As mentioned above, the painting is very realistic so it comes as no surprise that Cole exercised optical color or reproduced the colors as he saw them in nature. Through the lingering dark clouds and the glistening land the painting explicitly displays the land after a thunderstorm. Many critics believe that by doing this he captures the pureness of the land and the endless opportunity settlers have to take and run with. In addition to the aspect of a fresh start the colors on can easily recognize the dominance of the color green in the foreground of the painting. More often than not green symbolizes life. One may be inclined to say that the large size and the prominent location of the green vegetation symbolizes the life of the land that the Americans were finally beginning to be aware of and take pride in. Finally, when studying the painting many viewers will recognize that Cole used dark ominous colors in the sky and in the hills behind the river. These dark colors represent the vast lack of knowledge during this time period. Many Americans did not know what their next day would look like; Yet they were able to find God in everything and through religion find their
As mentioned above, the painting is very realistic so it comes as no surprise that Cole exercised optical color or reproduced the colors as he saw them in nature. Through the lingering dark clouds and the glistening land the painting explicitly displays the land after a thunderstorm. Many critics believe that by doing this he captures the pureness of the land and the endless opportunity settlers have to take and run with. In addition to the aspect of a fresh start the colors on can easily recognize the dominance of the color green in the foreground of the painting. More often than not green symbolizes life. One may be inclined to say that the large size and the prominent location of the green vegetation symbolizes the life of the land that the Americans were finally beginning to be aware of and take pride in. Finally, when studying the painting many viewers will recognize that Cole used dark ominous colors in the sky and in the hills behind the river. These dark colors represent the vast lack of knowledge during this time period. Many Americans did not know what their next day would look like; Yet they were able to find God in everything and through religion find their