Yellowstone Lake c. 1875

Thomas Moran captured the awe-inspiring vastness of Yellowstone Lake with watercolour. The composition of the artwork is arranged in a way that invites the eye to wander through the scene. In the foreground, the texture of the rocky landscape is suggested by a series of hatching lines, which contrast with the smoothness of the blue water and sky. Moran uses a semiotic system of signs that reflects the sublime, where light is a signifier for divine presence, and the rainbow is a sign for transition and hope. Through a structural lens, we might consider how Moran's choice of panoramic format, combined with the elevated perspective, is not just descriptive. He destabilizes traditional landscape painting conventions by embedding layers of symbolic meaning, and engages with contemporary debates about the role of nature in American identity. The sublime is not just a visual experience but a cultural and philosophical discourse.