Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


ucin1283366290.pdf (165.66 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Essences of Charleston: The Tropical Landscape Paintings of Louis Remy Mignot, 1857-1859

Robinson, Stuart T.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1283366290

Abstract Details

2010, MA, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Art History.
In 1857, Hudson River School painter Louis Remy Mignot (1831-1870) traveled to Ecuador with, and at the request of, Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). The two artists spent most of their time exploring the Andes mountains, yet, from 1857 to 1859, Mignot painted mainly low-horizon river scenes of Ecuador. In this study, I explain that the artist’s childhood in Charleston, South Carolina influenced this pictorial preference. In chapter one, I use theories of perception found in environmental psychology and human geography to argue that the landscape of one’s childhood remains as an ever-present prism through which future landscapes are viewed. Drawing from the work of phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), I argue that, in art, the childhood landscape is traceable through the “essences,” defined as the identifiable characteristics of a landscape that congeal in memory. Essences include elements of topography, climate, and vegetation. In chapter two, I examine Mignot’s depictions of Charleston’s three essences – rivers, humid skies, and tropical plant life. I argue that Mignot recreated the essences of Charleston in his tropical landscape paintings from 1857 to 1859. Mignot left a scant written record about his art and life. Therefore, in both chapters I use the letters, sketches, and paintings of South America by Church to reflect on Mignot’s tropical landscape paintings. Church, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, represents the Northern counterpart to Mignot’s Southern perception of South America.
Theresa Leininger-Miller, PhD (Committee Chair)
Lynne Ambrosini, PhD (Committee Member)
Kristi Ann Nelson, PhD (Committee Member)
71 p.
Art History
Louis Remy Mignot; Frederic Edwin Church; Landscape Painting; South America; Nineteenth Century; Ecuador

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Robinson, S. T. (2010). Essences of Charleston: The Tropical Landscape Paintings of Louis Remy Mignot, 1857-1859 [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1283366290

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Robinson, Stuart. Essences of Charleston: The Tropical Landscape Paintings of Louis Remy Mignot, 1857-1859. 2010. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1283366290.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Robinson, Stuart. "Essences of Charleston: The Tropical Landscape Paintings of Louis Remy Mignot, 1857-1859." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1283366290

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1283366290
362
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.