There are various art pieces to choose from, so I chose the artwork by Thomas Cole, View of Schroon Mountain. Before I start to talk about his painting I will inform some information about him. He was known for being realistic and having a lot of detail in his portrayal of American landscapes in the wilderness. He was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Cole immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Ohio. He was a primary painter of landscapes and had his time in some allegorical pieces. Later, in 1825 Cole hiked up Catskill Mountains and made some sketches of the wild nature. The area he was sketching at a campground in New York which is one of the busiest state campgrounds. This was also displayed in the portrait in the foreground. After he finished the sketches he took them back to his studio in New York and turned them into three finished famous paintings. Next, the view of Schroon Mountain has interesting concepts and detail within the painting. This painting was made in 1838 on a large canvas. The painting was oil on canvas. View of Schroon Mountain was one of his most successfu...
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.
In the era where Thomas Cole first established the Hudson River School, other artist that is not from the United State such as John Constable, has the same taste in nature and outdoors. John Constable who is from England, created many painting from the surrounding area from his backyard to the countryside. For Cole’s painting, his work of art has been throughout the Hudson River, therefore, his painting consist of vast amount of forest, river, and mountains. He also travels in many locations in America and even done some painting in Europe. Both painter love nature, for this example, landscape will be the primary focus.
Hults, Linda C. "Thomas Moran's "Shoshone Falls": A Western Niagara." American Art 3.1 (1989): 89. Print.
I chose the art piece entitled An American Ship in Distress because it looks pretty amazing. Another reason I chose to analyze this piece as opposed to the others is because it was the piece I liked the most, therefore making me analyze it more closely and discover other aspects of the work would make me appreciate it more. I also chose this because I enjoy being on boats and this really caught my attention. In this art work it shows a ship being tossed around by the stormy ocean waves. The artist who painted this piece is named Thomas Birch. The medium is an oil painting on canvas. This painting was made in 1841 and it’s from the Putnam Foundation. This work does fit into a genre and it’s a waterscape.
Looking at different pieces of art work at the art museum and one-piece in particular impressed me. It’s called “View of Molo”, painted by Giovanni Antonio Canal. Giovanni Canal was born in Venice, Italy in 1697. This particular piece was painted circa 1730-1735. The piece hangs at the El Paso Museum of Art in El Paso, Texas. The painting is part of the permanent collection donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1961. The art work was done on canvas using oil. The painting can be found in the Baroque and Rococo Period Gallery.
In 1820, when George Caleb Bingham was nine, Missouri became the 24th state. He then moved to Franklin, Missouri from Virginia. When George was young he was known to draw on barns and side posts on fences. While Bingham was still a young boy he had the chance to meet one of the most famous painters at the time that went by the name of Chester Harding. George watched Chester paint a portrait of Daniel Boone and it is believed that, that was the reason George Caleb Bingham got so into portrait painting. It inspired him in a way that he could use to influence others.
Seeing the art in person truly made me see the beauty and captivity a painting can hold. Each gallery was filled with different American works. My favorite kind of paintings are the ones I can look at and immediately write a story in my head about what is happening, even if it not what the artist intended. As I was going through the galleries one painting in particular stuck in my mind. I was fortunate enough to experience a special exhibition called, “Audubon to Warhol.” It was composed of different works acquired from private and public collections. I was lured to the emotions that was captured by the main figure in one of the works. I was drawn not only to the beauty of the painting, but the story it shared. The painting I chose was Peeling Onions, by Lilly Martin Spencer.
This work shows impeccably drawn beech and basswood trees. It was painted for a New York collector by the name of Abraham M. Cozzens who was then a member of the executive committee of the American Art-Union. The painting shows a new trend in the work of the Hudson River School. It depicts a scene showing a tranquil mood. Durand was influenced by the work of the English landscape painter John Constable, whose vertical formats and truth to nature he absorbed while visiting England in 1840.
One day Cole set out to observe nature and it’s wilderness. He began painting pictures by first making oil sketches of American rocks, trees, sunsets, plants, animals, as well as distant Indians. From these sketches he formed several paintings. Most famous for his allegorical collection called the “The Course of Empire” and is well-known for his Landscape paintings, “The Oxbow,” “The Woodchopper,” and “The Clove, Catskills.”
Thomas would be in the category of romantic art for the theme of his artwork. He has based it on the beauty of nature and the fact that most of his major works were done in the period that romanticism took place, most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Thomas Moran had attended the Hudson Valley River School, where many landscape artists had attended, too. He painted the Hudson Valley with the attraction, beauty, and scenery of the valley.(www.ency). He also was attracted to the awesomely romantic images of American wilderness and the open west, where he did most of his paintings. (www.art) Thomas was fascinated with Yellowstone and wanting to be associated with it painted the wilderness and scenery of it. (Vol.15) With the paintings he had done of Yellowstone Congress was fascinated with them, that they bought The Chasm and The Grand Canon of the Yellowstone Thomas had painted.
The second painting was by George W. Bellows and named Shoghead. This painting brought a sense of ease and relaxation. I can picture myself on the top of the mountain listening to the waves crash on the sides. The open countryside topped by the clouds give the painting a sense of realism. The extremely bright blue water stands out the most, though the focal point is not clear. There is not an excessive use of paint. It is as if Bellows caked it on his brush and made quick short strokes. The use of such dark colors on the hill is a mystery. The terrain has a roughness that makes the painting come to life. The artist did a great job of showing the depth. If I had to guess, he was influenced by Picasso’s work because of the extensive use of thick point.
own painting. He sees some figures, along with a castle and somewhat of a landscape. The artist
At Yale College, Morse was an indifferent student, but his interest was aroused by lectures of the newly-developing subject of electricity, and he painted miniature portraits. After college, to the discomfort parents, Morse directed his enthusiasm to painting, which he studied in England. After settling in New York City in 1825, he became one of the most respected painters of his time.
Archibald Motley Jr. was born in 1891 in New Orleans. Ever since, Archibald was a child he had the desire to be an artist. His family moved to a Chicago neighborhood in the 1890’s, but the family would take frequent trips back to New Orleans in the summer. Later we find out that these two similar settings were the determining factor for Archibald’s paintings. He decided to study art at the Institute of Chicago and was recognized by being one of the few African American artists during that time.
My second piece that I choose was Vincent van Gogh’s, Olive Trees made of oil on canvas in 1889. I have always loved this piece so this was an easy piece to choose. When looking up the dimensions of the piece it was hard to find. There are fifteen different canvases of this series, so it told me all of them. To make a rough estimate I would say it is about 4 feet high and 3 feet width wise.