or the houses and puffs of steam rising at the bottom of the hills.

Thomas Doughty, A River Glimpse, 1843-50

Oil on canvas, 30¼ x 25 in

This painting also depicts trees and hills, but instead of a town, shows a hunter and his dog. Doughty and his paintings inspired later artists such as Thomas Cole (seen earlier). The shift from a single figure to industrialization in the background over a few decades is interesting.

Worthington Whittredge, The Camp Meeting, 1874

Oil on canvas, 16 x 40 11/16 in

This painting depicts a religious camp meeting in the middle of the woods. Though the figures at the meeting are more quickly spotted than figures seen in earlier paintings, the main focus is still on nature. The pond and trees have more detail than the people surrounding them.

Lefevre James Cranstone, The Ohio River Near Wheeling, West Virginia, 1859-60

Watercolor and gouache on off-white wove paper, 11 15/16 x 17 15/16 in

In this work, the industrialization aspect is obvious with the boat as the main focal point. However, the small house and gardens on shore still evoke a sense of this being in a rural setting without much industrialization happening directly to it yet.

Thomas Doughty, Spring Landscape, 1853-56

Oil on canvas, 44 x 62 in

This painting is most reminiscent of Thomas Cole’s View on the Catskill- Early Autumn. Not only is the value similar in the way it contrasts a darker foreground with a lighter background, but it also contains very small figures and one non-natural item (Cole’s being the train, Doughty’s being the house). Also in both paintings, the natural world is still the main focus, despite humans and human-made objects being present.

Penitent and Sensuous: Baroque Depictions of Mary Magdalene

 

Prostitution plagued seventeenth century Venice and Rome. As an increasing amount of women found themselves embroiled in the industry, the church felt they must step in and keep prostitution from spreading. They needed a symbol of hope. They needed a figure to represent the wayward woman turned from sin. 

In a homily in 591, Pope Gregory I equated Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman of Luke 7. From this point onward, Magdalene was made out to be a sinful woman and later as a prostitute. Although Magdalene’s iconography as a prostitute was eventually found to be biblically inaccurate, sexual imagery of her continued. With prostitution rampant, Counter-Reformation efforts to reform prostitutes found “the penitent prostitute" to be the perfect symbol for their campaign.

Artists during the Baroque period produced an abundance of art depicting Magdalene. Representations of Magdalene highlighting themes of her sexuality and penitence were collected and encouraged during prostitution reforms in Venice and Rome. For a number of artists, Magdalene took on a didactic role for the cause of prostitution reform, while for others, the presence of the penitent prostitute in their art had no explicit agenda. 

Amid artistic emphasis on Magdalene’s penitence, an unexpected exploration of her sensuality also emerged. While Magdalene’s iconography was officially associated with penitence, sensuality played a key role in almost every depiction of the saint during the Baroque period. What might be perceived as sexuality and lust, was termed “divine sensuality” by Baroque art and theology. 

Every artwork I have picked discusses this interplay between Magdalene as a symbol of penitence and Magdalene as an expression of divine sensuality.

Titian, The Penitent Magdalene, 1531-35, oil on canvas,

Palatine Gallery Inventory 1912 no. 67

Titian, though a High Italian Renaissance painter, anticipated Baroque explorations of Mary Magdalene’s sexuality in this painting. This representation of the penitent Magdalene emphasized her sexuality and attractiveness more than any other painting of the time. Magdalene’s pose shares similarities with classical depictions of women in which they cover themselves for the male gaze. The pose among other elements of the painting makes Titian’s intentions of sexualizing Magdalene clear. While this painting was produced before Counter-Reformation prostitution reforms, Titian explores Magdalene’s role as a penitent sinner and as sensuous saint.

Michelangelo Merisi Detto Il Caravaggio, The Penitent Mary Magdalene, ca. 1597, oil on canvas, Doria Pamphilj Gallery Inventory Number 357

This painting marked a shift in portrayals of Mary Magdalene. Instead of disfiguring or idealizing Magdalene in order to make her appear less human, Caravaggio made Magdalene an ordinary and relatable woman. A number of art historians speculate that the model featured in the painting is a prostitute. Imaging Mary Magdalene as a prostitute was ground breaking in Baroque art. Caravaggio inspired much of the movement of "Penitent Magdalene” renditions with this piece that both emphasizes Magdalene’s divine sensuality and her penitence.

