The Oxbow (View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm) Thomas Cole. 1836 C.E. Oil on canvas
The artist juxtaposes untamed wilderness and pastoral settlement to emphasize the possibilities of the national landscape, pointing to the future prospect of the American nation. Cole's unmistakable construction and composition of the scene, charged with moral significance, is reinforced by his depiction of himself in the middle distance, perched on a foreland painting the Oxbow.
Form:
View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm- The Oxbow
1886, oil on canvas, painting by Thomas Cole,
51 1/2 x 76 inches / 130.8 x 193 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Realistic but cartoon in an exaggerated way; like a caricature
Warm hues (yellows and greens) for nature, dark, cool colors for weather (grey, blue)
Function:
References the bend in the Connecticut River
Reminder of humanity's insignificance in the grand scheme of things (as applies to many works created during the Romantic movement)
nineteenth-century political ideology: this painting is about the widely discussed topic of westward expansion.
This part of the painting depicts a virginal landscape, nature created by God and untouched by man. It is wild, unruly, and untamed.
Content:
the viewer can clearly see that Cole used a diagonal line from the lower right to the upper left to divide the composition into two unequal halves.
Tree being bent: Symbol for nature being at the mercy of itself
River, Clouds: Stormy in the foreground, white and clear sky in the background (far corner)
This is enhanced by the gloomy storm clouds that seem to pummel the not-too-distant middle ground with rain.
Context:
Hudson River (Hudson River School founded by artist, Thomas Cole)
"Thomas Cole (1801 - 1848) was the founder of the Hudson River School. In his painting The Oxbow, Cole has chosen a dramatic vantage point from which to view the twisting Connecticut River. A large tree in the foreground has been battered by weather, while the river is far in the valley below. Above the tree are fierce thunderclouds, while the distance shows the sky after the storm has passed. The only trace of man in this scene is the artist wearing a hat in the lower center of the canvas."
- Article - https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/a/cole-the-oxbow
- Video - https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/v/cole-oxbow
