The Visual Elements and Principles of Designs

The Oxbow is an 1836 oil on canvas seminal landscape painting by Thomas Cole. It is generally the view of Mont Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts after a thunderstorm. It is artistically the representation of a Romantic panorama of the Connecticut River Valley just after a storm. It is interpreted as artistically representing the existing confrontation between the wilderness and civilization. The artist represents the visual elements and principles of designs in art and how they relate to each other to create meaning. 

The painting portrays shattered and leafless tree trunks on rough cliffs. The wilderness can be seen as dark with dark angry clouds that might lead to a heavy downpour. On the other hand, the landscape is green and relaxed. The Connecticut River cuts in between the peaceful landscape and the vast dark wilderness. Cole used actual lines to draw the viewer’s attention to the painting such as the lines created by the river. The contrast between the ferocious wilderness and the green landscape has been made evident through diagonal cutting by the rough thundery mountainside. Both organic and geometric shapes have been used in the painting. For example, the slightly defined edges of the forest represent organic shapes while the circular and rectangular shapes of the river represent the geometrical part. The use of both the organic and geometric shapes makes the painting balanced. The painting has both the implied and actual mass. In this case, the background, the sky and the river seem very static compared to the mobile trees hence diversified the painting. The space is kinetic with the darkness of the wilderness and the stillness of the Connecticut River. There is use of the illusion of 3D in 2D media by the manipulation of the visual elements. There is the aspect of motion through the river and the storm clouds facing the same directions. With the greenness of the landscape, it could be spring or summer. However, since there is the clouds that symbolizes the probability of rain it is definitely spring. The tree is illuminated by the sun providing a strong value contrast that creates a balance that allows the viewer to focus on the oxbow and the river valley below. The darkness of the clouds and the wilderness results to the dramatic effects that represents the ferocious aspects of the wilderness while the low lying Connecticut River shows tranquility. The freshly green landscape represents serenity. 

The painting is unified by the ability of Cole to find a distinctive site in the Connecticut River as the setting of his painting, The Oxbow . Using this precise location of Mount Holyoke, he was able to balance the two circles of nature. The contrast between the dense stormy wilderness and the sunlit cultivated plains becomes vivid to the viewer from this location. The contrast in the light usage and color combination are elements that create the clear difference. The presence of the Connecticut River creates a symmetrical balance. The focal point is the tranquil river that tends to set the moods for both sides and emphasize on the existing conflict. By including a miniscule portrait of himself, Cole was trying to depict the insignificance of man compared to nature although it was subordinated. The dense forest acts a directional line for the viewer to focus on nature in awe. It creates a platform in which the viewer can expand their view to accommodate the river as much as the vast deserted land. There is the creation of contrast through lighting, the scale and proportion. Repetition is visible through the repetition of shape, color and other artistic element as a result rhythm was created. In this picture, there is flowing rhythm. The artwork is big through its ability to capture a wide area of life using a single focal area. The figures represented in the artwork are larger than life such as how Cole portrayed humans smallness compared to nature. With the natural aspect of the entire painting, the viewer easily relates to the described interpretation. 

In conclusion, the visual elements of the painting and the principles of its design relate wholly to each other. They emphasize on the interpretation intended through mutual balancing. For example, through visual elements like lines, shape and space balance well with color, tone and texture the artists creates a visually balanced painting. The principle of design like focal points and directional lines guides the viewer with their perception thus easy interpretation and analysis. 

Reference

Thomas Cole. (1836). The Oxbow . Fig. 21.6, pg. 365