Rachel
After the death of Thomas Cole in 1847, several landscapes appeared as tributes to the great American master, but none emulated Cole’s style as much as Frederic Edwin Church’s To the Memory of Cole completed in 1848. The stylistic aspects of the painting revolve heavily around the notion of God and religion, and Church “presents the landscape as an ideal or holy place” (Pohl), serene and full of wonder. The mountains in the background are “recognizable as the Catskills” (Pohl) which adds a sense of reality to the piece as though anyone could travel to Cole’s resting place and pay their respects. Church utilizes the two-thirds one-third strategy, where the sky takes up two-thirds of the image, and the foreground and subject occupy only one-third of the piece; this style was very common during the Romantic period and was used quite often by Cole in many of his paintings. The two-thirds one-third style grants the effect of a sweeping landscape that stretches for miles and miles into the open wilderness of the new American territories. The lines of focus draws the viewer’s eye across the mountains to the tip of the tree on the right-hand side, and the illumination of the grave serves as a “resting place” for their eye. While the colors of the clouds are actually much brighter than the cross, the dark lines between them enhance the stark contrast between the dark green of the landscape and the sudden man-made item thrust into the ground. As a tribute to the famous artist, Church seemed to have imitated Cole, as each of his signature styles appear in the 1848 painting.
As Church developed and honed his skills, he began to mimic Cole even more, focusing entirely on the landscape as a whole and adding very few additional details, such as settlers or animals. In New England Scenery completed in 1851, Church portrays “nature as altered by civilization” (Pohl), but still depicts the change in a very jovial manner. Stylistic aspects appear once again that have been consistent with both his and Cole’s pieces: the two-thirds one-third rule (although for this landscape the split is more even), the balance between foreground and background with contrasting colors, a large natural object, such as the tree on the right-hand side, in the foreground that draws the eye upward, deep shadows that drift across the landscape which facilitate movement within the piece, and most importantly, small spots of bright light within dark surroundings, an aspect which was increasingly common during the Romantic era. A drastic change from Church’s normal paintings, New England Scenery was a landscape which in fact “did not record a specific site … [but] rather it was a compilation of many different scenes” (Pohl) brought together in true Romantic style.
In the mid-1850s, the serene and docile landscapes closely associated with Frederic Edwin Church seemed to disappear as he instead focused on dramatic landscapes such as Niagara completed in 1857. Church departs from the traditional style of Cole and Trumbull, and instead “provides no stable, cultivated ground upon which to stroll” (Pohl) and gaze upon the magnificent waters, but establishes a perspective which places the viewer in the middle of the falls. No longer seen are the bright splashes of light in the midst of darkness that hint at religious well-being or the changing light along the foreground and background, but instead a sort of neutrality appears within his color palette, which contrasts starkly with the fluidity and movement of the water. As seen in both Cole’s and Trumbull’s paintings, Niagara Falls is perceived as “a statement of nationhood and of the unlimited power of American empire” (Pohl), but Church’s landscape holds a different connotation of America. Church’s new perspective coupled with darker colors, gives viewers an alternate future for their country, similar to the dangerous placement in Niagara such that if a person were to step wrongly they would surely be swept away by the strong current.
Frederic Edwin Church’s remarkable artistic journey made after the death of Thomas Cole is remarkable for many reasons, but the fact that Church was able to imitate Cole and still create works of art which resemble his personal style very strongly is by the far the most impressive. Many nineteenth century artists imitated Thomas Cole, but none could produce a landscape which effectively captured the beauty and magnificence of the American country except for Cole’s true successor, Church.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.
Images Cited
"To the Memory of Cole 1848 By Church, Frederic Edwin-oil Painting, Art Gallery." Art Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.artgallery2000.com/gallery/to-the-memory-of-cole-1848-by-church-frederic-edwin-p-5138.html>.
"Frederic Edwin Church." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_England_Scenery_Frederic_Edwin_Church_1851.jpeg>.
"Church: Niagara." Artchive. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/church/niagara.jpg.html>.
