Mohawk River, New York

This painting, seemingly located on the upper Mohawk River, assumes a timeless, mythical quality. Bierstadt was one of several second-generation Hudson School artists associated with "luminism," a technique using aerial perspective and moisture-saturated air to create an otherworldly glow.

Here, we see four cattle watering in a river so calm it reflects the surrounding forest. No signs of the humans who graze them are visible. At left a white steer stands apart, illuminated in a beam of sunlight. Its nearly mythical quality may reference Greek mythology and the metamorphosis of humans into animal form--whether Io transformed by an angry Hera or Zeus transorming himself to rape Europa.

Bierstadt, Albert, 1830-1902

Portland Art Museum, Portland OR
Photograph by Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons

Oil painting