European and American Artists in the 19th Century
American artists of the 19th century often traveled abroad in order to immerse themselves in European culture and appeal to wealthy patrons by showing off their sophistication.
Robert Weir encouraged his sons to travel throughout Europe and paint plein air. His painting “Taking the Veil” was inspired by events he witnessed while living in Rome.
Origins
Before recently, artists would often straddle the border between Euro and American art in style but not content. With instant global communications and people migrating across continents, artistic cross-pollination has increased significantly.
Early 19th-century American artists like Asher Durand and Thomas Moran depicted nature’s vast landscapes as sites for celebration, nostalgia, or exploitation. Their compositions promoted America as a land of growth through conquest while romanticizing an increasingly disappearing wilderness.
Robert Weir, an Ash Can School painter, encouraged his sons to travel and study in Europe. They took advantage of all available opportunities; their experiences there shaped their paintings such as Synchromism: an abstract painting movement which utilizes visual rhythm to create an “orchestral” of colors; as well as Marcel Duchamp’s concept of aesthetics which stressed multiple media while blurring traditional boundaries between high art and popular culture.
Influence
This exhibition proves that when an artist draws upon European sources and trends for inspiration, their art can still remain uniquely American. Robert Weir was able to travel and study in Europe due to his ambition and others’ support when such travel and study was rare for American artists; he encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps and they went on to enjoy successful careers as both artists and art instructors.
Robert and his sons took note of new trends in European art while in Europe, particularly Romanticism’s revival of classical themes such as heroic and tragic events in more poetic terms.
Though exposed to European styles, Julian Weir developed his own distinct American style of painting. This technique features realistic landscape composition and keen observation of American subjects.
Styles
No matter if they were taking inspiration from European traditions or contemporary art styles, these artists were busy discovering themselves and America. Marsden Hartley found himself through Cezanne and Picasso; Thomas Eakins perfected his technique under Jean-Leon Gerome in Paris; Alfred Cohen traversed between neoclassical realism of his father’s school of neoclassical painting as well as landscapes painted by French painters and color handling of Impressionists/Expressionists to become one of America’s premier artists.
As American painters traveled more often to Europe, a debate emerged as to whether their works truly captured America. This special section of Panorama, based on a panel discussion organized by the Association for Critical Race Art History, seeks to reframe this debate through nuanced readings of artists engaging with European sources and traditions both explicitly as well as subtly; we focus on artists whose engagement can range from exultant admiration to latent subtexts that remain unexpressed or hidden from view.
Conclusions
European art is an amalgamation of different styles and cultures. Artists in Europe were heavily influenced by other civilizations as they explored new regions; their work still bears witness to this influence today.
Impressionist art was distinguished from realism due to its focus on non-urban environments; therefore Claude Monet embraced this style.
This exhibition demonstrated that American artists can draw influence from European trends while producing art that still speaks to America, revolutionizing our understanding of “originality” and context within an artistic field characterized by nationalist and neocolonial ideologies.