The Hudson River School, the Barbizon and even Baroque
painting as expressed by the French artists; Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin
are magnificent styles of the landscape form. There is one great artist to
encompass all of the fore mentioned and develop his own personal and
recognizable vision. That artist is the American Master George Inness. Inness’
works have taken their place among the most noted and beautiful of paintings.
His paintings are at once joyous, spiritual and illumining. As Inness matured; and
with the spiritual influences of Emanuel Swedenborg, his work became more
abstract in quality and reflected spiritual as well as aesthetic ideals. The
paintings of Inness have a softness and a muted understatement that is
seductive and captivating. They are considered by many to possess a certain
visual poetry. These Inness’ products of spiritualism and technique are wondrous
treasures. They speak most eloquently and are their own statements.
"The true use of art is, first, to cultivate the artist's own spiritual nature."
George Inness