Created by Katie Wagner on Sun, 05/05/2024 - 15:47
Description:
In 1849, American artist Asher Brown Durand painted "Kindred Spirits", as a requested memoir for the late Thomas Cole. Pictured in the canvas is poet William Cullen Bryant and Hudson River School Landscape founder Thomas Cole. Bryant was a transcendentalist known for his 19th century poetry which focused most on nature and the originality of the world. With Ralph Waldo Emerson being his inspiration, many of Bryant's famous poems depict the raw beauty of the earth and the souls that it consists of. Bryant and Cole met whilst brain storming the creation of a art & educational facility that would thrive in the New Jersey/New York City area. Not only was this painting created to worship the successful life that Cole lived, but it also portrayed "Natures observators" as Durant knew his dear friend would want (Kindred Spirits). There are many ways that Durant wanted people to view his art work of Cole. The most prominent of these is the idea of scerenity in nature and how it compares to calmity in life. As described by a historical art facilitater, "If the trees were bare, the people standing on the cliff might appear in a more precarious position, but it’s clear that the scenery is supposed to symbolize comfort and positive regression back to human roots" (Harmon). The beauty and sadness behind his art was one of the many reasons Bryant was so well known in the world of art.
Known as the founder of Hudson River School Landscape and a small time artist, Cole knew Brown his entire life as they we peers at a New England school for boys. Prior to Cole's death in 1848, the two transpired many ideas off of each other in accordance to depicting the true meaning behind his love for nature and his drive for art education. This oil painting ended up being a gift to Bryant from Durant as well as a memoir to Cole because of the close relationship these artistic men had.
Works Cited
“Asher B. Durand’s ‘Kindred Spirits.’” Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 21 Aug. 2014, crystalbridges.org/blog/asher-b-durands-kindred-spirits/.
Harmon, Rose. “Kindred Spirits by Asher Brown Durand: Analysis and History.” Medium, The Smartie Newsletter, 2 Nov. 2022, medium.com/the-smartie-newsletter/kindred-spirits-by-asher-brown-durand-analysis-and-history-e4cd6562658e.
“Kindred Spirits.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/18957.