scenery

The Discovery of American Scenery

video--Thomas Cole

Art not only shows what we think valuable but helps shape our appreciation

Thomas Cole, Landscape Scene from the Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, 1827

how might you analyze this image?

our wilderness, landscape, are what is special
the landscape is engulfing these people--the people are small
colors the people are wearing are reflecting the colors of nature
bringing people together within nature
nature should cause us to feel awe, rather than the old idea of dark satanic wilderness

A popular subject in Europe for landscape paintings was ruins
Cole painted a number of these paintings of European ruins

how did taste change to paintings of American scenery instead?

At the time of the American revolution:

U.S. at this point was very much a third world country (poor and backwards)
a new nation made up of pieces that had been separate
therefore needed things they could be proud of as a nation, to hold them together

The natural environment was one of the few things where the new United States could claim superiority--remember that the

The Mississippi is greater than rivers in Europe (Philip Freneau)
consider the position of Americans abroad trying to respond to Europeans who looked down on the new United States
Abigail Adams--Europe may have superior culture, but nature is better in the U.S. See the whole letter here

In particular, what was unmatched was the wildness of American wilderness

Examples came slowly:
William Cullen Bryant, Thanatopsis, A Forest Hymn
James Fenimore Cooper

The Leatherstocking Tales: The Pioneers (1823), The Last of the Mohicans
his novels admired the people who lived closer to wilderness--he regretted what was lost with the coming of civilization but saw civilization as the greater good
instead of copying European novels, write about how life in the United States is different
thinking about what makes us different (and hopefully better) as Americans

Artists played a particularly important role
One example is Thomas Cole, one of the founders of an approach to art that came to be known as the Hudson River School

Cole came to the US in 1818 at the age of 17

In the 1820s his wilderness paintings were a big success

Thomas Cole, Mountain Sunrise, 1826

Thomas Cole, Falls of Kaaterskil, 1826

Cole had mixed feelings about the dangers of nature and the glories of Europe, but he wrote a very influential "Essay on American Scener y." Very different from earlier views. He wrote: "Nature has spread for us a rich and delightful banquet. Shall we turn from it? We are still in Eden; the wall that shuts us out of the garden is our own ignorance and folly."

steps:

Americans focused on wilderness because that was what they could brag about relative to Europe
they draw a parallel between wilderness and temples, great buildings
argue that we can experience and worship God in wilderness
grows into a central argument that experiencing wilderness brings us closer to God

Before the civil war the usual view was that wilderness was important but what we strive for was a balance between wilderness and civilization

Cole, The Oxbow, 1836--shows wilderness on left and agriculture on the right

Man's optimum environment is a blend of the wild and the civilized

Schroon Mountain, Adirondacks, Thomas Cole, (1801-1848) United States, oil on canvas, Cleveland Museum of Art; Cleveland, Ohio, 1838

Cole had many followers:

Frederic Church:

Frederick Church, Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860

artists brought to people the idea that wilderness was beautiful and it should lead us to feelings of awe

what could we be proud of--having wilder wilderness
saw nature as bringing us closer to God
nature builds character, makes Americans what we are

it is city people who first begin to appreciate wilderness--it is appreciated only when we think it is going away

This page written and copyright Pamela E. Mack
last updated 2/22/10
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