Charles J. Schumacher

Description

Footbridge Over Waterfall Chasm

Oil on Canvas

24 x 18

The Hudson River School was a group of landscape painters who painted from 1825-1870 in the United States. Rather than location being the reason for the name it was content and style, which included sweeping landscapes, that brought the painters together. The Hudson River School evolved from the Romantic movement of painting, which accented the individual, the emotional and the spontaneous. It was not a movement limited to painting. It encompassed all art such as literature, music, and architecture from the 18th century to the mid 19th century.

The Hudson River School of painting was the first American native school of painting in the United States. It was pro-American and celebrated the natural beauty of American landscapes. The Hudson River School of painting wanted to differentiate itself from established schools of painting in Europe.

Some of the early painters in The Hudson River School were Thomas Doughty, Asher Durand, and Thomas Cole, who was considered the founder of The Hudson River School of painting. They all painted “en plein air.” Their paintings were meticulously observed pictures of the wilderness in the Hudson River Valley and into New England. They all had studied in Europe but first received notoriety in the States. The remoteness and awe-inspiring character of the American interior had been established, particularly in the Northeast.

The Hudson River School of painting was the dominant landscape painting for the duration of the 19th century. There were artists like Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt who painted the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite Valley. The Hudson River School had, therefore, become established across the United States.

Source: Britannica.com