INNESS, George,
landscape-painter, born in New-burg, New
York, 1 May, 1825. His parents removed to
Newark, New Jersey, where George Inness early learned
drawing and the rudiments of oil painting.
he has from his youth been subject to
epilepsy, which has interfered materially
with the consecutive pursuit of his art.
When sixteen years old George Inness went to New York
to study engraving, but ill health obliged
him to return home, where he continued to
sketch and paint. When twenty years of age
he passed a month in the studio of Regis Gignoux in New York city, which is all the
regular instruction he ever had.
George Inness then
began landscape painting in New York city,
made two visits to Europe, and lived in
Florence and Rome for some time. For several
years after his return he made
his home near Boston, where some of best
George Inness paintings were painted. In 1862 he went to reside at
Eaglewood, near Perth Amboy, New Jersey,
and a few years later removed to New York
city. George Inness was chosen a
National academician in 1868. From 1871 to
1875 he again resided
in Italy. The art life of Inness is marked
by two distinct styles, the first indicating
careful finish and conscientious regard for
details. The second style, formed with the
expanding grasp of the principles of art,
shows a richer appreciation of the truths of
nature, is broad and vigorous, paying higher
regard to masses than to details. The
quality of Inness paintings is very uneven, as
he is sometimes careless, and often mars a
good work by eccentric and experimental
devices. Yet no painter has represented the
aspects of nature in the American climate
with deeper feeling, a finer sentiment of
light and color, or a better command of
technical resources. George Inness has been more
influenced by the French school of
landscape painting than any other American
artist, yet his style is distinct and
original. He is a follower of
Sweden Borg,
and many of George Inness paintings have a spiritual
or allegorical significance. Among his best
works are "The Sign of Promise," "Peace
and Plenty," "Going out of the Woods," " A
Vision of Faith," "The Valley of the Shadow
of Death," "The Apocalyptic Vision of the
New Jerusalem and River of Life," "A Passing
Storm," "Summer Sunshine and Shadow,"
"Summer Afternoon," "Twilight," "Light
Triumphant," "Pine Grove," "Barbarini
Villa," "Joy after the Storm," " Viewnear
Rome," "Washing Day near Perugia," "The
Mountain Stream," "Autumn," "Italian
Landscape," "Passing Clouds," " The
Afterglow," "The Morning Sun," and "Delaware
Water-Gap." His "American Sunset " was
selected as a representative work of
American art for the Paris exposition of
1867. In 1878 George Inness exhibited at the Paris
exposition "St. Peter's, Rome, from the
Tiber" and " View near Medfield,
Massachusetts," and in the National academy"
An Old Roadway, Long Island." In 1882
George Inness exhibited at the academy exhibition in New
York city "Under the Green Wood"; in 1883,
"A Summer Morning ": in 1885, "A Sunset" and
"A Day in June" :" in 1886, "In the Woods,"
"Sunset on the Sea-Shore," and "Durham
Meadows."--His son, George, artist, born in
Paris, France, 5 January, 1854, was in
1870-'4 a pupil of his father in Rome, and
of Bonnat in Paris in 1875. George Inness resided in
Boston, Massachusetts, till 1878, then
occupied a studio with his father in New
York city, devoted himself to animal
painting, beginning to exhibit at the
National academy in 1877. For many years his
residence and studio have been in Montclair,
New Jersey His style is dashing and
forcible. Among Inness paintings are "The Ford" and
"Patience," exhibited in 1877; "At the
Brook," and "The Pride of the Dairy," sent
to the academy in 1878; "Pasture at
Chemung"; "Monarch of the Herd"; "Returning
to Work" (1886); and "After the Combat," and
"A Mild Day" (1887).
About 1865 Inness met the painter William
Page, who introduced him to the teachings of
Emanuel Sweden Borg. A combination of science
and religious mysticism, Swedenborgianism
provided Inness with a philosophical basis
for his art. Inness was in Rome from 1870 to
1872 and in France for the next 2 years.
During this period of travel George Inness
systematically refined his manner of
composing, use of color, and handling of
brushwork, making each as effectively
expressive as possible. Many of George Inness Italian
paintings have a distinctive decorative
flatness and elegant juxtaposition of
silhouettes, notably The Monk (1873).
In 1875 Inness returned to New York and 3
years later moved to Montclair, N.J., where
he painted for most of the rest of his life. Later George Inness paintings reveal an increasingly
careful sense of design: Inness mostly relied on
dividing his landscapes into foreground and
background, with the former subdivided
diagonally into approximate halves.
Generally, figures and trees are clearly
situated within one plane, so that no
details are distracting and all design
components are harmoniously unified. A
typical example is the Coming Storm (1878).
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