Cole's The Oxbow
Thomas Cole, View from Mount Holyoke,Northampton, Massachusetts,after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, oil on canvas, 1836
(Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker, Dr. Beth Harris
Where and When
New York, United States
1836
1836
Check this out as well
Zoomable, high resolution version of this painting
Cedar Grove, The Thomas Cole National Historic SiteEssay on the Hudson River School from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
This painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Thomas Cole in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Your Comments (2)
Previous Comments
Ruben Munoz wrote on Friday, January 07, 2011
I think the purpose of the painter was to bring the gradeurness of America, on the left you see broken trees and the fog that stops you from seeing far and then on the right side you see a vast land.
Kelsie wrote on Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Romantic Era was a movement that gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution, which is what Cole is commenting on in The Oxbow. He places emphasis in this painting on the sublime and on the untamed land. There is a strong contrast between the violent wilderness to the left of this work and the peaceful, cultivated landscape to the right. Cole was not shy to express his thoughts towards the Industrial Revolution and how cultivation would destroy America's divinity.
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