The Annotated Mona Lisa: Pages 80 - 82

Question 1

Turner: A Turn Towards Abstraction

Answer 1

• J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851)
• rural scenes when you were an immediate hit with public and made him financial success
• style gradually became more abstract
• end of his life, before exhibiting his nearly abstract paintings, he painted in people and added titles

Question 2

American Romanticism

Answer 2

• two subjects, nature and the natural man
• before 1825, Americans considered nature to be menacing
• wilderness became a symbol of America’s unspoiled national character
• Hudson River School was America’s first native school of painting

Question 3

Cole: Hudson River School Leader

Answer 3

• Thomas Cole (1801-48)
• found of the Hudson River School of Romantic landscapes
• work expressed the proud belief that America was a primeval paradise, a fresh start for humanity

Question 4

Artist-Explorers: Bierstadt and Church

Answer 4

• Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)
• Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902)
• they were the Lewis and Clark of painting
• Bierstadt specialized in sweeping view of thrilling natural wonders

Question 5

Bingham: Son of the Pioneers

Answer 5

• George Caleb Bingham (1811-79)
• first important painter of the west
• taught himself how to paint