Known
as America’s first art fraternity, The Hudson River School began changing the
popular style of art as early as the 1820’s. Springing from Thomas Cole, the
artist behind works like The Oxbow and The Titan’s Goblet, The Hudson River
School flooded the American art world with beautiful landscape paintings. Cole
began with the Catskill Mountains of New York, and many fellow artists in the
school followed suit. Each artist romanticized nature. The few religious ones
even viewed untouched creation as a manifestation of God, but they all deified
nature in some aspect. These beliefs led artists like Frederic Church and
Albert Bierstadt to paint incredible landscapes. Cole and the earliest generation
of painters produced their works mostly in the east, specifically the Hudson
River Valley. The focus in particular was the Catskill Mountains, but the
further generation in the school expanded westward, one even travelled to South
America. The Hudson River School changed the art aesthetic of the day by
depicting monumental landscapes. Many connect The Hudson River School with
nationalistic movements, especially that of manifest destiny. Each painting
allowed viewers to see what the world was like outside of their immediate home.
In context of the times, transportation was not as advanced or easy as today,
so these works provided a window into places that were untouched and unseen by
many. This exhibit is arranged by location. Each artwork progresses outward
from the Hudson River Valley, extending deep into the Andes mountain range of
South America.
Thomas
Doughty, On the Hudson, 1830-35, oil on canvas, 91.27.1
Beginning on the Hudson River in
New York State, Thomas Doughty paints a part of the Hudson River that is in
close proximity to the Catskill Mountains. Doughty utilizes a muted or
conservative color palette. This is the earliest of the Hudson River paintings
that are displayed. Doughty’s style differs from the other artists on display as
his quick brush strokes make it seem like an ideal landscape. This slightly
contrasts to the other artists as their works look much more naturalistic in
detail.
Thomas
Cole, View
on the Catskill—Early Autumn, 1836-37, oil on canvas, 95.13.3
This work by Cole is one of many
paintings of the Catskill Mountains. Cole was enthralled with the Catskills,
which conveniently sat close to his home in New York. At one time Cole’s
painting depicted an actual landscape, but now the environment he painted is
gone. Many trees were taken down in the construction of a railroad and the
settlement of a town. Cole mourned the loss of that beautiful landscape. This
painting memorializes the landscape, but also serves as a powerful message in
the value of nature.
Asher
Brown Durand, High
Point: Shandaken Mountains, 1853, oil on canvas, 77.3.1
Another painting of a New York
landscape, Asher Brown Durand paints the Shandaken Mountains, a mountain range within
the Catskill State Park. Durand had a specific focus on utilizing light and
shade within this work, but he still sticks to the incredible depth and space
that is typical of Hudson River painters. This mountain, affectionately called
High Point, was sketched multiple times before the landscape painting was done. Durand does stray from a framework as he includes the disturbance of civilized
man in the natural environment.
Sanford Gifford, A
Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove), 1862, oil on canvas, 15.30.62
Kauterskill Clove, a favorite scene
of Gifford’s, sits again in the Catskill Mountains, an area that had become a
focus for the Hudson River School. This landscape spends more time at a
distance than up close. Only a small part of the work sits in low relief.
Gifford also experiments with light. In order to help with this, he embellishes
the landscape. He adds a lake and cliffs to make a definitive middle ground.
This work serves as a strong reminder that the Hudson River School did paint
natural landscapes, but they also romanticized nature, thus taking the liberty
to alter reality.
Albert Bierstadt, The
Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak, 1863, oil on canvas, 07.123
Moving out of New York, Albert
Bierstadt focused on the west. He especially focused on the concept of manifest
destiny. In one of his many expeditions, he travelled to The Rocky Mountains.
Bierstadt lived in the age of the westward expansion, so he expanded the
depictions of the Hudson River School. This particular piece takes in Wyoming.
Bierstadt portrays the Rocky Mountains, undisturbed and untouched by man. While
there is a Native American settlement, that is considered part of the natural
landscape. Bierstadt expanded the scope of landscape painting to the west. This
work brought the west into popular interest amongst the public.
Thomas
Moran, The
Teton Range, 1897, oil on canvas, 39.47.2
Moran’s
work also depicts a mountain range in Wyoming, but not in the Rockies. While
Bierstadt laid claim to the Rocky Mountains, Moran frequently painted the Yellowstone
region and the Grand Canyon, which is what is depicted here in The Teton Range.
Moran paints decades after Bierstadt, which goes to show the cutting edge of
Bierstadt’s art. Moran’s work is filled with vivid colors providing an
awe-inspiring landscape of the American west. Undisturbed nature is left to
flourish as a pure manifestation of deity.
Frederic
Church, Heart
of the Andes, 1859, oil on canvas, 09.95
Moving away from the United States,
Frederic Church paints a South American landscape. The Heart of the Andes, like
the previous works, displays a picturesque environment that could not be seen
by the typical viewer. This work is astounding just by its scope and detail.
Church based this painting off many of his sketches while he explored Ecuador
and Colombia. Thus, Church embellishes the environment. On the right side of
the composition, Church included sturdy trees that resemble some from the
Hudson Valley. In his original sketches the trees were palms, but he altered
them for the sake of the scenery. This type of embellishment is what many of
the Hudson River School painters did as it fulfilled their romanticist view of
nature. This work was incredibly popular as many Americans had never witnessed
environments outside their own.
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