How To Write A Critical Essay On Asher Brown Durand

William Comfort, Art Critical Essay, Asher Brown Durand

Asher Brown Durand, born 1796 and died in 1886, was one of the original American landscape painters, and the second generation of painters at the famous Hudson River School. He was born in New Jersey, where he worked for his father, a watchmaker, and then apprenticed for the engraver Peter Maverick. He worked with Peter until 1820 before leaving after a dispute following an engraving for John Trumbull of the “Declaration of Independence”. From there, Asher founded the New-York Drawing Association as a key member. However, he eventually was convinced to leave engraving despite his success and join painting by Luman Reed, where he adopted landscape painting during his trip to Europe where

The only non-landscape is the group of sheep being herded, which is the same subject matter as the British counterpart. This painting clearly was done as a new frontier for the Hudson River School and Durand, and proof that the American art being produced was up to the European standards. It shows the ideals that Durand eventually encompassed and spread throughout the school. The piece was well liked by critics who admired “its ambitious scale” and “every-day character” (Glueck 3). In this way, they appreciated the new ideas that Durand brought, and enjoyed the fact that he was painting a normal scene that is regular in day to day life rather than the far fetched landscapes seen before that would never be seen by the every-day man. It is currently sitting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and is hailed nowadays as one of Durand’s best pieces, and most revolutionary. Personally, I also like this painting, as it follows many of the same traits of “Kindred Spirits”. The lighting effects as well as the color are exceptionally done, and this shows the improvement coming from painting “en plein air”. However, this piece pulls the focus much more on the landscape itself, which is different from the emphasis of the first painting, which is more on Cole due to him being the center subject matter. This piece even furthers on Constable’s painting, where the style in “The Beeches” seems much more focused on naturalism and detail, with smaller brush strokes than the latter. Personally, I find this painting less interesting than “Kindred Spirits”, due to the shift in subject matter, and the depiction of a more mundane environment, however, it still is an amazing painting showing the transition in Durand’s