This post will contrast two vastly different
styles of art to emerge from the Romantic Era, the Hudson River School and the
Impressionist.
Hudson River School
The Hudson River School was the name given
to a loose fraternity of American landscape artists that were famous for their
depictions of the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York and surrounding
areas. It is considered one of the first true American artistic movements. America
in the 19th Century was undergoing rapid expansion and the Hudson River
artists infused their works with the spirit of discovery and exploration. They
were enamored of the great American wilderness and painted their landscapes as
pastoral scenes in which Humankind and Nature coexisted in untroubled
tranquility.
A Gorge in the Mountains (Kauterskill
Clove);
painted in 1862 by Sandford Robinson Gifford
Sandford Robinson Gifford was part of the
second-generation of Hudson River School artists and was one of the only members
of this fraternity that was born and raised in the Hudson River Valley. His
love of his home permeates his works.
Gifford
developed a reputation as a master of atmosphere and luminosity and A Gorge
in the Mountains (Kauterskill Clove) is an excellent example of how he earned
this reputation.
The painting depicts a portion of the
Eastern Catskill Mountains as viewed from Kauterskill Clove. Gifford has
infused his painting with an early morning light that diffuses from the heavens
creating a sense of peace and serenity in the viewer. One can almost feel the dew on their skin. The technical mastery of utilizing lighter colors of paint as the artist moves vertically up the painting creates the sense light settling down into the valley below. The utilization of diminishing lines also serves to create the immense sense of distance and scale that Gifford is able to achieve in this work.
One of the primary themes within the Hudson River School is the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. Gifford includes a small cabin near the shore of the lake at the base of the valley, unobtrusive in it's placement, almost unnoticed amongst the grandeur.
However, it is in the depiction of the hunter and his dog climbing the rocks in the foreground that best symbolizes the Hudson River School's philosophy of synchronicity with nature. It is almost impossible to find the man and loyal pet as they blend almost seamlessly into the environment on their way to the vista.
View form Mount Holyoke, North Hampton Massachusetts, After a Thunderstorm - The Oxbow; painted in 1836 by Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole is often cited as the founder of The Hudson River School. Born in England, Cole emigrated to the United States at the age of 17. In 1825, Cole took a trip to the Hudson River Valley and was inspired to paint its verdant wilderness and landscapes. These first paintings brought him to the attention of Colonel John Trumball, a famous painter of the American Revolution. With Trumball's endorsements, Cole quickly rose to fame and prominence in the American art scene where he inspired the artists that would become the Hudson River School.
This painting, usually shorted to The Oxbow, is a classic example of the Hudson River style. Vistas and views were common in the Hudson River style as they provided the opportunity to showcase the vastness of the American landscape, a landscape that promised enough land and opportunity for all that were willing to brave the wilderness. Cole neatly splits his canvas in half with one side depicting a small settlement of pastureland and the other showing the raw, untamed wilderness, epitomized by the thunderstorm. However, the storm is moving on and has blessed the fertile lands below with it's rains, symbolizing the hope and aspirations of America in the 19th Century.
Cole utilizes many similar techniques previously highlighted in Gifford's painting; diminishing lines to create distance, lighter colors moving up the painting, an almost surreal quality of light illuminating the landscape, and I will not belabor the point. I would like to focus on Cole's utilization of diagonal lines, however.
Cole bisects his canvas in with a diagonal line that conveys a sense of movement from right to left, or East to West. This creates the sense of nature willingly making way for the expansion of the farmlands below, which is further supported by the diagonal of the gnarled tree leaning away from the pastures. Cole further utilizes a diagonal when painting the sole manmade object in the foreground, a parasol standing proud and defiant against nature's storm.
While the Hudson River School is most famous for it's grand depictions of nature, the human spirit is ever present, often popping up in the most unexpected of places.
The Impressionists
Impressionism has long been associated with the European masters, however, there was a flourishing band of Impressionists in the United States. For this post, I have elected to review two paintings from American Impressionists that are also landscapes in an effort to contrast the Impressionist style with the Hudson River School.
The Red Bridge; painted in 1895 by Julian Alden Weir
Julian Alden Weir was initially unimpressed by the works of French Impressionists when he first saw an exhibition of the style writing in his journal, "I never in my life saw more horrible things. They do not observe drawing nor form but give you an impression of what they call nature. It was worse than the Chamber of Horrors (Smithsonian Museum, J. Aldan Weir)." However, after moving to his family farm in Connecticut, he soon became enamored of the style.
The Red Bridge depicts an iron truss bridge spanning a river. Both the Impressionists and the Hudson River School were enamored with nature and light, but it is immediately apparent that this is where the similarities stop. Weir's scene is intimate compared to the Hudson River artists. He choses to make the manmade element the focal point of his piece. The bridge is not harmonious with nature but rather stands out in muted red, a stark contrast to the cool blues and greens of the river and trees. The linework of this piece also serves to contrast the straight lines of the bridge with the more haphazard lines of the trees and bushes.
Where the Realists like the Hudson River artists worked diligently to disguise and hide their brushstrokes, the Impressionists proudly displayed them, each short stroke equally deliberate. Impressionist were also fond of utilizing muted colors and pastels to create the illusion of luminosity. Here, Weir's choice of color serves to create the impression of a view that has been out in the summer sun for too long, their vision becoming overwhelmed by the brightness.
The North Country; painted in 1923 by Willard Metcalf
Willard Metcalf was another American Impressionist that was active in the early 20th Century. I deliberately chose Weir and Metcalf as they were both from the American Northeast, like the Hudson River artists. However, even when choosing to paint similar landscapes, the differences between the Hudson River School and the Impressionists is clear.
The North Country depicts another pastoral scene with New England farmland juxtaposed with nature. However, here Metcalf foregoes the epic grandeur and scale of the Hudson River School. He plants his viewer firmly on the ground rather than up on some high vista. This creates a sense of place that is intimate and close. From where the view is, one could easily smell the cow pasture and hear the mooing of the cattle as well as the soft burble of the river. The town is nestled at the base of the hill behind and is centered in the picture, still at one with nature, but with a place of prominence.
A landscape to be of in awe. Thank you Fred for sharing your blog and thoughts on two distinctly different yet similar themes of paintings. With that being said you uniquely describe the Hudson River School and Impressionist styles of the Romantic era of art. To me, both forms have similar tones but the Hudson River School artists were truly dynamic. As you mention this synchronicity with nature is what makes the Hudson River School artists like Gifford or Cole to be uniquely in tune with their surroundings. By composing the distance of spaces and the shading of the time and place they are painting this style is uniquely more intense and enigmatic than Impressionism. Though, it may seem that Impressionism often has similar enigmatic moments it is far more clearly an exhibition of a place, the temporal time and intimate feeling. As you describe Fred in your piece you feel that the Impressionist artists are more close and I seem to disagree and feel they are both afar. Yes, the Impressionists use brighter colors but it is both a sense of distance in the paintings you present that make both styles similarly focused on these enigmatic moments. The style is uniquely a perspective of what the world around us is. Regardless of the Impressionists or the Hudson River School they are both depicting something around us, in us, and of us. I wonder what it would be like for the Impressionists or Hudson River School artists to come to Alaska and paint here? The landscapes would be tremendous but what would they see that you or I do not see?
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