the american renaissance artistic expressions in antebellum america
TRANSCRIPT
THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
Artistic Expressions in Antebellum
America
OVERVIEW
American culture came into its own
An artistic movement in America lasting
from c. 1830-1880
Marked by an emerging fascination with
the American wilderness
American artists exert their independence
from Europe and traditional artistic
expressions to forge new styles and
techniques
THE WORLD OF LETTERS:
TRANSCENDENTALISM
Ultimate truth is found by going beyond/above
normal human experience through use of
intuitive thought
Oneness with natural world leads one to spiritual
or ideal world
Spontaneous feelings and intuition, not
intellectual or rational mind, should be followed
Self-reliance & individualism overrule authority,
custom and tradition
New England-centered movement; predominantly
Massachusetts
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
One of the most outspoken and influential
transcendentalist writers
Emphasized the need for American literature
and education to be independent from
European influence
An strong abolitionist, much of his work had
anti-slavery undertones
Felt the role of government should be limited
with more emphasis placed on the individual
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), a
contemporary of Emerson with much
influence of his own
Politically outspoken; an ardent
abolitionist
"Civil Disobedience" is best known
work; insists individuals must act
based on morality, not legality
Gave many public lectures
condemning slavery in an effort to
convince both the public and
politicians of the immorality of the
institution
ANTI-TRANSCENDENTALISTS
Dark Romantics
Melville, Hawthorne, Poe
Explored…
Guilt associated with Puritan ancestry
Conflicts between good and evil in humans
Psychological effects of sin, guilt, madness and
derangement
Believed in symbolism in nature, but did not
see nature as necessarily good
THE WORLD OF PAINTING: THE HUDSON RIVER
SCHOOL
The first school of American art
Sought a liberated and self-determining artistic style separate from European traditionalism
Influenced by the Transcendentalist literature movement
Focused on nature; known primarily for epic landscape paintings which depict the vast American wilderness
Sought to stir emotions by reproducing the power
& beauty of nature
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUDSON RIVER
SCHOOL
Paint grand, scenic vistas.
Humans are an insignificant [even non-existent] part of the picture.
Experiment with affects of light on waterand sky.
Symbol of the school a broken tree stump
ISSUES/THEMES
Transcendentalist thinking.
Westward expansion.
American nationalism --> What is America?
Creation of a national mythology
Racism and Native Americans.
Concern for political extremism.
The price paid for progress and the
advances of civilization.
THOMAS COLE
Painter and writer
Landscape painter focusing largely on the contrast of nature and civilization
Expounds in his writings the major differences between the European and American wildernesses, largely the lack of open spaces mainly differentiate the two
Concerned with the rise of development
THOMAS COLE: THE OXBOW
THE CLOVE
-
KAATERSKI
LL FALLS
ASHER B. DURAND
Contemporary of Cole's
Landscape painter in the same vein as Cole
Concerned with development and the risk it played on the virtually untouched West
Durand's Kindred Spirits became the epic piece of the Hudson River School movement
KINDRED SPIRITS