Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak: Painting Analysis

I chose the two paintings, The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak by Albert Bierstadt and Trail Riders by Thomas Hart Benton. The first painting was released in 1863, after the artist took a journey through the American west in the 1850’s. It’s easy to assume his inspiration was based off of what he saw on his trip (The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak). I believe he just wanted to share the beauty of what he saw and this was a way he was good at and knew how to do. Trail Riders was a painting released in 1964/65. Thomas Hart Benton was a Midwesterner (Thomas Hart Benton Trail Riders). So even though there is no actual proof, I assume his painting is based off of his home and what he’s seen.

If someone who had no prior knowledge about art, or the elements and principles of design, were given five seconds to look at these two paintings, they’d probably say they had almost nothing in common, other than the fact that they both feature mountains, and it’d be true for those people. But, if you are someone that does know a lot of information

The have two completely different textures. To me, Trail Riders has a very smooth and silky looking texture, like if were to touch it, it’d feel as though I were touching a smooth, unbroken piece of glass. While the texture of The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak appears to be rough and real. The trees and grass look smooth and soft while the mountains look rough and sharp as if I was sliding my hand down a gravel road. Their shape is also different. It’s apparent that Trail Riders has a bubblier look to it than Landers Peak does. The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak just has a more lifelike shape and characteristic to it than Trail Riders. Same goes for value, Trail Riders colors are deeper than the other painting and the colors are just less life like. The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak’s color is accurate to life. The way it fades in the back when it gets further away is what would happen in real