The collection of SG art posts starts with the variety of Europe and a much more developed American scene than we realized before doing this. The reward in posting pictures is what we learn finding them. We keep gushing about revelations and discoveries because it keeps happening. Every time we think we're getting a handle on the amount of beauty in the art of the West, it springs more on us.
Gioacchino La Pira, The Bay of Naples; Vesuvius in Eruption, 19th century
Putting little microposts together into this format makes connections and patterns stand out. There is also an advantage in seeing something powerful the second time. When it isn't a revelation or a discovery it's easier to control the emotional reaction and look rationally. We may have classified Europe too broadly. And the Americans were way more artistically developed than the lies of Modernism pretend.
Europeans
This group starts with an old master whose skill with light and shadow still amazes today. One thing that made the art of the West so impressive was the idea of a tradition that each generation was part of. This way artists had to live up to the examples and build on the innovations of centuries of predecessors. Having Rembrandt to look at gives a young painter a wealth of education. The skill and vision have to be there, but it's vastly superior to starting from scratch.
We're starting to second guess the idea of putting the Europeans together. It's good to see the variety, but we suspect there may be national differences that are being overlooked. Something to consider. That said, the variety is incredible. The differences in technique and approach is what puts the lie to self-indulgent bleating about tradition being restrictive. There's no restriction here. Bouguereau's academic classical realism is a wonder, Wahlberg's practically an Impressionist, La Pira and Nerly approach fantasy art, and there are sublime landscapes that would be home in America. There's no one way to paint. The only restriction is that you be good at it.
Rembrandt, The Supper at Emmaus, 1628
Sunday genius in chiaroscuro.
Light & shadow capture the feel of the sudden realization & of Jesus’ supernatural aura. And look how they organize everything on a dramatic diagonal axis.
Johannes Rosierse, Young Woman at the Table in Candlelight, 19th century
Dutch study of light & reflection. In good chiaroscuro paintings, light defines the shapes in the darkness.
Note the realistic fabric & silverware.
Peder Mørk Mønsted, Spring Day at Sæby, 1912
Spring foliage and reflections from a Danish painter at a time when art was supposedly “Modern”.
Styles come and go. Beauty, like the changing of the seasons, is timeless.
Alceste Campriani, Pond with Ruins, 1890-3
Ruins remind us that the works of man fade. And a new day reminds us that time cycles on indifferently.
There’s no going “back” to what was. But we can determine what’s to come.
German Pierced & Carved Ivory Panel, mid-19th century
Sunday sculpture. Ivory carving was an age-old tradition.
You can dislike the modern ivory trade & appreciate the color & texture that made it popular since pre-history.
Gioacchino La Pira, The Bay of Naples; Vesuvius in Eruption, 19th century
Study of contrast between moonlight and lava.
Many artists were drawn to Vesuvius for obvious reasons. La Pira’s may have the most dramatic light.
Alfred Wahlberg, Orchard in Spring, 19th century
Loose technique is more streaks & blobs than sharp lines.
It lets this Swedish painter capture the vitality of Spring. The flowers jump out like fireworks.
Context matters.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Innocence, 1893
Sunday & Mother’s Day with an academic master. Like any good allegory, the style matches the subject.
The beauty of innocence via Christian classicism, just before “Modernity”.
P. S. Krøyer, Summer Evening on Skagen’s Southern Beach, 1893
Danish artist paints his wife & her friend, makes a fleeting moment timeless.
Detail up close makes the scene real but hazy distance puts focus on the figures.
Charles Euphrasie Kuwasseg, A Street Scene in Chartres, 1885
Sunday morning picture with a church spire as axis & light source of an attractive well-ordered town.
We always knew this. Modernity was pretending we didn’t.
Johann Gottfried Steffan, Bramois, 1861
Swiss painter with a striking view of a mountain town. Contrasting textures make it intimate & epic at once.
Note the church at the center. There are no organic “secular” cultures.
Ernst Koerner, Twilight on the Nile, 1899
German artist with the glory of a desert sunset across the water.
The liquid light in the clouds & water are a little reminiscent of Turner & are the real star of the picture.
Gioacchino la Pira, Capri, 19th-early 20th century
There’s a natural brightness to watercolor and this Italian painter uses well – washing his scene with a haze of rosy light.
The turquoise water is especially well done.
Hans Dahl, Fjord Landscape with a Girl, 19th century
Norwegian painter combines dramatic glimpses of his homeland & traditional figures.
Imagine a society not led by 24-7 immersion in globalist-curated mass media lies.
Bonifacius Cornelis van Greyffenswerth, Landscape with Brook, Pilgrims and a Chapel, 19th century
Sunday morning picture of a woodland chapel.
