THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL

The Hudson River School was a 19^th century art movement in America. It dates from the 1820's to the 1870's and was a loosely organized group of painters who had lots of interest in drawing nature, more specific the Hudson River. Not many people acknowledged the beauty of America until the HRS started drawing pictures of it. Their paintings captured the language of great hopefulness and celebration of the American experience. Their work glowed with light, implied promise and a style that was unique compared to England paintings. The wild, untamed beauty of the American landscape differed from the European scenery. It was this wildness and freshness that The HDS captured. A typical HRS drawing would consist of far off landscapes with shafts of light hitting a portion of it, or it would have some sort of waterfalls to show that America is indeed a majestic country.  When people would see these paintings they would immediately want to see it in person. So they would move to the spot where the painting was made.

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains (1868)-Albert Bierstadt

Albert Bierstadt is definitely a failed hero in my eyes. He is best known for his paintings of the landscapes of the unsettled west. He was born in Germany and immigrated to Massachusetts. He made 3 trips west and brought back sketches of beautiful landscapes that he had saw and he changes those little sketches into huge (I’m talking 6x10 ft) detailed  paintings. His artwork emphasized the landscapes and he sometimes even exaggerated what he had seen just to make the painting better. Like in this painting it’s just so dark and mysterious yet light and peaceful at the same time. He even has drawn wildlife in this picture to make it that much more interesting, the shafts of lights hitting the water and clouds just adds to the picture. I call Bierstadt a failed hero because at the height of his career he lived in a mansion on the Hudson River, then he made some bad choices so his work fell out of favor, his house burned, his wife died, and he died flat broke. When he died nobody remembered him, luckily we have rediscovered his artwork to see our beautiful country through his eyes.

The Subsiding Waters of the Deluge (1829)-Thomas Cole

Thomas Cole is generally known as the founder of the Hudson River School. I was immediately attracted to thing painting merely because of the contrast. It made me look at it more and then I realized that it had rocks. I love hiking and I have seen some scenes similar to this one. It is absolutely breathtaking. In this painting there is no sense of human life which made me think what am I doing here looking onto this land of nothing. This is one of Coles qualities of his imagination.  He puts us into a painting where nothing is and we make what we want of it. Cole had a friend and he wrote a sonnet for him —"To Cole, the Painter, Departing for Europe"— It begins, and I'm not going to quote the whole poem: "Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies," (and then the sestet of the sonnet begins) "Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest—air, But different—everywhere the trace of men." (and it concludes) "Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight, But keep that earlier, wilder image bright."  I believe this was part of Coles motivation throughout his painting career, and that’s why his paintings are so breathtaking.

Rainy Season in the Tropics (1866)-Frederic Church

                Frederic Church had a tough life. He had both his son and daughter die from diphtheria.  While some believe ‘Rainy Season in the Tropics’ is representative of the artists personal triumphs, some scholars believe the artist’s portrayal of a rainbow that bridges the Ecuadorian Andes and Jamaican tropical forest was meant to signify reunification after the American Civil War. To me this painting is absolutely stunning. I feel like this painting is not just about nature it has heart put into it. There is a feeling of sadness because of the dark clouds and rain, but the rainbow brings hope and so does that tiny little mountain with life and green on it. I really want to go to south America to see this landscape.

                In conclusion the Hudson River School was a great success and it is very sad that the movement didn’t last longer. There are many historical sites have been saved that would have been lost without the HRS. The HRS, paintings, and writers in the nature section all have nature in common.  There is this poem I found in our book by Frank Lloyd Wright that says,”Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”(pg 341). I feel like this poem sums everything up. Nature never fails us, if anything it helps us more in life. As long as we preserve it we won’t be failed.