Johann Liss, The Temptation of Saint Mary Magdalen, ca. 1626, oil on canvas,

The Met Collection Object Number: 2020.220

Liss, after spending time in Rome and Venice, was inspired to create this painting. This depiction captures the moment of Mary Magdalene’s conversion when she is torn between penitence and temptation. The shadowed woman in a turban to the left of Magdalene offers her tray of golden, luxurious objects, while to the right, an angel encourages her toward morality. While a glance at the painting might inform the viewer that the man to the right is wrongfully seducing Magdalene, Liss is communicating something far different. The painting represents Magdalen’s sexuality as moral and good— a sort of holy sensuousness. Sexuality and sensuousness is explored in this painting as Magdalene’s breast is exposed and the angel on her right looks at her longingly. The painting represents Magdalene’s sensuality as holy and not lustful.

Guido Reni, Saint Mary Magdalene, ca. 1634, oil on canvas,

The National Gallery Inventory Number NG177

This is one of many depictions of Mary Magdalene in penance by Reni. This artwork shows the saint with her eyes turned up toward heaven. The blank background provides little narrative which makes the details in the painting all the more intentional. Magdalene’s red garb and flowing auburn hair identify her in iconography and allude to her past as a prostitute. The duality of Magdalene’s sexuality and holiness continues to play a role in this painting as the prostitute is crowned with a halo.

Georges de La Tour, The Penitent Magdalene, ca. 1640, oil on canvas

The Met Collection Object Number: 1978.517

La Tour addresses Mary Magdalene’s penance in a quiet and contemplative scene. La Tour was heavily influenced by Caravaggio and his work shares the same intense and emotional use of chiaroscuro. In this representation of Magdalene, La Tour emphasizes her penitence and the moment when she realizes her worldly vanity. This painting does not directly communicate her past as a prostitute, yet it hints at it. While the painting focuses on Magdalene’s penitence, references to her sexuality are seen in the vain pearls strewn on the table and around the floor, her sensuous red garb, and her alluring auburn hair falling down her back. 

The Sea & the Sublime

Across centuries of painting, artists have searched for a way to communicate a force that completely and utterly challenges human control. A force so vast, unpredictable, and seemingly indifferent that it resists our ambitions and the structures we cast on it. As it is, the sea has found its place as such a metaphor. This exhibition is a collection of works that examine the delicate boundary that separates humanities intention and the environmental sublime, asking what happens when that fleeting sense of control begins to crumble.

The progression you will find among the following paintings is one that calls us to anticipate the inevitable. Total collapse. In The Calm Sea by Courbet, the sea appears still but is still heavy with tension, suggesting that calmness is not entirely safe. Continuing, fishermen strain against their nets and the incoming fog, ships become consumed by dangerous storms, and wreckage collects along treacherous shores. The Gulf Stream by Homer takes its place in the center of the exhibition, presenting a lone figure surrounded by danger. An example of the suspension between survival and annihilation. Lastly, a painting void of humanity but brimming with uninhabitable landscape and icy ocean closes this experience nicely, showing that nature continues without regard for human presence.

This collection of art spanning from 1763 to 1899 attempts to tear down the illusion of mastery rather than celebrate the victory of. The paintings show humans as small, their technology and efforts unable to compete with the scale and a ferocity of the natural world. The goal of this exhibition is to show how control over nature is never absolute, but temporary.

Gustave Courbet - The Calm Sea

1869

Medium: Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

At first glance, The Calm Sea by Gustave Courbet appears to be tranquil. It's a perfectly flat horizon, full of light tones, and features sparse maritime activity. However, Courbet avoids creating a fully peaceful scene. The artwork was painted during a period when he was working from direct observation on the Normandy coast, showing his commitment to Realism and rejection of common idealized landscape traditions. Visually, the sea is presented as endless and tame, but high above, making up over half the frame are large cumulus clouds, opening a door to inclement weather. In the context of this exhibit, The Calm Sea represents a moment of deception. The scene appears to be under control, but whether or not that control stays intact remains unknown. This painting holds its breath before the disruption and danger that are depicted in the works that follow unfold.

J. M. W. Turner - Fishermen at Sea

1796

Medium: Oil on canvas

Tate, London

J. M. W. Turner created Fishermen at Sea as a young adult living amid the early stages of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. It is one of his first oil paintings that was exhibited and with it he began a pattern of depicting atmosphere as larger than life. The scene depicts a small fishing vessel sloshing against dark waves only lit by the moon and a small lantern, with the majority of the composition dominated by nature. Considering the history of the Industrial Revolution, the work aligns with the current awareness of the sea as both economically important and physically dangerous. His use of contrasting light and shadow accentuate the Romantic idea of the sublime, in which nature is both awe inspiring and fear inducing. Looking outward at the exhibition, this piece presents an early glimpse at the fragility of humanity, whose survival depends entirely on forces beyond its control.

