William Trost Richards Franconia Notch, New Hampshire Watercolour, Gouache and Graphite on Paper, Private Collection USA |
Once a battleground for the colonial war and the cradle of
European civilization on American soil,
These artists received inspiration from nature and painted some of their best
landscape paintings from 1825 to 1880. Every movement in art has remained
attached with someplace, or artist, or a school of thoughts.
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Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower by Thomas Cole Oil on Board Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, New York |
In the years of 1820s, the people of Philadelphia and New York would see a man carrying a green bag. The bag contained painting materials and a flute. He would paint your portrait of even a signboard for his living. But his fortune shined after he got some precious commissions. The name of the young man was Thomas Cole. He introduced the native art of landscape painting in the land of America. With all the splendorous hues and shades of colours, Thomas Cole painted the landscapes with a touch of romanticism. He filled the canvases
with sentimentality and freedom of expression. Thomas Cole (1801 - 1848) was a painter who is regarded as the
pioneer of the
All other artists, who worked under the nomenclature of
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Niagara Frederic Edwin Church Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
Frederic Edwin Church (1826 – 1900) was among the group of landscape painters who comprised the
Frederic was known for injecting a spiritual dimension into his paintings. His style of painting was similar to his other colleagues who adored and showed the American settings in their landscapes.
Frederic too tried portraying his emotions through the art. He did it by way of bold contrasts between light and dark areas of the romantic landscapes he painted. Compared to the other artists of the school, he had a better skill, perhaps. He loved the landscape painting in the manner Cole loved. But he had a romantic tilt. Thus in Church's paintings, we can see the blend of love, romance, and the wonderful painting technique.
The Theme: Discovery of new vistas,
exploring the same for the appropriate use, and settling on this land for living
further life: these were three main themes that the painters of Hudson
River Valley School had adopted to depict their aesthetic skill.
These aspects were the visual databank for their paintings. These landscapes artists painted the peaceful coexistence of human beings settled there and nature itself.
The Artist: Thomas Cole was born in Briton and migrated to the USA; perhaps that was starting of the era of migration of the best human brains to the USA. The brains of the world still are attracted to the USA. Thomas Cole had acquired the elementary technique of paintings from a wandering painter. First, he had learned making portraits. After portrait painting, he shifted his attention to the landscape painting; and the colourful result is before the whole world.
The Titan's Goblet Thomas Cole Oil on Canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City |
Thomas Cole's vivid landscape paintings had embedded allegory in them and
the artists tried infusing intellect ideas in his paintings. His romantic view,
too, had found an outlet in his paintings. The innovative technique of applying
the colours for exotic landscapes of Hudson River scenes, Thomas Cole
had produced on his canvas the subtle forms of the river bed, the trees
standing on the banks, and the changing moods and colours of the sky. These
were the unique qualities that make Cole's paintings a distinguished treasure
of art.
Hudson River Valley Artists: Thomas Cole and his allegorical paintings were
regarded with artistic esteem. There was a group of clients who preferred
Cole’s landscapes to other paintings. The reason was that these landscapes were
simply identifiable. Among them, the Hudson Valley Paintings were well
received, as these paintings were dramatically different from other artworks
available in the contemporary market.
Though remained a bit uneasy over his customers’ narrowed choices, Thomas
Cole continuously tried improvising his technique of painting the
landscapes. One important thing we witness in Thomas Cole's vivid
landscape paintings is the embedded allegory in them. He tried infusing
intellect ideas in his paintings, too. In addition to this, his romantic view
also had found an outlet in his paintings of Hudson Valley.
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Lake Squam from Red Hill William Trost Richards Watercolour on Graphite Private Collection, USA |
The above watercolour paintings ‘Lake Squam from Red
Hill' is one of the best paintings painted by him. The painting, a
landscape in watercolour, is painted in the year 1874 and is 22.5 x 34.5 cm in
size. On just looking at the painting we can arrive at that the foreground is
very much detailed in comparison to the object in distance.
Here in this watercolour painting, the artist William Trost Richards
has demonstrated his skill of using the effect of light on the mountains, river
and sloppy land. The centre point would be somewhere in the pond like a
water-body that holds the most attractive portion of the painting.
The Art: In this watercolour painting, the focal point is the tiny man visible
standing on the curve of the path. Around him is the vast greenery and above
his head the beauty of mountains and the clouds. As the distance decreases the
colour theme turns from light to dark making the object more and more identifiable.
The valley of mountains is filled with artistic prowess and sunlight. The sun
must be above the sky lighting whole of the scene. The vibrancy of
watercolours William Trost Richards had used more light to the fore
and backgrounds. On seeing the painting at once, one would not miss
feeling himself or herself in the midst of the valley that is painted here.
Such is the sense of immediacy the artists has embedded in the painting through
his skill of using the colours and creating a marvellous combination.
Lake George John Frederick Kensett Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City |
John Frederick Kensett
THEME: Landscape paintings by the artists
of Hudson Valley School are an artistic treasure for
American cultural history and the movement of the art of painting.
The Art: The necessary material a landscape painter comprises mainly two things: the
precision in work and the pleasurable depiction of the perspective. However,
the most important aspect of making an artwork memorable is the intuition the artist feels while standing before a blank canvas. When the wide landscape
is opened before the artist’s eyes, the painter follows the inner desire to
paint a scene; he or she decides to create a harmonious relationship between
the vast canvass of Mother Earth and the palate carrying with bright and
cool colours in hand.
Through the combinations of the hues and tones of the colours, and by applying varying degrees of the brush strokes, the artists' endeavours to create a parallel world on a blank canvas. After applying all that the artist has at his or her disposal, what figures out is the consequence of the force of imagination and the degree of connection of heart the painter could have maintained with painting. The above painting Lake George -by John Frederick Kensett is painted under the school known as Hudson River School of Painting. [All the images are in Public Domain, taken from Wikimedia Commons]
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