The Oxbow, painted by artist Thomas Cole, is a beautiful landscape painting with numerous details and color, used to depict a scene from Mount Holyoke, in Massachusetts, after a thunderstorm. Cole was an American painter, born in England, where he spent the first part of his life. When his family moved to Ohio, he began by painting portraits, but later moved to New York where he began painting landscapes, which he is primarily known for. He experienced great success in New York, and was promoted by the patriarch of American portraiture and history painting, John Trumbell. Cole was famous for making American landscape possess a moral message. He painted The Oxbow in the year of 1836, and it is a 130.8 x 193cm oil painting on a canvas. The painting
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There is an implied diagonal line running through the center of the piece, that helps to show the split between land that is natural, and land that has been cultivated. The river runs as a curved line, which shows movement of water throughout the environment. There are horizontal and vertical lines running throughout the cut down land, which helps to symbolize that this area of the environment, has indeed been colonized by people. It shows this through the idea of action and energy, as well as …show more content…
Being that the piece itself is split up into two separate halves, each half has its own colors that bring symbolism to what it stands for. One half is dark green with a dark colored sky over it. The darkness gives a feeling of uneasiness and fear, symbolizing the idea that the land is free and has not been taken over by man. Kahn Academy says, “It is wild, unruly, and tamed” (Kahn Academy). The dark clouds over head seem to be one of the focal points due to the differentiation in color from the greens that cover the painting. On the other half, there is lighter tints of green, as well as light blues and whites that encompass the sky and clouds. This symbolizes that the land is in the hands of humans, and it gives the feeling of calm and happiness. Even the river is light blue, which may show that it too, is now being used by the humans. Even there are different shades of green, the repetition of the color itself helps to give the piece unity, just with different
There is an implied diagonal line running through the center of the piece, that helps to show the split between land that is natural, and land that has been cultivated. The river runs as a curved line, which shows movement of water throughout the environment. There are horizontal and vertical lines running throughout the cut down land, which helps to symbolize that this area of the environment, has indeed been colonized by people. It shows this through the idea of action and energy, as well as …show more content…
Being that the piece itself is split up into two separate halves, each half has its own colors that bring symbolism to what it stands for. One half is dark green with a dark colored sky over it. The darkness gives a feeling of uneasiness and fear, symbolizing the idea that the land is free and has not been taken over by man. Kahn Academy says, “It is wild, unruly, and tamed” (Kahn Academy). The dark clouds over head seem to be one of the focal points due to the differentiation in color from the greens that cover the painting. On the other half, there is lighter tints of green, as well as light blues and whites that encompass the sky and clouds. This symbolizes that the land is in the hands of humans, and it gives the feeling of calm and happiness. Even the river is light blue, which may show that it too, is now being used by the humans. Even there are different shades of green, the repetition of the color itself helps to give the piece unity, just with different