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C h a p t e r 9 The Roots of Julian’s Art Julian’s formal art education had come to an end by 1903, but that did not mean his curiosity and learning stopped. Throughout his life Julian collected art books, studied art, and visited galleries and museums. In his capacity as the organizer of the State Fair of Texas fine art exhibitions he met with artists and visited their studios. Within this wide and varied exposure several influences stand out as pivotal in forming Julian’s art and these were largely in place by 1903 and further nurtured by the philosophical and artistic milieu of the era.1 The roots of Julian’s philosophy of painting are found primarily in the works of six painters: Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, George Inness Sr., Alexander Helwig Wyant, William Merritt Chase, John Francis Murphy, and Julian’s father, Robert Jenkins Onderdonk. Although Julian never met Corot, the Frenchman’s influence on nineteenth-century landscape painting was monumental . Corot’s love of the natural world and common folk and his insistence on painting both just as he saw them changed the direction of western art, making landscapes and ordinary people valid subjects for fine artists.2 George Inness Sr. and Alexander Helwig Wyant Two major influences on George Inness Sr. were Corot and the Swedishscientist,philosopher,andmysticEmanuelSwedenborg. In her book George Inness and the Visionary Landscape, Adrienne Baxter Bell points out that Swedenborg described the process of “Spiritual Influx” where God’s love and wisdom flowed from the divine, through the spiritual world and into nature. Given the proper concentration, enlightenment, attitude, and grace as he faced nature the artist could become the agent for its expression in his artworks. The artist could in this way have a mystical experience of communion and express that in his painting.3 In April or May 1902 Julian attended an exhibition of paintings by George Inness Sr.,Alexander Helwig Wyant,and Homer Martin at the Democratic Club in New York. The works that affected him most profoundly at the time were those of George Inness Sr., and Julian wrote in his journal, “Beautiful things they were, like poems in color by a man who was thoroughly in sympathy with nature. One picture, Harvest Moon, was one of the softest, richest things I have ever seen and nearly all of his things were that way” (figure 9.1). In these few words Julian summarized what he valued in painting and what would be the pole star guiding him as an artist—to be “thoroughly in sympathy with nature.” Julian’s painting A Summer Evening (figure 9.2) may well have been influenced by Harvest Moon. Despite the fact that the Inness painting is much larger, both paintings share a similar composition, placement of the moon, and dreamlike quality.4 A comparison of Spring Blossoms by Inness (figure 9.3) and Spring Blossoms by Julian (figure 9.4) helps illustrate the influence Inness had on Julian’s art. In both works the human figure is relegated to a position of relative unimportance, helping to establish scale rather than telling a story. Similarly, the focus is not on the architecture; although buildings are included in both images, they are of secondary importance. Both images set a mood of peaceful country living and use a consistent soft tonality to accomplish this. In contrast to the brighter colors one finds in William Merritt Chase’s light-filled landscapes, these two paintings convey the artists’ feelings, emotions, and reverence for the scene rather than a photographically accurate representation . In an interview in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Inness stated, “The true use of art is, first, to cultivate the artist’s own spiritual nature.” Julian expressed a similar sentiment in a letter to Gertrude, which suggests he too sought in his art to find a state of communion with the divine and express his spiritual insights in his work.5 During Robert Onderdonk’s last days as a student in New York City, he had taken private lessons from Alexander Helwig Wyant. In The Onderdonks, Steinfeldt discusses Robert’s relationship with Wyant and the great influence it had on him, and, while it is unlikely that Julian ever met Wyant, his influence on Robert would have undoubtedly passed to Julian. In an essay on Wyant, Carol Lowrey points out that he, like Inness, began his career painting in the realistic manner of the Hudson River School. However, after seeing landscapes...

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