Hudson River School
By: Simrun Saini
American Artists During the Antebellum Period
The Creation of an American Identity Through the Art of the Antebellum Period
Artists who Followed Westward Expansion
Albert Bierstadt
He was originally a part of the Hudson River School. Later, he traveled, along with other passionate artists, to the west to paint portraits of awe inspiring landscapes such as Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone, and the Rocky Mountains. His paintings created passion and identity among the American people. Some of the most famous of his paintings traveled around the country attracting crowds and creating an American identity. He considered nature, more than civilization, the best source of wisdom and spiritual fulfillment. This helped create an American identity different from Europe where the artists tended to paint cultivated landscapes. His paintings seemed to declare that in America, unlike in Europe, “wild nature” still existed and therefore America was a nation of greater promise than the exhausted lands of the Old World. By creating paintings of the vast nature of the American landscape, his paintings managed to demonstrate to the American people that there was land waiting to be explored and that although so much had already been explored by the American people there were sights of nature in their very own country waiting to be discovered and appreciated. His paintings created a vision of American hope, prosperity, and most important of all wonder of the land of their country.
Lake in the Sierra Nevada by Albert Bierstadt
Mount Rainier by Albert Bierstadt
The Rocky Mountains by Albert Bierstadt
His Artistic Style Along with how my Artwork Shows his Style
My Artwork
My artwork demonstrates the development of an American identity because similar to Albert Bierstadt's art my painting identifies an American identity different from Europe where the artists tended to paint cultivated landscapes. His paintings seemed to declare that in America, unlike in Europe, “wild nature” still existed and therefore America was a nation of greater promise than the exhausted lands of the Old World. By creating a painting of the vast nature of the American landscape, my painting manages to demonstrate that there was land waiting to be explored and that although so much had already been explored by the American people there were sights of nature in their very own country waiting to be discovered and appreciated. His paintings created a vision of American hope, prosperity, and most important of all wonder of the land of their country and I believe that my painting painted in his style does that as well.
Citations
“Chapter 12.” McGraw-Hill Connect, connect.mheducation.com/connect/hmEBook.do?setTab=sectionTabs. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2017.
Watts, Tim. "American Art." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/379984. Accessed 28 Oct. 2017. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2017.