Haven’t you looked at lovely landscape paintings and wondered how large a room ad to be for an artist to make such a painting? In early 19th century America, several artists began to paint the splendors of the new Nation The style of their naturalistic style was heavily influenced by the British painter John Constable who introduced a new style of naturalistic landscape painting.
Most of Constable’s painting were small though there were some large 6 feet ones. What Constable did was to paint directly from nature, to observe how clouds actually move. He made small sketches of his large works, something that the Hudson River School did as well
Two 8 by 12 foot paintings by Albert Bierstadt can be seen in Plainfield, bequests by Dr. J. Ackerman in 1919. The City had tried to sell them in 2020 but was blocked by the courts due to the nature of the bequest. Like Constable, Bierstadt not only wanted to show the glory of our Nation in the Sierras and history, but the glory of God’s world.
Prayer for the Day
Creating and sustaining One, whose spirit stirred over the waters,
You who created light and life, move among us, we pray,
And bathe our withered spirits in your living waters.
May we listen for your word in the beauty of the language of the spheres,
Awakening our souls to your spirit in the world around us
As we are called to do by the One who shows us a new way to live,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
There is a harmony in autumn and a luster in the sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could be, as if had not been.
Percy Blythe Shelley, poet (1792-1822)
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus, philosopher, essayist (1913-1960)
The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40: 7-8