Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 9 Henry Lewis Questions: |
Think Questions
1. What is the main subject of Henry Lewis's painting? Why do you think so?
2. Lewis spent a long time looking at and sketching scenes along the Mississippi River. Does this LANDSCAPE look NATURALISTIC or imaginary? Why do you think so? A sawmill and other buildings were located at the falls when Lewis painted this. Are any buildings visible in this scene? How then is this painting also imaginary? Why might Lewis have left out any signs of development?
3. Where is the site of St. Anthony Falls? Have you ever visited this place? If so, what aspects of the site would you include in a painting? What details would you consider leaving out? Why? If you could choose any site for a LANDSCAPE painting, what site would you choose? Why? Which of the techniques used by Lewis might you like to use in your painting?
4. Why might Lewis have included an American Indian in his scene? Why do you think he chose to show the Indian wearing red? How would the composition change if the figure was not included? This representation of an Indian reflects a romanticized Euro-American notion of the Native American relationship to nature. This area, the traditional homeland of the Dakota, was not always peaceful. What impact did white settlement have on the native peoples who lived on this land? Why might artists like Lewis neglect to show this reality?
5. Compare and contrast Henry Lewis's St. Anthony Falls to Jasper Cropsey's Catskill Mountain House, both painted in 1855. In what ways are their COMPOSITIONS alike? Why do you think half of each of these paintings is devoted to sky? Which artwork appears more NATURALISTIC? Why? 19th-century LANDSCAPE artists often changed what an area actually looked like to fit formulas for popular paintings. Do you think Lewis and Cropsey did this? What makes you think so?
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