Landscape painting with Thomas Cole Essay Example For Students

Landscape painting with Thomas Cole Essay Landscape painting was an extremely important time during the middle of the nineteenth century. One of the leading practitioners of landscape painters in America was Thomas Cole. He went to many places seeking the natural world in which he used direct observation to show his audience the untainted nature by man. His works helped to find goodness in American land and to help Americans take pride in their unique geological features created by god. Thomas Cole inspired many with his brilliant works by bringing satisfaction among the people who were trying to find the truth realism through the works of others. Thomas Cole was born on February 1, 1801 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Due to financial problems experienced by his family, at the age of fourteen Cole found work as a textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819, Cole returned to Ohio where his parents resided. Here Cole learned the oil painting techniques of a portrait painter named Stein. During this time Cole was extremely impressed by what he saw in the landscapes of the New World and how different they were from the small town of England where he had come from. Art came to Cole naturally, he taught himself, and one day set out to observe nature and the 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. He is 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. In January of 1826, Cole was known for the being the founder of the National Academy of Design. During this time many people wanted Cole to paint pictures of American scenery for them, but his main goal, he says, was to create a higher style of landscape that could express moral or religious meanings. Cole continued to paint and in 1836 he married Maria Barstow and settled in Catskill, New York. Catskill was the place where he sketched a portrait of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River. From these paintings he influenced a lot of other artists such as Frederick Edwin Church along with Albert Bierstadt. Cole died on February 11, 1848 due to an illness and was remembered by many whom he helped to see the true vision of America. Thomas Cole led the first American school of Landscape, called the Hudson River School. This school included many leading artist such as Asher Brown Durand, Thomas Doughty, as well as the second generation of artists such as Frederick Edwin Church, Sanford Gifford, and Albert Bierstadt. These painters shared a common background. They were Romantic Realists who found great wonders in the countryside of the New World. They searched the Hudson Valley and areas of New England to find unique images of America. These realists combined detailed panoramic images with moralistic insights, which they obtained from famous works of literature of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Bryant. They saw the landscape as having a feeling of hopefulness, divinity, and harmony. This school was an important part of the American culture. Many neighboring countries had crushed America during the time of war and peace. Since that time, Americans yearned to see their nation survive. In his paintings, Cole seems to focus on an ideal America. He does this by painting vistas that mix both idealism and realism. He impressed several of his colleagues teaching them that a landscape painter must have strength, determination, and should be willing to conquer the hazards of the weather and terrain in order to achieve success. In 1825, an artist named John Trumball discovered Coles work in the window of a frame shop. Trumball purchased many of Coles paintings and this was brought to the attention of many critics who loved Coles style. The success of the Hudson River School led to the formation of the National Academy of Design. In the beginning of the 1800s, artists such as Thomas Cole painted pictures of the East and closer to the Hudson Valley. Short Essay Questions: Painting Media and ProcessesThe main purpose of this canvas is to indicate that human empires do not last, and at some point they may face destruction. The final part of this painting is Desolation. Unlike all the other paintings, this one takes place at night. The night is calm with the glistening moon reflecting in the bay and a few clouds strung out in the night sky. No humans are present in this setting, but by viewing the painting one can see evidence of human existence. Broken pillars and ruined structures line the coast while they are being overgrown by mosses and plants. The area is quite wild due to the awkward growing of plants everything. The mountain still stands in its place, but alone without any human presence. The sea shines with peacefulness. On the far side two deer can been perceived drinking water. The point of this portrait is to let the viewer know that nature has reclaimed the land. The deer have returned and so have the plants and trees, but the people have not. The marks of the human beings have become part of the natural world. Cole had many views about nature, human life and mortality. He felt that the nation had a wild beauty. Cole said in one of his articles, To walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist. He illustrated the American landscape with a new vision, but at the same time he did not forget to paint pictures that portray allegorical and religious subjects. He believed that as men live and die so do plants and animals. Cole used eroded mountains and dried up rivers to symbolize the cycles of nature as being compared with humans. What he meant by this was that man dies as he ages and nature also looses its agility. Sometimes Coles art works represent that as the early settlement of America is passing by, a new one is taking its place. This America that he portrays is competitive, abundant with resources, and there is also a society ranked by class. Cole enjoyed painting nature and he used nature in comparison to life. Another one of Coles finest achievements would be The Oxbow. Completed in 1836, the sketches for this painting were completed at a real place, the Connecticut River Valley. On the left is the wilderness of the mountain. Dead trees and living trees symbolize the cycle of nature. From a distance one can see the peaceful bend in the river, a golden light coming from the left, a storm spotted from far, and some trees blasted out on the near side. This picture is painted as if the audience is taken into the moment. In the center of the painting, the artist is sitting and painting the scene with his painting kit. The artist cannot be seen at a first glimpse because he is extremely tiny in the picture. He gives the audience a look at the future possibilities if they looked into the distance. The fading storm shows that the wild will eventually be replaced by the civilized. This scenery is beautifully shown with its bright colors and amazing developed features. Thomas Cole did an excellent job in portraying realism in his paintings. He helped America vision a society with possibilities, opportunities, and abundance of resources. Not only did Cole inspire the nation; he also influenced many artists who are now heading Coles way. Cole was a brilliant man of great intelligence who stole the hearts of many. In an article written by William Church Bryant, he says, We might dream in his funeral oration on Cole, that the conscious valleys miss his accustomed visits and that autumnal glories of the woods are paler because of his departure.