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F, 5, 6, 4. Investigate and describe the similarities and differences between two works of visual art. Ruysdael's The Windmill and Inness's The Coming Storm Introduction: Having selected the two works by two prominent writers Ruysdael (The Windmill) and Inness (The coming storm) I decided in this essay to investigate and describe the similarities and differences between the two chefs-doers. In the following essay I am going to describe the two works, relate the paintings to the authors, comment on the authors biographies and their importance to the given works. I will comment on the period the authors lived in and wrote their works as well as attempt to comment on the artistic features of The Windmill and The coming storm by Ruysdael and Inness. Body: Jacob Isaacsz van Ruysdael was a Baroque artist who oftentimes was considered to be the top Dutch landscape and nature painter.
He grew up in a family of the frame makers and since his childhood was exposed to nature, the outside and the art. He did not get any formal schooling and amazed the whole world with his wonderful art pieces that nevertheless possessed spelling errors in his own signature. Ruysdael was influenced throughout his life by many noted painters and artists from who he would learn the best he could oftentimes boldly plagiarizing the strokes or the semi-tone plays. I also would like to note that Ruysdael was influenced especially by Cornelis Vroom, a famous Dutch landscapist, and his influence is seen in Ruysdael works of 1640 s.
After gaining some recognition in Amsterdam, Ruysdael became a member of the Guild of St Luke in Haarlem. It should be also mentioned that the following year (1649), Ruysdael made a tour around the Netherlands and Germany with his works. After the tour, he finally decided to settle in Amsterdam and become an artist and an art teacher. His most famous student Hobbema Maeidert also gained world fame and recognition (Blum, 2001).
Speaking about his style that also marked his painting the Windmill I would like to note Ruysdael's extreme obsession with trees and plants as expressed in his works of early period (before 1659). Unlike other Dutch artists-landscapists who use trees to decorate the center image and show the background, Ruysdael believed that the trees also had their own personalities and expressed that in all his drawings. He uses thick impasto, adding depth and character to every tree seen in the drawing with the precision of a true f druid follower. His works like Bentheim Castle of 1653, are written in vibrant forceful colors and hues, which still is not as strong as his color play in Jewish Cemetery of 1660 that at present is considered to be one of the worlds best compositions. The ruined tombs and the frame motive indeed arises the feeling of ephemeral world in the minds of the viewers. Speaking about his later period of drawing I would like to note that his art after 1658 would be written in much lighter and brighter colors as well as rather special palette.
Here I would like to speak about the waterfalls, and the windmills (one of which we are going to discuss later on in the essay) that show his interest in the forest and nature scenes. In all the works of that period including The Windmill, one can see a rather low horizon, while the major part of the drawing is dominated by clouded grey or dark sky. Dutch countryside panorama is shown as dull and uninteresting, while the windmill represents some sort of stability and civilization surrounded by sad reality. Speaking about the other artist whose masterpiece the Coming Storm is under our analysis in this essay I would like to note that George Inness was an American. Inness was born in the outskirts of New York in the late 1825. It is not surprising that his arts represents the surroundings of the area where he lived as well as the areas of New Jersey, the place he traveled to with his parents.
He learnt how to draw from the reproductions of the famous artists of Europe. He had epilepsy that would knock him out in the process of drawing yet after such stroke he would still return to his canvas and continue to work on the painting. In the early 1840 s, his father made George a manager at a small grocery store hoping that George would give up his desire to become a painter (Blum, 2001). It should be noted here that George did not want to be a manager but rather an artist, thus he fled his home for Big Apple and started to study at Sherman and Smith earning pennies and hoping to become a famous painter in the future. George would draw at night and work during the day (Denfeld, 2001). When he was only 20, Inness submitted his works to the National Academy and got some recognition there.
In the late 1840 s Inness became friends with another artist Right Francois Gignoux, who taught Inness how to draw waterfalls. In 1844, Inness created his famous Afternoon drawing the oxen, and the nature of a typical New Jersey countryside. He subsequently sold the drawing for only $ 100 yet was rather happy to get these money (Mc Blum, 2001). I would like to note that later in his life Inness lived in Italy at Florence as well as in Southern France where he truly enjoyed the surroundings and the nature all year round. He wrote in high detail all his works as if trying to show something that a regular viewer would not notice and completely forget about. Innes sought to capture the spirit of the European nature as it mysteriously changed within the natural forces, atmospheric hazes, mists, the elements and natural light.
