Twilight in the Wilderness, F.E. Church

   There are many pieces of Art that have interesting histories and today's oil painting is certainly in that group. Twilight in the Wilderness by Fredric Edwin Church (1826-1900) was created in 1860.  It measures 49" x 73" and is part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio.
   Fredric Edwin Church was famous!  To even begin to understand why, it is important to remember there was no photography before its discovery in late 1830s and even then, it took years before images could be multi produced, especially of any size. So images people were able to see were few in number and all were paintings or etchings.  Also, most people did not travel far distances, especially on the East coast of the U.S.  So in 1860 when Church completed this huge landscape of the American wilderness, people lined up, and paid to see it.  The exhibition was a single painting exhibit at the prestigious Goupil's Gallery in New York City.  It began in June, 1860 for a seven week run.   People love the realistic detail, the dramatic light, and the panoramic view of this huge work. 
   The scene is Mount Katahdin in Maine and Church painted it, in studio, from a two year old drawing he had made on site. Critics have suggested Church had one of two possible underlining meanings.  He may have intended to warn of the discontent in the country and the foretelling of the Civil War or/and remind viewers of the increasing threat to the American natural environment, a popular social topic of the Hudson River School of painters to which Church was a member.
   The final piece of interesting facts about this work is that it had a cameo appearance in Harrison Ford's film, A Clear and Present Danger. 
   The composition of this work is pretty straight forward.  The dramatic clouds in the sky consume over half the upper portion and the repeating V shape is countered by the angle of the river below.  The straggly trees on the right balance off the huge view.  Imagine how this painting would have had a totally different meaning if those trees were handsome, fully leafed maples or oaks.   Certainly it is those trees and the moving clouds that set the warning intended in this dramatic work.
  Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.

 

Comments

  1. charguthFebruary 20, 2020 at 12:12 PM

    Dramatic for sure!! That bright yellow sky at the horizon really high lights the heavy foreboding sky. The magnitude of his work must have surely piqued the interest of those who hadn't seen the area. Of course I love his trees; they are not perfect but authentic and natural. The size of his work is amazing. I can only imagine the awe in seeing it as it was being unveiled for the first time.

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