Wooded Landscape with Figures c. 1837 - 1838

Thomas Cole painted this landscape scene with figures using oil on board. The directness of the brushstrokes, and the way that the brown underpainting shows through, give it a provisional feel. Cole worked in a tradition of landscape painting, which often romanticized nature. But he also looked carefully at his immediate surroundings, using his brush to capture the rough textures of the bark, the weight of the stone, and the dampness of the forest floor. Cole was immersed in the immediacy of the landscape. Consider, too, the artist's labor. Cole lived at a time when the Industrial Revolution was profoundly reshaping society and the economy. He himself spent hours outside, recording what he saw, and perhaps subtly reminding his audience of what was at stake in a rapidly changing world. Paying attention to the materiality of painting, and the processes of its making, helps us to consider the labor and broader context that an artwork can bring to light.