Warm-Up American Art and Literature

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Warm-Up American Art and Literature

Art and Literature in the 19th Century: Noah Webster

Lesson Objectives

BY THE END OF THIS LESSON, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• Identify the relationship between the environment and

early American and . .

• Describe the movement and identify important

authors and works associated with it.

• Examine the influence of [t on American art and

culture.

America must be as independent in as she is in .

− Noah Webster,

Author of An American of the English Language.

Art and Literature in the 19th Century: Walt Whitman

Other lands have their vitality in a few, a , but we have it in the bulk of

our .

− Walt Whitman,

of Leaves of Grass



Art and Literature in the 19th Century: Albert Bierstadt

Truly all is remarkable and a wellspring of amazement

and wonder. Man is so fortunate to dwell in this American Garden of .

− Albert Bierstadt,

School painter

Art and Literature in the 19th Century: Herman Melville

It is better to fail in than to succeed in .

– Herman Melville,

Author of



Words to Know

Write the letter of the definition next to the matching word as you work through the

lesson. You may use the glossary to help you.

WK2

A. a movement in art and literature that

focused on the imagination, strong

emotions, nature, and the common people

B. a philosophy, or way of thinking, stressing

the goodness of human beings, the purity

of nature, and the achievement of

understanding through feeling and

intuition, not reason

____ transcendentalism

____ romanticism


Instruction American Art and Literature

Lesson

Question?

Wild America

Europeans and Americans had different views of and

.

Enlightenment culture in Europe celebrated civilization:

• .

• .

• .

Many Europeans saw the United States as wild and .

American artists celebrated the and vast spaces found in their

country, which were seen as a source of:

• .

• .

• .

Slide

2



The School was a style of that celebrated the

American wilderness.

• Artists often painted upstate landscapes.

• The style showed landscapes untouched by .

• Well-known artists included Thomas , Frederick ,

and Asher .

The Hudson River School Artists

Hudson

Slide

2



John James Audubon was a and a .

• He illustrated with 435 paintings.

• The book identified new and showed them in their natural

.

Audubon’s work had both and value.

John James Audubon and Nature in Art

James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)

• Was an American

• Was known for his tales of the American and, especially,

(1826)

• Showed the role of the in creating America

• Celebrated culture

Slide

2

4



• Was one of the first American to gain acclaim in

• Created the characters and the

Paved the way for other American authors

• Created distinctly characters and “types” that

Europeans found and

Washington Irving (1783–1859)

What Is Romanticism?

was a movement that influenced American and

.

• Focused on the , strong emotions , ,

and the people

• Developed as a reaction against the and the

method

7

Slide

4



Romanticism was a rejection of

Romanticism vs. Classicism

Romanticism in American Literature

Nathaniel wrote about the mystery of human in

.

Emily wrote about and nature in her 1,800

.

9

Slide

7

Romanticism Classicism

• , sometimes chaotic

• Individual,

•

• Natural

• Reasonable,

• Responsible,

order

• Orderly

•


Instruction

Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick

American Art and Literature

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)

was written by Herman in 1851.

• Tells the story of Captain and his quest for revenge on the

white he could not catch

• Portrays nature as an force

• Shows humans as often and highly [emotional]

• Wrote and in the 1830s and 1840s

• Was popular for his dark and stories and characters

• Was considered the inventor of the story

• Was known for his works and “The Fall of the House

of Usher”

The Baltimore Ravens

REAL-WORLD CONNECTION

The are an NFL team based in the city of Baltimore,

Maryland.

City residents voted on the team nickname, and chose the raven in honor of

.

13

Slide

11


Instruction

Transcendentalism

was a philosophy that developed in the

I in the 1830s and 1840s, according to which:

• human beings are basically

• nature is and society is

• true understanding comes from and experience, not


The Transcendental Poetry of Walt Whitman

Walt (1819−1892) lived in Brooklyn, New York.

• Captured the of young America with song-like

• Celebrated the person, the [ , the

• Inspired future as well as music

17

Slide

15

.


Instruction

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

• Was a and

• Spent two years living on , in Massachusetts

• Wrote [ (1854), about this experience

• Expressed views on [nonviolence] and a respect for all

• Wrote (1849), about passive

to injustice

I went to the woods because I wished to live

deliberately, to front only the essential facts of

life, and see if I could not learn what it had to

teach, and not, when I came to die, discover

that I had not lived.

−Henry David Thoreau, Walden


Slide

17


Summary

Answer

How did nature and new ideas influence early American art and

literature?


Lesson

Question?


Summary American Art and Literature

Slide

2 Review: The Natural World

The American inspired early American and

.

• The School painters produced beautiful

.

• John James painted animals in their

habitats.

• James Fenimore wrote about the and

celebrated culture.



Review: Romanticism

Romanticism was a movement in and .

• It focused on the , strong emotions,

and the person.

• Authors included Herman , Nathaniel ,

Edgar Allan , and Emily .

Review: Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism was a that developed in the United States in

the 1830s and 1840s, according to which:

• human beings are basically .

• is pure and is corrupt.

• True comes from feeling and experience, not

.

• Americans needed to break from .

Slide

2



Use this space to write any questions or thoughts about this lesson.

Documents

Warm-Up American Art and Literature