Nationhood
-My project is on Thomas Cole I recreated his painting River in the Catskills
-Hudson River School was Americas first school of painting and it lasted until the civil war.
-Started in 1835 Often the landscapes were romantic panoramic views with a mood of serenity
-Often painted New York landscapes of unsettled areas.
-The Hudson River Valley lakes, gorges and forests were popular.
-Hudson River School of Art often had themes of discovery and exploration
-The paintings show people and nature getting along perfectly there is almost never any big buildings or towns
-Landscapes are realistic and very detailed
-For example in this painting it looks like you can see each leaf on every tree, even the ones way off in the distance
-The paintings look very romantic and godlike
-The most famous artist was Thomas Cole he lived from 1801-1848
-He was born in England and moved to US when he was young
-Once he painted landscapes he got famous
-He is known for landscapes but he also painted other themes about change over time.
-His 5 part The Course of Empire shows the same landscapes over
generations
-His landscapes made people want to go out into the wilderness
-He showed romantic images of New York and the west
-The light effects were exaggerated
-The drama of the light was known as Luminism
-The light seems to all come from no particular source and shine very bright
-It has a feeling of optimism for the endless potential of the US.
-Painters created visual ideals about the things Thoreau and Emerson wrote about nature.
-Thomas Cole led other painters like Thomas Doughty, Thomas Chambers and Jasper Francis Cropsey to paint the same way.
-Thomas Cole often sketched in the wild then went home to paint.
-Hudson River School was Americas first school of painting and it lasted until the civil war.
-The Hudson River Valley lakes, gorges and forests were popular.
-The arts were a great force in changing Americans opinions about the natural world
-Many people wanted to visit rural area in the west after they looked at the art.
-Thomas Cole was popular in 1825 when 3 of his paintings were seen in NY
-He was known for very detailed work.
-Notice how small the man is compared to the huge landscape.
-This is often seen in Hudson School paintings. They often did not have any people at all in them.
-His other works were not popular and Thomas Cole died poor.
-Cole’s paintings were dramatic and moody
-Notice the pitch black area on the bottom
-This area of black makes the bold bright white look even brighter
-This style of painting was popular until the Civil War