The Ideal through History: Ideas of Progress

Kindred Spirits by Asher B. Durand (1849 CE)

On June 17th, Dr. Linda Ferber discussed the Hudson River School painters as representing the “Geography of the Ideal” and articulating the picturesque landscape with poetic elegance. Continuing the conversation from the previous week, the slides progressed from less representational to more interpretive, while maintaining the sublime. Similar to many movements, first a fascination develops, followed by idealized depictions that highlight an almost supernaturally influenced perfection. Take the transformation from early Greek temples in places like Paestum, Italy to the unreal proportions and elegance of the Pantheon.

Ognissanti Maesta by Giotto (c. 13th Century CE)

Or, in Renaissance aesthetic, the transition from Giotto’s flat, Byzantine-influenced Maesta to the Golden Era of the Italian Renaissance with Filippo Lippi’s undertaking that blossoms in ethereal magnificence and the beauty of emotive connection. Ok, enough. The manner that concepts develop in artistic circles is not a novel one, but validates the movement from early etchings of Hudson River School artists (HRS) to the mastery of the scenery by the likes of Asher Durand and Albert Bierstadt. However, it must be recognized that the cognition of ideal changes over time with society’s evaluation of the ideal. Dr. Ferber seemed to indicate that the Hudson River School design reflected the dominant Victorian conventions and values.

Madonna and Child with Two Angels by Filippo Lippi (c. 1450 CE)

Victorian America was obsessed with the expanse of the West, the sublime beauty of open ranges and landscapes. The imagery gains such prominence that over time the river view of the Hudson entered the vernacular. Tableware was ubiquitous and conspicuous deferral to the values invested in the scenes being completely American. As these images became more and more present, they were canonized and simplified in ideal forms and vice versa. This exchange between more popular culture conventions and the fine art development over the course of the 19th Century created an environment that led to a natural progression towards the ideal.

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