Joshua John Romanticism

In “A Brief History of Nature and the American Consciousness” by Joshua Johns, he speaks of the New World and how European settlers chose to destroy the wilderness around them in order to achieve a prosperous life. When the settlers first arrived in America, the land was empty in the settlers minds. The wilderness that dominated area was a terrifying place, which needed to civilized and conquered in the name of the Lord. Leading the the early settlers to crush the region that is known as America. But in doing this action, they were scrutinized and criticized by the organization entitled the Romantics. Romanticism acts as the backbone of the three images that will be discussed later in this essay. This group motivated the creation of Romantic …show more content…
An example of an anti Romantic themed painting would be "View from Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts, After a Thunderstorm”(also known as “The Oxbow)” painted in the year eighteen thirty six, by artist Thomas Cole. If looking at the painting straight on; to the left one will notice a mix of gray, blue and black thunderclouds over the darkened forest that seems to tell us that the savagery of the wild is to be feared and conquered to build a fresh better life. Looking deeper left at the bare front of the canvas, there exists a broken and disfigured tree, this might signify how unpredictable the wilderness can be and how much damage it can cause to those who are not careful enough. Next migrate the eyes to the right side to detect the light, a few houses in the distance, and the clouds purely white. The white in the clouds may signify how superb it was to conquer the wilderness to create a home for themselves. Another image that also tangles in the Romantic thought process in the canvas "The Last of New England - First of New Mexico” composed in the year nineteen eighteen by Marsden Hartley. At the back of the painting, the hills are jet black; moving forward in the painting, resting there are two miniature houses signifying the Romantics belief that, on account of of industrial movement nature’s dead. The pieces of fence of what resembles the …show more content…
The first element that easily visible the women flying in a white gown flowing behind her, carrying a school book and holding a telephone wire in the crook of her arm. The women 's robe may signify the idea of hope, tag that with the school book that could possibly hint hope for education, add the telephone wire; which could imply the expanding of civilization. Taking a step back, there seems to be a pattern; seeing all the changes of transportation, looking from left to right. At the distant left corner, there’s a tiny cluster of Native Americans half on horseback the other half running away from the civilization of what America is coming to be. To the back and to the right of the Native Americans, notice a horse drawn covered wagon. The start of the non horseback of moving from place to place. Progressing back further still, there is a man riding a horse; showing the start of the pony express. The start of the ability to send letters to other parts of the country. Lastly at the remote back left corner of the painting, there’s a train moving around a bend. Noticing the entire canvas, it shows the progress of how quickly manufacturing came to be, therefore the Romantics forming in protest to the constant changes to the wilderness. The connection that Romanticism brought to these three images is not