Synopses & Reviews
In the age of Charles Darwin and John Ruskin, nineteenth-century American artists sought to imitate the truths of nature. Works such as Albert Bierstadt's Lake Lucerne, Frederic Edwin Church's Morning in the Tropics, Thomas Cole's Voyage of Life series, and Asher B. Durand's Forest in the Morning Light are examples of the certainty of vision and faith in the nation's destiny that prevailed during this period of great expansion in America. Winslow Homer's Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), one of nine paintings by the artist in the Gallery's collection, is discussed, as are several works by Thomas Eakins, including The Biglin Brothers Racing, which was inspired by the first pair-oared race in America.
Synopsis
In no era in the history of Western art have so many artists invested so much thought and passion in the depiction of the physical conditions of the world as the nineteenth century. This volume is filled with spectacular landscape paintings by the Hudson River school artists Bierstadt (Lake Lucerne), Church (Morning in the Tropics), Cole, and Durand. Numerous marine paintings, Heade's view of nature, several portraits by Eakins, and Homer's critically acclaimed Breezing Up (A Fair Wind) are included as well, thoughtfully presented and richly illustrated.
Synopsis
In the age of Charles Darwin and John Ruskin, nineteenth-century American artists sought to imitate the truths of nature. Works such as Albert Bierstadt's Lake Lucerne, Frederic Edwin Church's Morning in the Tropics, Thomas Cole's Voyage of Life series, and Asher B. Durand's Forest in the Morning Light are examples of the certainty of vision and faith in the nation's destiny that prevailed during this period of great expansion in America. Winslow Homer's Breezing Up (A Fair Wind), one of nine paintings by the artist in the Gallery's collection, is discussed, as are several works by Thomas Eakins, including The Biglin Brothers Racing, which was inspired by the first pair-oared race in America.