After the death of Thomas Cole in 1847, several landscapes appeared as tributes to the great American master, but none emulated Cole’s style as much as Frederic Edwin Church’s To the Memory of Cole completed in 1848. The stylistic aspects of the painting revolve heavily around the notion of God and religion, and Church “presents the landscape as an ideal or holy place” (Pohl), serene and full of wonder. The mountains in the background are “recognizable as the Catskills” (Pohl) which adds a sense of reality to the piece as though anyone could travel to Cole’s resting place and pay their respects. Church utilizes the two-thirds one-third strategy, where the sky takes up two-thirds of the image, and the foreground and subject occupy only one-third of the piece; this style was very common during the Romantic period and was used quite often by Cole in many of his paintings. The two-thirds one-third style grants the effect of a sweeping landscape that stretches for miles and miles into the open wilderness of the new American territories. The lines of focus draws the viewer’s eye across the mountains to the tip of the tree on the right-hand side, and the illumination of the grave serves as a “resting place” for their eye. While the colors of the clouds are actually much brighter than the cross, the dark lines between them enhance the stark contrast between the dark green of the landscape and the sudden man-made item thrust into the ground. As a tribute to the famous artist, Church seemed to have imitated Cole, as each of his signature styles appear in the 1848 painting.
As Church developed and honed his skills, he began to mimic Cole even more, focusing entirely on the landscape as a whole and adding very few additional details, such as settlers or animals. In New England Scenery completed in 1851, Church portrays “nature as altered by civilization” (Pohl), but still depicts the change in a very jovial manner. Stylistic aspects appear once again that have been consistent with both his and Cole’s pieces: the two-thirds one-third rule (although for this landscape the split is more even), the balance between foreground and background with contrasting colors, a large natural object, such as the tree on the right-hand side, in the foreground that draws the eye upward, deep shadows that drift across the landscape which facilitate movement within the piece, and most importantly, small spots of bright light within dark surroundings, an aspect which was increasingly common during the Romantic era. A drastic change from Church’s normal paintings, New England Scenery was a landscape which in fact “did not record a specific site … [but] rather it was a compilation of many different scenes” (Pohl) brought together in true Romantic style.
In the mid-1850s, the serene and docile landscapes closely associated with Frederic Edwin Church seemed to disappear as he instead focused on dramatic landscapes such as Niagara completed in 1857. Church departs from the traditional style of Cole and Trumbull, and instead “provides no stable, cultivated ground upon which to stroll” (Pohl) and gaze upon the magnificent waters, but establishes a perspective which places the viewer in the middle of the falls. No longer seen are the bright splashes of light in the midst of darkness that hint at religious well-being or the changing light along the foreground and background, but instead a sort of neutrality appears within his color palette, which contrasts starkly with the fluidity and movement of the water. As seen in both Cole’s and Trumbull’s paintings, Niagara Falls is perceived as “a statement of nationhood and of the unlimited power of American empire” (Pohl), but Church’s landscape holds a different connotation of America. Church’s new perspective coupled with darker colors, gives viewers an alternate future for their country, similar to the dangerous placement in Niagara such that if a person were to step wrongly they would surely be swept away by the strong current.
Frederic Edwin Church’s remarkable artistic journey made after the death of Thomas Cole is remarkable for many reasons, but the fact that Church was able to imitate Cole and still create works of art which resemble his personal style very strongly is by the far the most impressive. Many nineteenth century artists imitated Thomas Cole, but none could produce a landscape which effectively captured the beauty and magnificence of the American country except for Cole’s true successor, Church.
Works Cited
Pohl, Frances K. Framing America: A Social History of American Art. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2002.
Images Cited
"To the Memory of Cole 1848 By Church, Frederic Edwin-oil Painting, Art Gallery." Art Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.artgallery2000.com/gallery/to-the-memory-of-cole-1848-by-church-frederic-edwin-p-5138.html>.
"Frederic Edwin Church." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_England_Scenery_Frederic_Edwin_Church_1851.jpeg>.
"Church: Niagara." Artchive. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/c/church/niagara.jpg.html>.