Here it should also be noted that Inness was exposed to the Swedish mysticism that made his strokes, more poetic, slow and even lyrical while his objects correlated with the space and nature. His works were somber, moody and somewhat bold with many critics claiming them to resemble the impressionist style with the hidden elements of Swedish mysticism. Inness traveled around Germany and the Netherlands visiting the museums of Ruysdael. Inness because of such European experience was considered to be the most famous and gifted American painter that wanted to awaken those who are completely absorbed in the money-making process that did not notice what was truly going on in the society around them (Blum, 2001). Speaking about the both paintings and their similarities and contrasts I would like to note that despite the different time and space characteristics the two works are somewhat similar in nature.
The Windmill by Jacob Ruysdael is a masterpiece representing the surrounding nature of the Dutch society. It features the huge windmill and a small harbor with the tiny ship located near the shore. The sky is grey and sad, while the horizon is extremely low thus making the whole drawing appear somewhat frightening. Some viewers may even think that the drawing speaks about some upcoming storm, which is not the case due to the fact that the sail on the ship is still high, which would not be the case if the actual storm was coming. The sky is hidden behind the clouds and the masterful strokes of grey and semi-hues of black show the depressing landscape. The windmill is the only stronghold of the picture.
It is show in a way to understand that it benefits from strong wind or storm while the small ships like the one on the picture may suffer. At the same time the work of George Inness also shows an similar view yet in different colors. The sky is half filled with grey and dark clouds with the masterful color gamma showing the strong wind that brings in the storm (Mc Blum, 2001). Just like in Ruydael's The Windmill, the forces of nature are shown as superior to human force. The character of a shepherd in The coming storm of Inness is compared to the ship in the Windmill of Ruysdael for the fact that each of them is helpless against the natural forces. Just like in the Windmill the stronghold is the windmill, while in the coming storm the stronghold is shown in the house depicted in the background.
It is a small farm, yet it is the shelter for the shepherd and his cattle. The smoke raising from the chimney shows us that inside the house it is warm and safe. The massive picture of the windmill in Ruydael's work also shows us protection and safety, while its location (being turned directly against the harbor and the clouds) make is appear as a warrior fighting against the forces of nature. Speaking about the dissimilarities I would like to point out the passivity of the housing in the Coming storm by Inness to the activity of the characters in The Windmill. The cattle is scattered on the field with the shepherd being on his way home being unable to bring the animals along.
The animals are passively left to experience the storm and it appears that they do not know about its coming. The Windmill on the other hand is resisting the winds of the nature that also looks like the upcoming storm. It is difficult to say whether or not the nature is always like that depicted by Ruysdael in the Netherlands, yet to the common viewer it appears that the natural forces are restless. The ship also is not afraid of the condition and (yes it is another similarity) just like the cattle from The coming storm by Inness is left to experience whatever is about to happen in the bay. The strokes of the two paintings are also somewhat different especially with the respect to the horizon line, which is low (Ruysdael Windmill) and high (Inness the coming storm) thus making the whole background appear different in each of the drawings, while still preserving the proper color palette of the sky. Conclusion: In conclusion I would like to say that each piece of work is somewhat similar and at the same time different from each other.
The way the paint is put on the canvas, the strokes and the change in semitones certainly is similar in both masterpieces that are most likely to be influenced by somewhat common experiences the authors had in Europe as mentioned earlier. The color are different and the settings are different, even the characters and the sky is different in each of these works. At the same time the viewer is able to see the restless elements and the hidden behind the clouds sun that is supposed is mean struggle with natural forces. The windmill of Ruysdael is compared to the house in the Inness work with each of them representing something that can resist and withhold the natural advances. Bibliography: web web Clark Maxam, The History of Worlds famous painters, McGraw Hill, 2002. George Blum, The History of Art, Penguin Books, 2001.
Angel Denfeld, American painters, NY Random House, 2001. Steve Mc Blum, Art and modern society, Oxford University Press, 2001.
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