The artwork, titled “The Oxbow” and created by Thomas Cole in 1836, is an oil painting on canvas. It belongs to the Romanticism art movement and measures 193 x 130.8 cm. This landscape genre artwork is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York City, NY, US.
“The Oxbow” depicts a panoramic view of the Connecticut River Valley after a thunderstorm. The left side of the painting is dominated by dark, stormy skies with a twisted, leafless tree in the foreground, symbolizing the untamed wilderness. In contrast, the right side features a serene landscape bathed in sunlight, with cultivated fields and a tranquil river forming an oxbow shape, representing human influence on nature. The composition eloquently contrasts the wild, untamed environment with civilized, orderly land, exemplifying the sublime beauty of nature while reflecting on humanity’s role in transforming the landscape.
