Artistic DevelopmentsEQ: How does nationalism affect the arts and culture of country?

Architecture

- Between 1820 and 1850 was a revival of Greek architecture

-Midcentury Americans developed Gothic forms (pointed arches and large windows)

-Thomas Jefferson largely contributed to the Greek Architectural Revival in North America.

Struggle of Painting

-Painters suffered due to lack of interest, leisure,and a wealthy class willing to sit for a portrait.

-Early Americans were forced to move to Europe.

“America exported artists and imported

art.”

-Puritans believed painting was sinful, a waste of time, and obscene.

Emergence of Painting

Gilbert Stewart (1755-1828)-Gifted painter from Rhode Island who painted several portraits of General Washington and showed to Americans and the world that great painters can not only come from Europe, but also America.

John Trumbull (1756-1843)- fought in and painted scenes from the Revolutionary War. He helped start the movement for nationalistic paintings.

After the War of 1812 painters turned towards romantic mirrorings of local landscapes.

Emergence of Painting (Continued)

Hudson River School excelled in capturing American landscapes in paintings.

Paintings such as the above were now the popular style due to a rise in nationalism after the war of 1812

Music

The Puritans had looked down upon nonreligious singing.

By mid 1800’s rhythmic “darky” tunes were being popularized by whites.

Stephen C. Foster (1826-1864) made valuable contributions to American folk music. His inspiration came from the plaintive spirits of slaves.

Blooming of National Literature

Before 1820 there was little American Literature due to their focus on conquering the continent and much of the reading material was either imported or plagiarised from England.

-American Literature received a boost from the Nationalism created by the War of 1812.

-Knickerbocker Group (New York)- Group of American writers including Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant. They received world wide fame and recognition and earned respect for American Literature from foreign countries.

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism- The philosophy that “truth transcends the senses and cannot be found by observation alone.Everyone possesses an inner light that can illuminate the highest truth and put him or her in direct touch with God.” Was one of the mainsprings of American Literature and greatly shaped many of the works of the American writers of the second half of the 19th century.

Literary Lights

-Two women writers of the time were Louisa May Alcott and Emily Dickinson.

-William Gilmore Simms was one of the most noteworthy authors in the south. His novels contained southern frontier and Revolutionary War themes.

John Greenleaf Whitter (1807-1892)- A Quaker, whose poems condemned inhumanity, injustice, and intolerance. He aroused Americans on the issue of slavery, which had long been “swept under the carpet”.

Dark Writers of the 19th Century

-Edgar Alan Poe was an eccentric genius who was orphaned as a young boy and wrote horror poems and short stories that focused on dark and supernatural themes.

-Nathaniel Hawthorne was of Puritan descent and focused on themes of evil, darkness, and sin in his short stories and novels; his most notable work being “The Scarlet Letter”

Section Summary

The War of 1812 sparked a rise in nationalism that caused a rise in interest in American Art. In this nationalistic period notable American architects,painters,musicians, and writers emerged. Architects such as Thomas Jefferson were inspired by Ancient Greek Architects and reflected their inspiration in their projects. Preceding the War of 1812 painting had been looked down upon by Puritans as sin, but inspired by nationalistic feeling, American painters of the 19th century painted beautiful landscapes of local areas and American battle scenes. Like painting, Puritans had also condemned non-religious music as sinful, but by the mid 1800s rhythmic “darky” was being greatly popularized. American Literature developed due to a rise in nationalism, groups of writers such as the Knickerbockers of New York, and transcendentalism. American culture and art were shaped by nationalism, which was boosted by the War of 1812.