Martin Johnson Heade | Life in the Realm of Fantasy

Artist: Martin Johnson Heade (1819–1904)

Title: York Harbor, Coast of Maine

Genre: marine art

Date: 1877

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: height: 38.7 cm (15.2 in)

Collection: Art Institute of Chicago

What I love about this painting:

We see the sun rising, slowly burning off the morning mist–my favorite time of the day. I love the detail, the way Martin Johnson Heade shows us the truth about harbors that serve small communities in a low-tech world. They aren’t necessarily fancy, and they don’t accommodate large boats. Somewhere out of the picture is a simple wooden pier, a place for the fishing boats to offload their catch. Perhaps there is a sandy beach where fisherfolk can pull their boats above the waterline, resting them upside down when they’re not in use.

The scene he shows us is a salt marsh, alive with a thriving wildlife community.

The line of branches emerging from the water has been placed there by human hands, but for what purpose? Whatever they are meant to do, they have been there long enough that seaweed clings to them, nourished by the rise and fall of the tide.

About the Artist, via Wikipedia:

Martin Johnson Heade (August 11, 1819 – September 4, 1904) was an American painter known for his salt marsh landscapes, seascapes, and depictions of tropical birds (such as hummingbirds), as well as lotus blossoms and other still lifes. His painting style and subject matter, while derived from the romanticism of the time, are regarded by art historians as a significant departure from those of his peers.

Heade’s primary interest in landscape, and the works for which he is perhaps best known today, was the New England coastal salt marsh. Contrary to typical Hudson River School displays of scenic mountains, valleys, and waterfalls, Heade’s marsh landscapes avoided depictions of grandeur. They focused instead on the horizontal expanse of subdued scenery, and employed repeating motifs that included small haystacks and diminutive figures. Heade also concentrated on the depiction of light and atmosphere in his marsh scenes. These and similar works have led some historians to characterize Heade as a Luminist painter. In 1883 Heade moved to Saint Augustine, Florida and took as his primary landscape subject the surrounding subtropical marshland. [1]

To read more about this Artist, go to Martin Johnson Heade – Wikipedia