George Inness

Inness was a skilled draftsman but eventually crafted landscapes in which topographical precision gave way to effects that echoed human moods and sentiments. By the 1860s, he had become attracted to the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish theologian who preached that God was present throughout nature.

In this view of the Berkshire Hills, Inness blurs the details of the landscape to express his conviction that all material objects are spiritually charged. He objected strenuously when critics compared his methods to the broken brushstrokes of the French Impressionists, calling that style a materialistic system that denied “the reality of the unseen.”

Throughout his long career, George Inness embraced a belief in the interconnectedness of nature and spirituality. Although skilled as a draftsman, he eventually crafted a style in which topographical precision was supplanted by landscape effects that echoed human moods and sentiments. By the 1860s, Inness had become attracted to the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish scientist and theologian who preached that God was present throughout nature. In views such as this one, Inness blurs the details of the landscape, suggesting the Swedenborgian tenet that all material objects were spiritually charged. He objected strenuously when his methods were compared with the broken brushstrokes of the French Impressionists, calling that style a materialistic system that denied “the reality of the unseen.”

During a long and successful career, George Inness embraced a belief in the interconnectedness of nature and spirituality. A trip to Europe in the 1850s exposed him to two important influences: the historical resonance of the Roman countryside and the intimate forest views of France’s Barbizon painters. Less painstakingly topographical in his approach than earlier American painters, Inness developed a style in which landscape effects echoed human moods and sentiments.

Like sculptor Hiram Powers (his Eve Disconsolate may be seen in the first gallery), Inness became interested in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish scientist and theologian who preached that God was present throughout nature. In late works such as In the Berkshires, Inness used scumbling techniques to blur the landscape, suggesting the Swedenborgian tenet that all material objects were spiritually charged. When his methods were compared with the softened brushstrokes of the French Impressionists, he objected strenuously, calling the style a materialistic system that denied "the reality of the unseen."