ARTHI 6C Lecture 2: Section 2 Notes
19th Century Revivalism and Westward Expansion
Objectives:
Identify elements of Revivalism in 19th century American architecture
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Discuss the westward expansion of the US through images
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Introduce the landscape painting and the fantasy of the American west
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Hudson River Valley
Scenic, picturesque landscape, forested
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Escape for artists and writers to e away from the industrial spaces of the
cities
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Hudson River School (of Painting)
School of landscape painting, heavily influenced by romanticism
§
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Around the same time as transcendentalism in literature (escape as a
major theme)
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•
Olana State Historic Site: former home of 19th century artist Frederick Church
Sweeping panoramic views of Hudson River Valley
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Frederic Church was one of the most famous Hudson River School
painters
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House is designed to put you in the landscape
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Used architectural elements from world travels to design the house
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Gothic elements, use of geometric pattern, fortress-looking, middle-
eastern influence (Islamic architecture and ornamentation)
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Can be talked about as an orientalist structure (as orientalism was
travelling to the US)
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Wallpapering used with geometric patterns
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Décor in the home seems individualized and not mass produced
Emphasis on materiality and display
§
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Stands as a house museum today
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Bell Tower as influence to Church's landscape painting
Theme of westward expansion as the view from the bell towers
looks west
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Idea of westward expansion starts to take hold in late 19th century
§
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Revivalism
The use of visual styles that consciously echo the style of a previous era
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Can be applied to architecture and decorative arts
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Can result in a heavy mixing or hodge-podge of styles; no exact cohesive
design
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The Great Hall at the Great Mosque of Cordoba (Spain)
Patterned brick work that mirrors the architecture at Olana
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Church drew from buildings like these that he saw in Spain
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Manifest Destiny & Westward Expansion
The quest of the west
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Manifest Destiny: 19th century belief that the expansion of the US
through the American continents was both justified and inevitable
according to Christian ideology
God-given right to move west and settle all territory west of the
Mississippi River
§
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Also at the time of Oregon Trail
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John Gast, American Progress, 1872•
Allegorical
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Darkness towards the western part of the photo, as if the angelic figure is
bringing light (conquering the west as a good thing)
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Everyone is heading west from the east
The natives in the west are "running away", or being driven out by
the settlements of the east
§
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Leadership of the "angel"
She is holding some object of scripture related to Christianity
§
Some think she is holding an educational text, bringing ideas and
knowledge to the west
§
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Starts to lighten up in the very west of the painting where the Pacific
coast can be seen
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Technological advancements being brought to the west
Angel holding the telegraph wires/cables and laying the power lines
§
Trains/railroads moving into the west
Transcontinental railroad built in late 19th century□
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More commerce and industry in the east(ern) [part of the painting]
§
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Albert Bierstadt, The Last Buffalo, 1888•
Landscape painter heavily associated with western landscapes and the
Rocky Mountains
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Made lots of trips to the west
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Hudson River School painter
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Albert Bierstadt, The Ambush, 1876
Othering of natives
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Landscape with people in it
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Albert Bierstadt, Spearfishing by Night at Lake Tahoe, 1876
Dreamlike and dramatically lit
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Barren wilderness of the New Frontier
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Buffalo Bill's Wild West
Turning the west into a circus performance
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Started in Nebraska
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Went on tour on the east (NYC, Madison Square Garde, Europe)
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Putting the west on display in an over-the-top and stereotyped circus
performance
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Shooting galleries, mock stagecoach and train robberies, rodeos, etc.
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Section 2 Notes
Thursday, April 19, 2018
8:51 AM
Document Summary
Identify elements of revivalism in 19th century american architecture. Discuss the westward expansion of the us through images. Introduce the landscape painting and the fantasy of the american west. Escape for artists and writers to e away from the industrial spaces of the cities. School of landscape painting, heavily influenced by romanticism. Around the same time as transcendentalism in literature (escape as a major theme) Olana state historic site: former home of 19th century artist frederick church. Frederic church was one of the most famous hudson river school painters. House is designed to put you in the landscape. Used architectural elements from world travels to design the house. Gothic elements, use of geometric pattern, fortress-looking, middle- eastern influence (islamic architecture and ornamentation) Can be talked about as an orientalist structure (as orientalism was travelling to the us) D cor in the home seems individualized and not mass produced. Bell tower as influence to church"s landscape painting.
