Norwegian Coast by Moonlight

     Last month, I was able to visit the Crocker Art Museum. During the visit to the museum, I was overwhelmed by how much art there was. I tried to look at every single piece of fascinating art but one really caught my eye. The Norwegian Coast by Moonlight by Andreas Achenbach. The painting is an oil on canvas created in 1848. In the painting, we can see violent waves brushing up against rocks and a wrecked ship with the main light source being light from the bright moon. The wrecked boat is supposed to symbolize the man's helplessness during the storm. There are also a few birds flying in the sky. The birds are the complete opposite of the man because the man is helpless in storm while the birds are free and unharmed. In the back, we can see a beacon from a lighthouse on the cliff "unable to prevent the wreck below," (Crocker Art Museum). 

Norwegian Coast by Moonlight 
Andres Achenbach 
1848
Oil on canvas

    This art piece really stood out to me because of the feeling it evokes from the audience. The art is amazing and beautiful but the sense of stress and uneasiness from the painting caused me to get lured me in and made me want to learn more about it. I chose the painting to research because although the painting was not very big, the emotions it made me feel was. 

    I could not find any articles relevant to Andreas Achenbach or the Norwegian Coast by Moonlight, however, I was able to find an article about art in the 19th century. The article "Japonisme: East-West Renaissance in the Late 19th Century" by Yoko Chiba discusses the influence that Japanese art and design had on art around the world. "Attractive to European pictorial artists of the time were the many characteristics of Japanese aesthetics that were in so many ways antithetical to traditional Western thought: asymmetry, irregularity of composition, diagonal design, off-centered arrangement, decorativeness, empty space..." (Chiba 6). This along with a description provided by the Crocker Art Museum on Achenbach's painting, "Artists in the mid-19th century sought out the drama of nature as an expression of the Romantic spirit," (Crocker Art Museum), provides information on style of art that Europeans developed during the 19th century. I found both of the information helpful because after reading about the features of 19th century art, it made me look at the Norwegian Coast by Moonlight more in depth while searching for and apply the characteristics. 

    Since my class theme is "To what extent are humans responsible for the environment," I found it difficult to tie in different ideas we have learned to it, including the painting. I figured Norwegian Coast by Moonlight would at least fit a little bit into the theme considering it displays a tense environment and a man that faced the consequence of nature. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, artists at the time wanted to depict "drama of nature as an expression of the Romantic spirit" (Crocker Art Museum). Nature and romanticism were connected because "artists and philosophers of the romantic period emphasized the glory and beauty of nature, and the power of the natural world," (McAtee). Achenbach seems to have wanted to take the beauty of nature, and turn it into something still beautiful yet terrifying. The waves crash the boat as if it is a warning to the helpless man showring just how strong nature is. 

    This seems very different from recent times because the way humans treat the environment is quite opposite. There are many people now who do not see or romanticize the beauty and glory of nature, but it seemed as if people in the 19th century believed that the beauty of nature was one of the most important things. Nowadays, the beauty of the environment around us has been rapidly decreasing and humans attitude and actions towards it greatly impacts the rate declines. 

Here is a five minute video showing more beautiful art by Andreas Achenbach!

Works Cited

CHIBA, YOKO. “Japonisme: East-West Renaissance in the Late 19th Century.” Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, vol. 31, no. 2, University of Manitoba, 1998, pp. 1–20, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029769.

McAtee, Marjorie. “What Is the Connection between Romanticism and Nature?” Info Bloom, 22 Feb. 2021, www.infobloom.com/what-is-the-connection-between-romanticism-and-nature.htm.

“Norwegian Coast by Moonlight.” Crocker Art Museum, www.crockerart.org/collections/european-art/artworks/norwegian-coast-by-moonlight-1848.