Meditation by the Sea
Encyclopedia
Meditation by the Sea is an American
folk art
oil painting
by an unknown artist from the early 1860s.
The painting is derived from a wood engraving of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard
by David H. Strother in the September 21, 1860 issue of Harper's New Monthly.
paintings of the Hudson River school
(to which the artist was likely exposed), the artist's approach to the subject is markedly different. He creates a sense of foreboding using a vast horizon and an ominous hanging branch. Based on the date of the Strother engraving, this painting was probably painted near the outbreak of the Civil War
; a sense of dread is visible in the figure's "confrontation with the omnipotence of nature and God".
bought the painting from J.B. Neumann for $650 in 1943; it was one the first 19th-century paintings he acquired. In 1945 Karolik donated the piece to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to inaugurate the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Art, 1815-1865.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
by an unknown artist from the early 1860s.
The painting is derived from a wood engraving of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
by David H. Strother in the September 21, 1860 issue of Harper's New Monthly.
Description
Though the receding cliff suggests the artist's familiarity with one-point perspective, the rest of the view is distorted to suggest the vastness of the scene. The artist creates a surreal image by juxtaposing the lone, brooding foreground figure with tiny silhouettes in the distance. Though solitary figures are common in the contemporary luministLuminism (American art style)
Luminism is an American landscape painting style of the 1850s – 1870s, characterized by effects of light in landscapes, through using aerial perspective, and concealing visible brushstrokes...
paintings of the Hudson River school
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
(to which the artist was likely exposed), the artist's approach to the subject is markedly different. He creates a sense of foreboding using a vast horizon and an ominous hanging branch. Based on the date of the Strother engraving, this painting was probably painted near the outbreak of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
; a sense of dread is visible in the figure's "confrontation with the omnipotence of nature and God".
Acquisitions
Art collector Maxim KarolikMaxim Karolik
Maxim Karolik was an opera singer by profession who was notable as an art collector and donor. Although generally unsuccessful as a singer, he married into one of Boston, Massachusetts's wealthiest families. On February 2, 1928, he married Martha Catharine Codman . He made a hobby of collecting...
bought the painting from J.B. Neumann for $650 in 1943; it was one the first 19th-century paintings he acquired. In 1945 Karolik donated the piece to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to inaugurate the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Art, 1815-1865.