Nature Journals I - Entry 5

When we visited the Carter Museum a couple weeks ago, I walked through the galleries, taking pictures of paintings that caught my attention. I took pictures of three landscapes because they felt calm, yet powerful at the same time. In one painting, there is a steep cliff that rises against a glowing yellow sky while a river reflects the light at the bottom of the valley. In another, bright red and orange autumn trees surround a small wooden cabin that seems almost insignificant compared to the mountain behind it. The third shows tall cottonwood trees arching over a narrow stream with open land stretching toward distant peaks. At the time, I just thought they were beautiful. After doing some research and preparing for my Romanticism presentation, I realized that all three paintings were part of the Romantic movement. 

Learning about Romanticism helped me understand why I was drawn to them. Romantic artists focused on emotion and the sublime, that overwhelming feeling of being small in front of nature’s power. In each painting, nature clearly dominates while humans appear small or distant. That idea connects directly to Walden. Thoreau writes, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.” He wanted to strip life down to its essentials and reconnect with what is real. He criticizes how people become trapped by materialism and routine, saying that “the mass of men leads lives of quiet desperation.” That idea connects directly to Romanticism’s reaction against industrialization. Both Thoreau and the Romantic painters seem to be pushing back against a society that values productivity over presence. Looking back, I realize I was drawn to those paintings because they made me feel calm and reflective. I did not have the language for it at the time, but now I can see how they are part of the Romanticism era. 





Comments

  1. williams.dan76March 3, 2026 at 8:02 AM

    Great blog post, thanks. The above are three of my favorite Amon Carter paintings, the first one especially that uses luminous light to depict the sublime. I appreciate your connecting the paintings to the romantic movement. By the way, though we did not get much chance to talk about it, a lot of cultural critics think that we currently are in a Neo-Romantic period tinged with a touch of nihilism.

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