The fog settles...

George Inness. The Monk, oil on canvas 38.5"x64.1" 1873

George Inness was a deeply spiritual American landscape painter born in 1825 in Newburgh, NY. I find a sort of comfort in seeing a more sophisticated representation of his subjects that I found earlier in Bierstadt. It appears that the line has become more poetic than simply descriptive. Inness wants the viewer to gain a sense of a landscape, than just be able to recognize it if they went on a field trip. This particular landscape will combine the familiar religious figure with a serious landscape. Though, it is not in the conventional sense, religious, it is still very spiritual. This spirit permeates his development later on into an interesting impressionist that refuses to settle, ultimately becoming a tonalist. 

The Monk:

In this fantastic feat of composition, Inness has ultimately found a staging that sets him apart from many 19th century landscape artists.  The monk in this painting is said to be the pope, taking a stroll at Villa Barbarini, just south of Rome. The wall of the villa divides the compositional space in such a way that affords one to be aware of the solitary figure, yet basque in the shimmery light of the sunset. This same wall controls the perspective and importance of the monk, almost shrinking him into non-existence.  The Roman pines will substitute, making a commentary on the church's magnitude.  These pines have often been painted, by Inness as well, but never have they substituted for the entire vertical space of a skyline. They are the objects that ground the heavy horizon, and make the ultimate commentary: it is not the pope, it is nature, moreover, God.

George Inness. The Home of the Heron. Oil on canvas, 30"x45" 1893

Inness has moved on from the realistic depiction of a monk strolling through a garden. The solitary figure has been replaced with a subtle representation of nature, the heron. According to his spiritual beliefs, it is that representation of nature that defines God. The fog has settled on the ground, where his realism, symbolism, and spiritualism meet.

George Inness, Sunrise. Oil on canvas, 30"x45.25" 1887

An early work in the same vein shows an everyday person, unidentified, substituting anyone of spiritual significance. The composition is similar, yet the sky is more open... not through the absence of trees as much as the brightness of the sun's rays.

George Inness, The Trout Brook. Oil on canvas, 30.25"x45.5" 1891

Inness reaches a new height in composition and organization of space into quadrants of interest.  Like the divisions of space in Renaissance works, he uses the giant oak tree to divide the space in nearly half, while the vegetation leads to the open sky providing a horizontal division.  The figure to the right of the giant tree is carrying a fishing pole, possibly followed by a dog.  The woman to the right of the brook and giant tree seems content to watch the ripples pass by.