Compare And Contrast Hudson River School And Walden

Thoreau the artistic Impressionist

The nineteenth century was a period where artists of all kinds were changing and developing their own style. These artists were inspired by a growing society, their relationship with the natural world and the wave of transcendentalism. A part of the transcendentalist movement Henry David Thoreau published several pieces involving his own views on nature, solitude and various aspects about life. The transcendentalists and Thoreau shared many beliefs, including, that there was an immanent connection between man and nature. Thoreau focused on self-reliance and having an independent connection to nature that is expressed best in one of his most famous books, Walden.

Thoreau published Walden in 1854 at the end

The Hudson River School was a group of American artists who were interested in capturing aspects of the American landscape and also shared a specific genre of painting. Their focus shifted across the continent and many tried to capture the beauty of the uncultivated west. Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand were two very significant Hudson River School artists whose almost invisible brushstrokes and muted palette defined the art of the American landscape for society in the mid-nineteenth century. Previously, Europe had been the center for art and controlled what art was accepted, but the United States’ uncultivated wilderness was a popular subject for landscape painters. There was a sense of mystery and grandeur that was attractive to artists and people paying to see the art. The unknown landscapes also allowed artists like Thomas Cole, John Vanderlyn and James McDonald to embellish or magnify the grandeur of the subject (NYS Conservationist 6,

Transcendentalist leaders such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and as well as Thoreau focused on living a full and pure lifestyle away from corporate-created society. They had transcendent knowledge about themselves and the natural world. The transcendentalists concerned themselves with not only literature but also music, poetry and art. Emerson wrote an essay for “The Dial” titled Thought on art. In this essay, he divided art into useful art and fine arts. Useful art is much more practical and includes weavings, architecture and agriculture. On the other hand, fine arts include painting, music, and poetry. For Emerson, paintings rely on color and stimulation and he was drawn to the emotional Romantic paintings by Hudson River School artists. The transcendentalists were very individualistic, so while some identified more with the painting of the Romantics, others identified with the