Curriculum Materials: Art in America
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Image 9 Henry Lewis Questions: |
Think Questions Teacher Answer Key
1. What is the main subject of Henry Lewis's painting? (Several possibilities: the falls, the river, the sky, the Indian.) Why do you think so? (The sky because it takes up so much space; the falls because they are in the middle and because of the painting's title; the Indian because he is so bright.)
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? (Naturalistic because of the colors and details.) 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? (To create an idyllic scene; to maintain a sense of the American wilderness.)
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? (The Indian enhances the sense of wilderness in the picture; he may have seen Indians in this region; he recognized the commercial demand for representations of Indians.) Why do you think he chose to show the Indian wearing red? (To draw attention to him; to emphasize his importance; to provide visual contrast to the natural colors of the landscape.) 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?
(Both compositions have definite
FORE-,
MIDDLE- and
BACKGROUNDS; both use
ATMOSPHERIC
PERSPECTIVE; both include a point of entry for the
viewer: the rock in the Lewis, and
the dead tree in the Cropsey; both
have large areas of sky.) 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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