|
  |
|
|
Luminism and the Hudson River School of Art
By Jim Odom
I am asked many times if Thomas Kinkade invented the style of luminism he uses in most of his paintings. I usually respond by saying, “Thomas Kinkade didn't invent luminism any more than Michael Jordan invented the game of basketball. They just took it to a new level.” The Hudson River School of Art Thomas Cole is generally recognized as the founder of the Hudson River School of Art. Cole took a trip up the Hudson River around 1830. During this trip, he painted some of the expansive landscapes that he encountered. Most of them were scenes set at dusk or dawn where the lighting illuminated the landscape in a way that cast shadows and added depth and dimension to the art. The Hudson River School of Art was not a school as we would think of it. Instead it became what was to be considered a style of painting. Huge sweeping landscapes with beautiful use of light and shadows created by many of the artists of that time. Some of the most famous of these artists were, of course Cole, as well as Albert Bierstadt Frederic Edwin Church, and John Frederick Kensett. The works of these artists had a profound effect on some of the contemporary artists of our time. Artists that looked to the Hudson River School as having an influence on their work are some of the artists that I enjoy most. Mark Keathley and Thomas Kinkade have mentioned that their works were influenced in part by Albert Bierstadt and others from the Hudson River School.. Luminism When street lights were introduced to the city of Paris, artist flocked to the city to capture that warm glow on canvas. This was somewhat of a departure from the luminism used by the Hudson River artists. The chief difference was that now subjects such as people and city streets could be captured with a luministic quality including depth and shadows. Because shadow and light exist for almost all subjects, this style of art can include a broad range of subject matters. For Kinkade, his glowing cottages with all the lights on inside have become a trademark. They have become such a trademark that he has literally trademarked the moniker “Painter of Light”. It is said that he first acquired the moniker while working on the Disney classic, “Fire and Ice”. When the director needed a scene with a sunset or lightning bolt, he would call for "that painter of light". The nickname stuck and Kinkade has been known by it ever since. Keathley's use of luminism is a bit more subtle. Usually his subjects use a sunset or sunrise to capture the luminism he loves. His style favors sweeping landscapes such as Bierstadt used more so than the use of lights on in a cottage. He does however, from time to time, make use of lights from inside a chapel or home. One particular Keathley image I am fond of is “His Light Shines”. It depicts a church at dusk with the light from inside spilling out onto a snow covered grounds. People are attracted to the light There is a reason artists like Kinkade, Keathley, and the Hudson River Artists before them are so popular.. I think one of those reasons is that we are all drawn to the light. When you are driving late at night on a desolate road, nothing cheers you more than the lights from a town just ahead. When we are camping, a campfire just adds an air of warmth not just temperature wise, but to the senses as well. I hope you have opportunity to visit a gallery soon and enjoy some beautiful art. |
Read more about the Hudson River School of Art
   
Heavens Declare by Mark Keathley
Albert Bierstadt's Looking Down Yosemite Valley
Evening on the Avenue by Kinkade ~ He also painted Paris, City of Lights
His Light Shines by Mark Keathley
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
|
 |
|
Thanks Jim, for the education in the art of using luminism. Yes Kinkade, along with other artists use lots of shadows and shades of glare, or what sunshine they can get. Photography is used pretty much in the same way. The artists and a good photographer captures the moment of what he sees,and what he wants to translate to the viewer. Nice work Jim...!
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thank you....yes photographers use some of the same technique. Some of the most interesting photographs are morning, evening, or very low light.
A fine read once again, Jim. Thank you for sharing and helping us see the light with your words and images.
Best wishes.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
No pun intended
Luminism? Don't all artists paint using the visible spectrum created by the fall of light upon and/or around a subject? I realise that this term has been adopted to describe a style of painting that arose in mid 19th century America but I feel it more properly relates to the manuscripts produced in the 11th to 13th centuries. This type of painting, with brilliant high-lighting of wave caps, upper branches of trees, snowy mountain tops and occulted water is now created on production lines in the Far East and is only denigrated because of the quantity in which it is produced. The aesthetic value of these paintings is not diminished even though they tend not to be in the romantic vein that Kincade inhabits, indeed, the porcelains produced in Spain and Holland, many of which are also produced for the mass market, rival the best in the world.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
To some extent it is certainly correct that "all artists paint using the visible spectrum created by the fall of light". That is not exactly the same as luminism. The term luminism is more about making the light in the painting almost the subject or focal point of the art. Certainly if there were no light at all, the canvas would be black. (the opposite extreme)
Marvelous! Please keep writing intels about art. I look forward to one on Chiaroscuro. I love Caravaggio and everything pales after him, I think, but Kinkade certainly does, in my opinion, also deserve the title "Painter of Light."
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
I have to admit that I had not heard of Caravaggio until you mentioned him. My interest in art leans more towards the artists who are still living. (suppose because we sell their art). I certainly see why you would love Caravaggio after looking up his work.
Thank you for a really absorbing intel. From a personal perspective the light is what captures my attention most. It creates an atmosphere and draws in all the implications my imagination can register on the canvas. Please keep them coming.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
will do
Interesting intel for me to read. This isn't a subject area I know that much about! I wasn't familiar with the term Luminism. Keep inching me along!
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
I got a lot of info about RedGage from you. Synergistic effect of reading each others posts
The copyright for this content entitled "Luminism and the Hudson River School of Art" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied and distributed (but not modified), as long as a) it's for non-commercial use and b) the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://jodom.qondio.com/
|
|
|
This intel was contributed by Jim Odom
Jim Odom
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
