american romanticism the hudson river school. romantic period in america 1828-1865 romanticism is a...
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Romantic Period in America 1828-1865• Romanticism is a more general trend that encompasses
American Transcendentalism.• Many of the principles listed here were common to British
Romanticism, too.• The Hudson River School in American art illustrates some of
these ideas. • As we talk about these principles, think about how the
readings for today might apply.
Romanticism: General Principles• 1. Belief in natural goodness of human beings • Human beings in a state of nature would
behave well but are hindered by civilization. • The figure of the "Noble Savage" is an
outgrowth of this idea.• 2. Sensibility. Sincerity, spontaneity, and faith
in emotion as markers of truth. • 3. Individualism. Belief that what is special in
human beings is to be valued over what is representative; delight in self-analysis.
Principles, continued4. Nature as a source of instruction, delight, and nourishment for the soul. • Return to nature as a
source of inspiration and wisdom.
• Celebration of a human being’s individual connection with nature.
• Living in nature often contrasted with the unnatural constraints of society.
Principles, continued
5. Interest in the “antique”: • Medieval tales and forms• Ballads • Norse and Celtic mythology • The Gothic6. Spiritual force exists in nature and in the mind of human beings. 7. Affirmation of the values of democracy and the freedom of the individual. 8. High value placed on finding connection with fresh, spontaneous elements in nature and self.
Romantic Principles in Art
Romantic Principles
• Sublime• Grotesque • Picturesque• Organic form arising from
subject matter• Irregular and unexpected
shapes• Rough and natural rather
than refined• Grandeur of nature
Neoclassical Principles
• Order• Rules of proportion• Decorum• Symmetry • Balanced composition in
paintings• Polished in form and
technique• Nature tamed by human
beings
The Hudson River School: ArtistsThomas Cole (1801-1848)Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) Thomas Doughty (1793-1856)Second Generation
(luminists):Frederick Edwin ChurchJasper CropseyAlbert Bierstadt(Picture is Kindred Spirits by
Asher B. Durand.)
Hudson River School: Themes and Techniques
Themes
• “Home in the Wilderness” • Juncture of civilization and
wilderness: “Wilderness on the doorstep”
• Incursions of civilization and progress into a pristine wilderness.
• Harmonious integration of wilderness and civilization (Thomas Cole, The Ox-Bow)
Techniques• Juxtaposition of elements• Use of panoramic views and
small human figures to show immensity of nature and insignificance of human beings
• Distant or elevated perspective for the viewer
• Symbolic use of light and darkness
• Contrast of diverse elements to show the unity of nature
Thomas Cole, A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (Crawford Notch), 1839
Beautiful, Sublime, Picturesque• Longinus, On the Sublime (CE 50)• Resulting from spirit--a spark from writer to reader--rather than
technique • Edmund Burke, Philosophical Inquiry into the Origins of Our
Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757-1759)• Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment (1790)• Beauty is finite; the sublime is infinite
The Beautiful: • “Feminine” qualities• Harmony• Sociability• Pastels• Sensual curves
Burke on the Sublime• Painful idea creates a sublime passion • Sublime concentrates the mind on a single
facet of experience, producing a momentary suspension of rational activity• Harsh, antisocial, “masculine”
representations exist in the realm of obscurity and brute force
The Sublime
• “Agreeable horror” results from portrayals of threatening objects• Greater aesthetic value if the pain
producing the effect is imaginary rather than real• Feelings of awe at sublime nature the aim
of certain kinds of art• Influenced Poe, the “Graveyard School” of
poetry, and Gothic novels
Picturesque• Intermediate category between the
sublime and the beautiful• Allowed the painter to organize nature
into what Pope called a “wild civility”•William Gilpin: illustrated tours in the
1790s established the conventions
Characteristics of the Picturesque
• Ruggedness and asymmetry• Irregularity of line• Contrasts of light and
shadow• Landscape as a rundown
Arcadia• Ruined towers, fractured
rocks• Mossy banks and winding
streams• Blighted or twisted trees
• Appeal to nostalgia for preindustrial age