Winslow Homer - The Fog Warning

1885

Medium: Oil on canvas

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The rocky crags of Prouts Neck, Maine is where Winslow Homer resided when he created The Fog Warning. This piece tells the story of the harsh living and working conditions of coastal workers in Atlantic fishing regions. During this time in Homer’s career, he has moved away from illustration and toward more serious watercolor based on his observations. We see a fisherman rowing hastily perhaps toward his ship on the horizon, attempting to outrun the approaching threat of fog. Homer shows us a moment before the rain, a moment of anticipation in which humanity is shown to still have a level of control over its fate. But, the fog is approaching and it's unpredictable, like all of nature. This work, within this exhibition, is a turning point… Human effort is there, but nature is already asserting dominance over the scene. 

Winslow Homer - The Gulf Stream

1899

Medium: Oil on canvas

The Metropolitan of Art, New York

Towards the end of the 19th century, Winslow Homer takes a trip to the Caribbean wherein he studies and sketches everyday life of the locals. Back in his permanent home in Maine, Homer paints composition featuring a solitary Black sailor adrift in a damaged boat, surrounded by crashing waves and threatening nature, including circling sharks and an approaching tornado. Unlike Homer’s previous coastal scenes, there is no shoreline or possibility of rescue, increasing the sense of desolation. The subject appears to be directionless, and without the ability to control the vessel, there is nothing left to do but wait for the impending natural forces to wipe out what is left. Homer pushes past the possibility of survival and suspends any effort at all. Within the exhibition, The Gulf Stream represents the breakdown of humanity's ability to control an outcome and what can happen when we are fully thrown into the sublime. 

J. M. W. Turner - Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth

1842

Medium: Oil on canvas

Tate, London

J. M. W. Turner painted Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth in 1842 during a time of quickly evolving industry. The composition is intentionally chaotic, as Turner wanted to capture the spiraling vortex of snow, water, and wind, where an obscured steam-powered vessel barely remains afloat. He uses large brushstrokes to paint the idea of an all consuming storm. There is no discernible horizon, but is replaced by the rotational motion which pulls us into the scene. With Turner's turn away from traditional landscape painting and toward abstract experience we understand this piece as a representation of nature as an engulfing force, not just something to look at from afar. This storm defies the strength of humanities best technology, nearly overwhelming it, and humanity with it. 

Claude-Joseph Vernet - Shipwreck off a Rocky Coast

1763

Medium: Oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

As an older artist historically, Claude-Joseph Vernet takes inspiration from the times tradition of 18th century landscape painting. Shipwreck off a rocky Coast is considered a mastery of maritime disaster. Following said tradition, the painting features staged action such as ships thrashing against jagged rocks, survivors struggling to get to shore, and an incredibly dramatic stormy sky. Contrasting later Romantic paintings of the sea, Vernet’s scene is highly theatrical and structured. He keeps the destructive power of the storm but maintains a level of order in how he arranges his composition. Because this work was created during the Enlightenment period, it reflects a growing interest in nature as something to observe physically and philosophically. In this exhibition, this piece fits as an example of maritime sublimity, since human vulnerability is fully exposed even though it's shown in an ordered world. 

Frederic Edwin Church - The Icebergs

1861

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dallas Museum of Art

Frederic Edwin Church painted The Icebergs in 1861 following his journey to the North Atlantic. Compositionally, we are presented with a vast arctic seascape interrupted by intimidating ice formations. The cold, reflective water draws us deeper into the scene, though before we travel onward, our eyes stop on the remains of a sailing vessel buried beneath ice and snow. While the world is devoid of human presence, Church tells the story of the past by including that detail. Once again, nature has overpowered man. Contextually, this painting is an example of 19th century exploration and scientific curiosity toward remote natural environments. The Icebergs continues and completes the theme of the sublime with this exhibition, by being a landscape of absolute stillness and isolation. The nature here is not violent by way of motion, but is overwhelming by way of scale and permanence, fully unconcerned with humanity. 

References

Burke, Edmund. A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. 1757.

Barbara Novak. Nature and Culture: American Landscape Painting, 1825–1875. Oxford University Press, 1980.