Scholars have hailed David Cox (1783-1859) as one of the pillars of English landscape painting of the early nineteenth century, together with John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. Working primarily in watercolor, Cox celebrated the English landscape in naturalistic pictures that exhibited both a reliance on and a radical departure from the earlier topographical tradition. This dissertation contextualizes and brings into sharper focus the means by which Cox’s naturalism was primarily achieved, through a roughness of brushwork and a mastery of color. He perfected a style that was based on both the topographical and the picturesque traditions while going beyond their theoretical strictures to incorporate the effects of atmosphere, wind, and light. The resulting body of work privileges both an accurate depiction of actual places and of these transient “effects,” as Cox described them. This study argues that Cox’s naturalism was informed by two aspects of his life that have largely been overlooked in the literature: his experience as a theatrical scene painter and his deep and reverent religious faith. The dissertation engages in an analysis of historical, cultural, and biographical circumstances that explains how Cox negotiated a hybrid place between the theoretical debates over ideal landscape versus picturesque landscape painting. Drawing from primary sources, it posits Cox’s compositions as derivative of elements of both schools, refined by copying Old and Contemporary Masters, yet pursuing independent choices in depicting nature truthfully and without the manipulations of antecedent schools and models. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2018. / April 13, 2018. / Book of Nature, David Cox, English landscape, naturalism in landscape, theatrical scene painting, watercolour / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert Neuman, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Walker, University Representative; Jack Freiberg, Committee Member; Adam Jolles, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_654719 |
| Contributors | Fernandez, Segundo J. (author), Neuman, Robert (professor directing dissertation), Walker, Eric C. (university representative), Freiberg, Jack (committee member), Jolles, Adam (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Fine Arts (degree granting college), Department of Art History (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (328 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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