Asher Brown Durand, "The Indian's Vespers"

     It has been a long time since we looked at an American landscape, so that is our topic for this week.

Our artist is Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886).  He was a member of the Hudson River School, who were a group of artists devoted to painting the Hudson River Valley, the Catskills and Adirondack areas of the American East. Although each painter adopted his own set of objectives, basically they romanticized the area, making it lusher and more idyllic than actual life. They also included everything!   Far more than a person's eye can absorb if on the actual scene.  

  One thing that is interesting about this is that it was very popular.   This painting was completed in 1847, long before photography, so a landscape painting was the only means city people could see the great wilderness out there, beyond their homes.  So to study all of nature in one image was wonderful.  

   In 20 plus years, especially in France, this style was exactly what artists rebelled against.  Artists went outside to paint the light, and give an impression, and Art was never the same.

   But now, let's go back to this very romantic but wonderful scene before us.  The title is: "The Indian's Vespers".   To be correct, I looked up the word, vespers and discovered it has slightly different meanings depending on the church organization using it.  But generally it means prayers, sometimes related to a prayer service and often done in the evening.   Durand was a devote man believing nature was a manifestation of God, and here he depicts a Native American raising his arms to the sun.  Because vespers generally refers to evening prayers, we can assume this sun is about to set, as it illuminates the water stretching out to the land and the man.  

   I find it interesting that Durand chose a Native American, but in reading the experts opinions, Durand wanted to stress our ancient roots, and man in his natural state.   Other writers have gone into much detail about the surrounding landscape contrasting one side to the other, and I am sure they are correct.  But much of these areas are lost in the darkness of our reproduction, and I would prefer to just enjoy rather than delve into symbolic meanings.  

   "The Indian's Vespers" was painted in 1847.  It is an oil on canvas measuring slightly more than 46 inches high and 62 inches wide, so a large work. If you would like to visit the original you must go to the White House in Washington D.C. where it permanently resides.  I think this fact alone, reinforces the fact that this painting is a wonderful part of American history and culture, a part of our past that must be cherished.  

 Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.