1. Provide the title of the artwork, the artist’s name, and list the contents of the artwork.
Twilight in the wilderness by Frederic Edwin Church. The artwork depicts the wilderness in all its possibilities. It shows a landscape with a bright sunset of striped, smoldering red clouds over a mountain lake in Maine. It uses the sun as its only source of light and displays an infinite landscape which continues to space, covered in starkly lit trees. There is also the perfect use of both light and shadows in the painting. The artwork is a combination of beautiful painting, neon bright and a dark, gloomy wilderness.
2. Examine the parts and features
a. List exaggerated or emphasized elements: The red clouds are visibly exaggerated, reflecting the red light on the landscape and the water. The glowing sunset is also emphasized, but the sun itself is not clearly visible in the horizon.
b. List elements that are de emphasized or not central to the communication: The use of light together with dark enables Frederic Edwin Church to illuminate aspects of the foreground that he intended to show as well as darken the parts of the background that he intended to conceal.
3. List the methods used to do the work:
a. What materials are used to do the work? The Twilight in the Wilderness is a 40 by 64-inch oil on canvas painting created from sketches of different pieces of art.
b. How is the object formed? Church did not transfer an oil sketch directly to a large canvas. He referred to multiple drawings and oil sketches then extracted from each of them the details that were used together to create the final painting.
c. Materials-meaning, so how does the use of materials impact our interpretation of what the work is communicating? The use of various oil sketches leads to the creation of a fictional location that contains original features of the American landscape hence leading to the representation of the whole country in the painting. The sketches were inspired by real things and concepts in American society as well as the direct experiences of the artist, e.g. Christianity
4. List the conditions and context that the work was used in or existed in:
a. For example: Is the work religious or spiritual, political, a response to social conditions, are there aims that are personal to the artist, is the work simply aesthetic or art for art's sake, or other? In the painting, Church eliminated any evidence indicating human habitation (Pohl, 2002). The painting brings to the forefront the social issue that was dominant to the society of the time, the issue of slavery. The painting has also been associated with religious connections to Christianity. Supporters of this notion focus on the areas where the branches of the trees cross and regard them as a link to a crucifix (Church, Twilight in the Wilderness, 2011). Church uses the landscape to express a religious sense of nature as a large outdoor house of worship. The painting plays a direct role in developing people’s support for the forming of national parks in America hence making his art relevant to date. Some suggest that the painting was intended to suggest the end of a cosmic cycle, as people felt that the Civil War would change America for good.
i. How? The issue of slavery is expressed by the undisturbed westward facing landscape. According to Pohl, Church banished any indicators of human habitation thus leading to uncertainty on the viewers' end (Pohl, 2002).
5. Relationship with other artworks before, during, and after the time period.
a. Did prior works influence the work? Yes, they did influence this work of art.
i. How did previous artworks affect this work? – Or - What is different from prior works? Given his preferred method of creating his paintings, Church combined various sketches made in Maine to come up with the painting. Twilight in the Wilderness is a convincing landscape, but it does not depict any specific place( Senex Magister,2018).
b. Did the work influence subsequent works? Yes. The twilight in the Wilderness did influence subsequent works
i. Did this work change the goals and works of future artists? – Or- is it a dead end & why? The work changed the goals of future artists. David Huntington characterizes Church’s work as “Puritan baroque” and views it as a form of art that the Puritanism spent two centuries to produce.
ii. Is a new aesthetic, concept, medium, or working method introduced? Church’s artistic process which involved plein air sketches on site followed by joining motifs from various locations provided a crucial precedent for American Impressionism.
1. What was the impact or overall aesthetic change instituted? During the period when the Impressionists started painting, the ideals of art were being controlled, rejected and looked down upon by academic institutions, e.g. the French Academy of fine arts, as well as the Salon and these institutions, had great power over the artists’ careers. Impressionism was considered a radical digression from the tradition. By the end of the period, the artists were liberated from the subject matter, technique, strict rules and composition.
c. Is the work similar or different than other works of the same era?
i. How is it the same? Yes. Artists like Andreas Achenbach and Fitz Henry lane influenced Church’s ambition to try new subjects along the Maine coast as they were landscape painters as well.
ii. How is it different? Church used his unique perspective in the artwork. He combined sketches into one painting hence incorporating features from different places into one painting. The landscape is of a mountain lake in Maine, but the sunset is alleged to be as seen outside Church's New York City studio window. His unique use of color detail sets the artwork apart. The artwork is a mark of his mastery of the landscape genre.
