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The vibrant reds, yellows, and greens that create the
foliage in more than one painting by American artist Jasper
Francis Cropsey (1823-1900) caused quite a stir during
a 19th-century exhibition in England. Viewers at the exhibition
would not believe that leaves could change to such brilliant
colors. Cropsey had actual leaves shipped overseas to
prove that the colors were realistic.
Those implausible fall colors can be seen in one of the
University Art Collection’s gems, Jasper Cropsey’s Palisades, on the Hudson, which hangs in Carroll Parlor
in Healy Hall. The painting, a 1983 gift from Mary L.
McEvitt, features dark palisades overlooking the Hudson
River, their brilliant depth given by their dense and
colorful foliage. Palisades, on the Hudson sparkles with Cropsey’s
use of light and reflection. The painting showcases the
Luminist style, with light and atmosphere transforming
nature as the sun sets behind the bold palisades and its
reflection shimmers in the water below. Cropsey uses sailboats,
scattered across the river and reflecting on the water
in the center of the painting, to reveal man and nature
in peaceful coexistence. Typically, “man” is
depicted as smaller than nature, reflecting Cropsey’s
belief that nature is a direct representation of God’s
glory.
Cropsey painted his landscapes true to nature, with an
emphasis on precise details—key characteristics
of the Hudson River School painting movement with which
he is associated. Throughout his life, Cropsey traveled
through Europe but lived along the Hudson River, where
he found much of his inspiration and the theme for the
majority of his paintings. He died in 1900, his popularity
as a painter having diminished a number of years before,
not to be revived again until the mid-twentieth century.
For current
Carroll Parlor hours, please visit http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/guac/carroll_parlor.htm.
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