Peter Quivey And The Mountain Lion Essay

Hanging on the wall at my eye level, a vivid painting depict a mountain lion, a dog, and a man caught my attention. Sitting in front of the tree, a man is holding a colt revolver on his right hand and a bowie knife on his left, the weapons he possibly used to kill the mountain lion lying in front of him. A black dog is sitting obediently next to the man. As the man’s mixed facial expression triggered my curiosity to find out more of his story, I took a step closer to this painting, Peter Quivey and the Mountain Lion by Charles Christian Nahl. The painting clearly displays the domination of human over wild lives. However, I see more than just power play between the nature and the man, there is also the clashing of cultures and the hardship of establishing civilization in the wild. Charles Christian Nahl was a German-born artist who relocated to California in the mid 19th century. Inherited the great artistic ability from his family artists, Nahl was known to capture the realism of the California pioneers. Considered great historic treasures of California, his artworks recorded down the lives and nature of the Western settlers. Unlike most artists, Nahl was able to make a …show more content…
His bold arrangement of light and shades effectively highlight the Peter Quivey, mountain lion, dog triangle. The light carefully surrounds the subtle triangle, distinguish them from the rest of the piece. The contrast between the lights and the shades brings the triangle forward and settle the background with more depth. Meanwhile, three unusual bright focus fall on the face of Quivey, th mountain lion, and the dog inviting the viewers to take a closer read at their facial expressions. The mountain lion’s wide opened eyes remains unrest after its vital death. The black dog stays alert of the environment as if it awaits for Quivey’s next command. Peter Quivey, exhausted and anxious, observes the environment with