Romantic Era Blog
My blog will be comparing the Hudson River School style to that of the German Romantic Movement. The Hudson River School style lasted from roughly 1825-1890 before falling out of popularity, with the German Romantic Movement lasting from the late 1700's to the early 1800's. While the Hudson River School specifically focused on renditions of the vast, luscious American landscapes, the German Romantic Movement was more broad in what it covered. The German Romantic Movement focused on emotion and nature, trying to express the "German soul" through stoic and breathtaking paintings of scenes ranging from natural landscapes to impactful portraits.
The Hudson River School
Cole, Thomas. The Oxbow. 1836, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
"The Oxbow" presents a grand scene brimming with vibrant green plant life and an expansive background featuring the Connecticut river. Cole, coming from Ohio, found great inspiration in his early 20's to paint grand paintings of the landscapes around him after having briefly worked as a portraitist. On the right side of the painting you see a beautiful, golden land that has begun development, highlighting the expansionist ways of the early 19th century. On the left hand side the painting is noticeably darker with a harsher green and shadowy underbrush, all-the-while a storm is brewing overhead. This depicts the daunting nature of colonizing and taming North America- a perspective which is all too easily forgotten in todays world.
Church, Frederic Erwin. Aurora Borealis. 1865, Smithsonian American Art Museum, D.C.
Coming from Alaska, Church's painting "Aurora Borealis" quite literally hits all too close to home. Inspired by tales from Church's friend- Isaac Israel Haye's- arctic expedition, Church encapsulates the miraculous nature of the north in this striking painting. The aurora borealis is a phenomina which seems almost divine- even more so back when this was painted. Like an omen of grandeur or a sign of how insignificant we are in the arctic expanse, Church's painting leaves me remembering just how cold and amazed I felt looking up at the night sky while I lived in the village. The high attention to detail is incredible when you consider that Church never visited this place himself, but instead envisioned it from the stories told by his friend. Nonetheless, it inspires awe in me that I certainly won't soon forget.
The German Romantic Movement
Friedrich, Caspar David. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. 1817, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
Born in Griefswald, Germany, Caspar David Friedrich was a German Romantic era painter who was famous for his striking paintings. Whether the focus was the landscape, a nameless person, or the clash of the two, he always succeeded in creating a daunting scene. This comes as no surprise in his painting "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog", as it was made to depict a man facing the brash intensity of the natural world that God created. This is done both by contrasting a faceless man with the crashing waves, showing the strength of the ocean as a mere man stands above it. It's constantly moving, though unchanging in it's intensity and unforgiving motion.
Friedrich, Caspar David. The Sea of Ice. 1824, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
Conclusion
The German Romantic era was marked by realism and nature. This is quite similar to the Hudson River School in America, though there is to me one notable difference- that being the expansionist views. While the German paintings focus on the intensity and harsh beauty of the natural world, the Hudson River School's paintings instead show a hopefully- though daunting- future of the waking America. Both show a great reverence for the lands they tread, but where German paintings instill a sense of awe and fear for our great world, the Hudson River School depicts the world we will one day conquer, as well as the fleeting beauty of it.
Hi Elliot, When I seen the Northern Lights portrait that sold me to read your blog. I love watching the northern lights, and I have yet to learn more of my DSLR skills to capture the beauty. I have an amateur photo of our community taken from our gravesite on the hill, facing our community with northern lights overhead. At my first glance, it almost looks as though there is a face in the rocks. I like the lighting that is shines bright over the landscape. I find it interesting that he painted this portrait based of a sketch from the explorer! Interesting piece!
ReplyDeleteHey Elliot, I am with Hazel on the Nothern Lights portrait. When I moved here to Alaska, one of the things I was really looking forward to be the Nothern Lights and they never disappointed me when I got my first look at them. It's amazing that Church painted this from just the stories his friend told him, which tells me that he really has great imagination that it captures the beauty of the mountain and water being lightened up by the Nothern Lights. What made it more beautiful was that everything is much darker, with the Aurora Borealis as its only source of light.
ReplyDeleteIt is so interesting to see an old painting of Alaska’s aurora seen through the mind of somebody that has never actually seen the beauty for themselves! Obviously, having experienced this sight myself many times, I’m able to distinguish the differences between reality and the painting. That being said it really is quite impressive that he was able to conjure such an image up in his mind with just a verbal description. I think you’re spot on when you compare the grandeur of the painting to how insignificant it can make the viewer feel or even somebody that has lived in the arctic themselves. I do believe artwork from the Hudson River School has a much more hopeful feel versus the German Romantic art. Maybe it is the specific pieces you chose to showcase, but the German art leaves me feeling rather uneasy. Whether that be the sharpness of the subject matter, or the cool tones that seemed to be used through both paintings.
ReplyDeleteI love the artwork that you chose to use in your blog post. i personally like the Hudson River School style more. the beauty in the artwork and the landscapes are just simply incredible. I feel like it has a much lighter tone than the German Romantic art that you chose, which seems darker overall. I think its crazy that Church never saw the lights himself, but was still able to create such a beautiful, and quite accurate, piece of art capturing the lights.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a fantastic job choosing aesthetically cohesive works from across the two genres and highlighting their individual characteristics that set them apart. By doing this you have given us a fair shot at choosing our own favorites while also including the why behind your own preferences. I do love how Manifest Destiny ideology makes its way into the hudson river school paintings in the grand depictions of settlers, but I find myself preferring the emotional quality of the german Romantic era. The timelessness of the grandeur and sense of serenity of the german romantic era give more to contemplate, leaving me looking longingly at the paintings in an attempt to understand what the painters wished to convey. That said the northern lights painting is really a show stopper, the successful radial composition makes it full of energy and motion similar to the real northern lights. Because of this I think this piece simply stands out above the rest.
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