Hudson River Paintings

Jordan Erekson

Humanities

“The Oxbow”

The title of this painting is called “ The Oxbow”. It was created by Thomas cole in the year 1836 after there was a thunder storm. You can tell in this picture a lot of what the arrtist is trying to put into the meaning of the painting and what mood he is trying to create. As you can see on the right side of the painting it shows a little about how humans can affect the land and nature. You can see that there are places for agriculture and farming. On the other hand the left side shows a big thunder storm. Not only that but you can see in the corner there is a twisted tree that has been deformed by the storm. In conclusion it is safe to say that this painting depicts the beauty of nature and also how destructive nature can be at times.

“Kindred Spirits”

The artist of this painting Kindred Spirits goes by the name of Asher Brown. He is one of the well known artists and this painting was one of his firsts. As you are looking into the picture you can see the land in the distance and then if you look up close there are to men standing in the front. This picture shows the balance that man can have with nature. The trees around them are almost giving them shelter and helping to protect them from any danger that could come. In the background you can see the waterfalls and an eagle. This shows that there is a balance between nature and animals. That one without the other would not make it complete. They both help eachother out in a way.

The title of this last painting is called “ Rainy Season”. It was created by Frederic Edwin. This one is one of the more popular ones back in the time. It has been painted on a real secenic photo. A lot of the time when you look at an english artists painting what do you see in it? Buildings and stores. But when you look into an american painting a lot of the times you will see nature. This pictures shows the true beauty of nature and how increadible it can be without us even knowing it.

                                               Summary

From these pictures you can tell that nature is a big part of our society today. Without it we would not be able to cope and have the resources that are need around us for essential living. As I said, there is a big difference in the paintings from other places like England to here in America. Places like England have there paintings of buildings and towns because they do not have much nature around them. Unlike there, we have nature and wildlife all around us. It is surrounding us on our left and on our right. These paintings show the great and majestic beauty of nature and how we can affect it. Without good knowledge of our surroundings we will not be able to maintain it to the passion that we want it kept at. For example, when ever I go down to moab with my friends or my family we will usually do a couple of hikes and go rock climbing and repelling. As I am there I can see the affect that we as humans put into our national forests. There are always paths that are being created when there are open ones right along side of he ones people shouldn't be making. If only they would have a greater care for the nature and want to preserve the land then it would stick around for a long time. At the rate we are going, the land is getting degraded and falling apart because of our laziness. In Conclusion We need to have a greater respect for the land if we still want to see it and look at paintings of it like the ones above.