KIA Assignment Reaction Paper The first painting I found at the KIA was Autumn Sunset at Greenwood by Jasper Cropsey. It first caught my attention because of the large lake and its contrast with the neighboring terrain. The river connects the foreground to the background, there are grazing animals (livestock), and the mountains along with the dark clouds above them in the background represent the idea of ​​the sublime . I think that since this painting is based on a location in Greenwood Lake, New York, it may represent the idea of ​​an escape in an urbanized environment. It was painted in 1876, so America was 100 years old at that time. New York was urbanizing at the start of the Industrial Revolution after the Civil War. This painting directly critiques this idea and reminds people that they do not have to conform to the urbanized environment and that there are still ways to escape to the spiritual world of nature. I think the use of all the fall colors (bright oranges, darker reds, and yellows), along with the sunset in the sky, gives the audience a sense of calm. One of my personal aesthetics that I look for in nature is the idea that it is a piece of history little touched by man and that the slow changes that occur over time contrast greatly with the rapid evolution of technology and culture in the modern world. This painting perfectly reflects my feelings; While the human environment was rapidly changing, this virtually untouched piece of land still connected humanity to Earth's natural past. An interesting note about Jasper Cropsey's work is that this idea appears in most of his other works. After briefly looking through his other paintings, I concluded that almost all of them were based on natural environments in different parts of New England (some in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York), all of which generally reflect the idea of ​​escaping urbanization. these areas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an original essay The next painting that caught my eye was Heart of the Andes by Robert Duncanson, painted in 1871 (note: originally painted by Fredric Church in 1857). Compositional elements of the Hudson River include an immense depiction of the sublime in the form of a dark mountain range filling the background, idling figures in the foreground, a river up in the background and framing vegetation with trees on either side of the river. This painting gives me more spiritual meaning than Cropsey's Autumn Sunset at Greenwood. The idle figures in the foreground appear to be traveling on a path that crosses the mountains in the background. The idea of ​​God's power in the face of the sublime comes into play, to the extent that these traveling characters prepare to directly confront this dangerous path. My speculation on the overall message of the painting is that the landscape is not always friendly and pretty, and that conquering it is not an easy task. This could be a response to the American westward expansionist ideal of the time. Although I am not personally religious, I find the idea of ​​conquering risky landscapes through spirituality particularly interesting, and I respect the idea of ​​God creating these epic and sublime depictions. An interesting fact about Robert Duncanson is that at the same time he was creating plays inspired by the Hudson River School, abolitionist patrons were also commissioning anti-slavery scenes from him. The last Hudson River School painting I found was Mount Brewer from King's River Canyon, by Albert..