The rising sun lights the front as a visible symbol of God’s grace in the beauty of creation.
Friedrich Nerly, Piazzetta, San Marco in Moonlight, 19th century
German painter with a Venetian night. The moon lights the Lion of St. Mark like a halo & turns water to glass.
The lantern-bearers give it the feel of a story.
Emilio Sánchez Perrier, A Riverbank in Poissy, 19th century
Spanish artist captures the distinct feel of overcast light on a river. The texture of the plants adds to the realism.
The truth & beauty in art includes Creation.
Hudson River School
A collection of familiar faces and the one French member of the School. Gignoux studied landscape painting in Europe before spending 30 years painting in America. He formally joined the Tenth Street Studio with Bierstadt, Church, Cropsey, Kensett and others of that generation, where he found his artistic home. His picture here is a European scene and he retired to his native Paris, But he was an active member of the Hudson River School for most of his career during it's most dynamic phase, so he's a better fit than Herzog. The other pictures help see the connections within the group. Durand's painting is a tribute to his close friend and School founder, Thomas Cole.
Albert Bierstadt, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, 1871-73
Hudson River School painter captured the majestic feel of the American West.
The deer set the scale & the mist from the falls makes the far cliffs seem grander.
John Frederick Kensett, Lake George, 1860
Hudson river painter with a favorite subject. Calm hides complexity - look at the light reflect on the water.
Dissolving the center into a mist of light adds depth & a morning feel.
Hermann Herzog, Woodland Pool, 19th century
Intimate scenes can have a grandeur of their own
German artist was drawn to America’s rugged scenery. Here he makes the pool seem both timeless and fresh enough to jump into.
Alfred Thompson Bricher, View of Mount Washington, 1864
There can be a misty quality to early morning light, with the sun low & the air damp with dew.
You can see the glassy water & hazy shapes. Imagination adds the sounds.
Francis Augustus Silva, Evening on the Coast, 1877
New York-born painter connected with the Hudson River School was popular for his coastal light.
You can see it in the sky & the water. The clouds are also very well done.
Asher Durand, Kindred Spirits: Thomas Cole & William Cullen Bryant, 1849
Original Hudson River School artist celebrates their founding father & his poet friend.
Cole died a year earlier. Durand was his first disciple.
Thomas Moran, Sunset on Long Island, 1901
Hudson River School master reminds that at day’s end, the servants of the lie know only ugliness while we know glory.
Hid foreground-background contrast is just ridiculous here.
Marie-Francois-Regis Gignoux, Sunrise in the Alps, 19th c.
French who artist moved to NY & joined the Hudson River School. It shows in the dark foreground & misty depth.
Morning mist is rising & the day is already underway.
Jasper Francis Cropsey, The Old Home, 1886
This weird year, Independence Day reminds us that you can be smart or be careful, but you can’t be independent & always “stay safe”.
Time’s coming for choosing.
Other Americans
The impact of the Hudson River School can be felt in the powerful and expressive landscapes that
19th century American art is full of. Edward Moran was more of a marine painter and not part of the School but shares his brother's energy. Some landscapes are more naturalistic, some more mysterious, but all share the beauty of natural logos. There's a bit of Americana here too. It is all connected.
Martin Johnson Heade, Sunset over Newburyport Meadows, 19th century
American painter with the moment when the light is dim but the sunset blaze hasn’t flared up yet.
The difference between colors narrows at twilight.
Arthur Parton, In the Woods, 19th century
American artist uses incredible delicacy to capture the vital energy of a woodland morning.
Fine detail doesn’t have to be fussy - here it makes the creek banks burst with life.
John George Brown, The Berry Boy, 1877
Why did the beast system attack art so savagely? It’s not just beauty.
Culture lives through shared experience. Art lets us see what our forefathers did.
It’s our heritage showing itself to us.
Hugh Bolton Jones, Summer in the Blue Ridge, 1874
July 4th with a classic American landscape vision.
Jones is good at creating seasonal feelings in his pictures. This calls to mind a hot still summer day.
Martin Johnson Heade, Sunset Over the Marshes, 1890s
American painter with an expressive sunset on wet terrain.
This sky is impressive, but the ground is subtle genius. A close look shows the fine gradients in tone.
Alexander Helwig Wyant, A Summer Haunt, 1881
Painting the seasons means paying attention to seasonal light.
There’s a brightness in the summer sun, even when it’s overcast. In the woods, it looks like this.
Edward Moran, Sunset, New York Bay, 1872
Thomas’ brother was a successful painter too.
The lighthouse blocks the glare of the sunset so he can explore subtle light effects while filling the scene with a radiant glow.
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