6. Consider the life of the individual during the period. Review how people lived, the social & political problems of the era, & other concerns that the work may be tied to. Focus on lives of others during this era as your mode of thought related to this work.
a. How does the art fit into humanity during this era? The work barely portrays human life as it is strictly a landscape painting. It shows the beauty of nature as an outdoor sanctuary with some religious and patriotic elements decorating the work of art.
b. What is the social function, use, or relationship that individuals had with the work during the time period? Twilight in the Wilderness was painted in 1860. This was the eve of the American Civil War. The minuscule eagle is interpreted as symbolizing American power. The crossing of trees is widely translated as a representation of the religious element. Some viewers view the dark, red clouds as implying the blood red wave of death as well as the destruction that was expected to hit the country.
7. Consider yourself & this time that we live in, what of this particular work applies to the present era?
a. Is there something in our current world that sparks something of this work, how can we still relate?, is there something that the work can reveal about this era, or are concepts present in this work still being used or considered? The painting plays a direct role in developing people’s support for the forming of national parks in America hence making his art relevant to date. The national parks preserve the beautiful American wilderness that is slowly fading in the presence of tremendous advancements in the current civilization.
8. Based on the evidence, what is the work communicating? The work describes America’s beauty in the midst of the chaos that was looming over the country at the time. It shows the beauty of nature while completely eliminating the presence of human life in the setting. The beautiful the red clouds are viewed as the indicators of the impacts of the Civil War in America.
a. Through the artwork, what social conventions were supported, highlighted, sought out as ideal attainment, or challenged? American patriotism is represented by the presence of the Eagle. The eagle is viewed as the symbol of American power. The crossing of the trees is also interpreted as the representation of Christianity in the painting.
b. Through the work, what do we understand about the way that people, or in certain cases the artist, viewed themselves during the period? People viewed themselves as subjects of a supernatural being. This is supported mainly by the Religious depictions in the artwork. The advocacy for the conservation of the American wilderness shows that the society of the time had embraced their role as the custodians of their environment.
c. Through the work, what do we understand about the role or plight of the individual in society, or hopes for the individual, communicated during the era through the work of art? Church used his influence as a celebrated painter to remind the society to be more sensitive to the environment as the whole society depended on it for existence. He also addresses the Civil War in the painting by not only portraying its impact on the country but also reminding the citizens of their moral values.
9. What is the most compelling or interesting fact about the work you selected? The Twilight in the Wilderness stands out for its overwhelming beauty and depth in details. It shows the maturity of the artist’s work and speaks volumes about different fields of knowledge relevant to America and the art world in general.
Works Cited
"Views of Impressionism of Today.” Impressionism.Org, Last modified 2018. http://www.impressionism.org/finis.htm.
"Maine Sublime: Frederic Edwin Church's Landscapes Of Mount Desert And Mount Katahdin." Afanews.Com, Last modified 2018. http://www.afanews.com/articles/item/1976-maine-sublime-frederic-edwin-churchs-landscapes-of-mount-desert-and-mount-katahdin#.W_LrEOhKjIU.
“Humanitiesweb.Org - Church's Twilight in The Wilderness.” Humanitiesweb.Org, Last modified 2018. http://www.humanitiesweb.org/spa/gai/ID/1154.
"Frederic Edwin Church's Life and Legacy." The Art Story, Last modified 2018. https://www.theartstory.org/artist-church-Frederic-Edwin-life-and-legacy.htm.
Pro, Krista. "Twilight in Wilderness - Frederic Edwin Churches." Spykefleming.Blogspot.Com, Last modified 2018. http://spykefleming.blogspot.com/2011/04/twilight-in-wilderness-Frederic-edwin.html.
Frederic Church's 'Twilight in the Wilderness' shines brightly in Cleveland Museum of Art's 'Maine Sublime.'
https://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2014/12/frederic_churchs_twilight_in_t.html.
“Depicting a Sublime Wilderness.” National Parks, Landscape Art & American Imagination, Last modified 2018. https://arthistory327.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/depicting-a-sublime-wilderness/.
“Twilight in The Wilderness.” Cleveland Museum of Art, Last modified 2018. https://www.clevelandart.org/magazine/cleveland-art-2014-highlights/twilight-wilderness.
