Landscape

William Louis Sonntag, born in East Liberty, Pennsylvania, began his artistic career in 1842 painting landscapes in and around Cincinnati. He was entirely self-taught, and traveled on his own to Italy in 1853 and 1855 to study and paint. Upon his return, he set up a studio in New York City, where he spent the remainder of his life. Sonntag painted scenes of the Hudson River Valley, the Adirondack and Allegheny Mountains, and the eastern seaboard, often working on location. As a member of the Hudson River School of artists, known for their luminous landscapes of the New York region, Sonntag painted images that fostered a spirit of nationalism in America. In this broad panorama, Sonntag depicts America’s boundless landscape. The majority of Sonntag’s paintings are not titled, as they are meant to be ideal compositions rather than identifiable places. This early fall scene is bathed in an even, golden light, and the sky is peaceful. In the highly detailed and unruly foreground of rocks, trees, and river, Sonntag uses tiny brushstrokes of pure, unmixed colors to create a sparkling effect. The dam, which serves as a dividing line in the composition between foreground and middle ground, is one sign that this wilderness is being tamed. The billows of smoke in the mountain on the right as well as in the cleared pasture in the distance at left are further signs of man’s intervention in nature. The three fishermen, by contrast, are depicted as gentle participants in the natural world. The hazy mountainscape and sunset of the background further emphasize the limitlessness of the American wilderness.