Thomas Cole’s The Oxbow (Conneticut River near Northampton), 1836 is a painting similar to Claude Monet’s Impression: Sunrise, 1872 particularly because of the use of space.
The first painting is a landscape of a river surrounded by trees and grass and a cloud-soaked sky as a view seen from the top of a hill. Thomas Cole has given his artwork a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia due to the dark clouds and the faded misty view. Even though Cole has painted with oil on a canvas, the painting has incredible depth and perspective as the viewer is convinced that they are on the top of the hill in a humid, green environment looking down at the incredible scenery. The perspective used from that high point can be interpreted as hopelessness and the desire to see a larger reality.
The second painting is also a landscape but instead of a green scenery, Monet has painted the ocean, the sky and a little boat. The fact that the ocean and the sky have been painted with the same colors, almost blending them together making it difficult to determine where the sky begins and where the ocean ends, makes the painting look dreamy and it gives the illusion of space. The only bright color is the orange-pink sun setting in the distance and the little dark boat adds contrast, instantly drawing attention. In this painting, as well as Cole’s, there is atmospheric perspective and both artists have managed to create a sense of depth with that technique. Thomas Cole has painted the tree and plants with more detail and the rest of the view more faintly which is the effect of a texture gradient and a brightness gradient. Monet has not used those techniques because the entire painting is blurry and soft but it still has depth due to the shiny surface of the water, the distant setting sun and its reflection on the ocean and the pink cloudy sky. Both paintings have a sense of calmness and serenity due to their cool colors and mostly because of the realistic illusion of space.
