Theological Messages in the Landscape Paintings of Asher Brown Durand

Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886) was an American artist and a founding member of the Hudson River School, which was known for its focus on Romanticism-inspired naturalistic landscape paintings. Durand’s landscapes capture tranquil scenes of varying kinds, from sweeping vistas and distant mountains to woodland streams and walking paths. A cursory look at Durand’s landscapes yields mere scenery; beautiful though they may be, without careful reflection and knowledge of Durand’s own intention, they lack the critical component that he wants to express. The goal of the landscape is not pure naturalism, nor is it purely for aesthetic pleasure. The landscapes that Durand crafts are meant to be evidence for something more profound than simple frontiers. The unifying theme of Durand’s landscapes is of a theologically oriented bent; that is, in each painting Durand attempts to relate the transcendence of God through nature. The paintings serve as a sermon through which Durand preaches about the power of God as displayed in nature. Although these landscapes are inspired by the American Catskills region and are naturalistic, they are all idealizations that are specifically arranged by Durand in order to service a narrative of Divine order and power. This exhibition explores Durand’s landscapes and their themes of Divine transcendence over an idealized representation of American nature. This exhibition is organized by order of the prominence of the display of God’s power in each; beginning with the most striking, it moves toward more mellow representations.

A Symbol

Asher Brown Durand

1856

Oil on canvas

Hunter Museum of American Art

Durand crafts a scene that tells of power in this landscape. A large mountain, a symbol of might and resoluteness, dominates the valley and ridge below it. The mountain extends far above the cloud line, which further establishes the impressive scale of such an object. Durand uses a triangular setup in this painting to lend geometric stability to the scene. The mountain is the top peak that crowns the ridge in the bottom left quadrant and the valley in the bottom right quadrant of the painting. This landscape carries an aura of power; there is no trace of mankind, only the grand display of beauty in the natural world that God created.

High Point: Shandaken Mountains
Asher Brown Durand Date:1853
Oil on canvas
Accession Number: 77.3.1

High Point: Shandaken Mountains, like A Symbol, also features a mountain peak. However, this mountain is less prominent than before. Here, the mountain is a backdrop to the valley where cattle drink from one side of a stream while a man, accompanied by a woman managing his catch, fishes on the other. Durand portrays a scene that both acknowledges the power of God in nature while demonstrating the role the man plays in shaping and enjoying creation. While the mountain stands as a testament to the authority that God has in his power, the focus is on the influence of man, which has cleared the land to domesticate and raise cattle, and to take from the earth what they need to survive.

River Scene

Asher Brown Durand

Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 1970.58

This landscape is a softer transition from the mountain scenes. Cattle are wandering down a small dirt lane, presumably towards their home. While the land itself is still rolling and elevated in relation to the background, it is not as dramatic as the sharp contrast in the mountain scenes. Here, Durand paints hills that are far away and clouded in a haze. The harsh projection of the earth is mitigated by the rolling foreground and the perceived ambulatory mood of the cattle that are following the terrain.

Summer Afternoon

Asher Brown Durand

1865

Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 15.30.60

Summer Afternoon is less intimidating than the imposing mountain peaks of A Symbol and High Point: Shandaken Mountains. A soft afternoon sun illuminates the waters of a far-extending body of water from which cattle drink. This landscape lacks the imposing centrality of mountains; instead, it is divided into mainly the water and the land. The water is slow and rippling, suggesting calm and quietude. The land is sparsely populated by stands of trees with wandering cows that graze. This image seems to convey God in a more quiet way; rather than the powerful mountain, God is illustrated in the warming sunlight that bathes the landscape.

The Beeches

Asher Brown Durand

1845

Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 15.30.59

This painting shows a transition from a woodland area into a body of water in the lower right. A lone shepherd man walks with a flock of sheep along a path towards the water. The left of the painting is flanked by thick tree growths, with two large trees sitting in the foreground close to the perspective of the observer. Far away in the hills past the trees, a church steeple rises toward the sky. Durand paints a scene that serves to remind the viewer that even when it seems far away, evidence of God rises from the midst of His Creation and the creatures that inhabit it.

In the Woods

Asher Brown Durand

1855

Oil on canvas

Accession Number: 95.13.1

This last painting is entirely a woodland scene. Both the sides and the top of the painting are dominated by large trees, while the bottom is primarily devoted to a forest stream that flows through. The only creatures visible are birds and a squirrel. Durand uses this scene to remind the observer that God’s order is found not just in the mighty mountains or the rolling fields, but in the quiet of the forest where trees grow and small creatures live. God is transcendent in even the quiet situations, where things are peaceful and meditative.