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luminism

 
Dictionary: lu·mi·nism  Lu·mi·nism (lū'mə-nĭz'əm) pronunciation
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also n.
A style of 19th-century American painting concerned especially with the precise, realistic rendering of atmospheric light and the perceived effects of that light on depicted objects.

[Latin lūmen, lūmin-, light; see lumen + -ISM.]

luminist lu'mi·nist adj. & n.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: luminism
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Painting style that emphasizes a particular clarity of light. It is characteristic of the works of a group of U.S. painters of the late 19th century, influenced by the Hudson River school. Typically landscapes or seascapes, with sky occupying nearly half the composition, luminist works are distinguished by cool, clear colours and meticulously detailed objects modeled by light. The most prominent luminist painters were John Frederick Kensett, Martin Johnson Heade, and Fitz Hugh Lane.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: luminism
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luminism (lū'mĭnĭz'əm), American art movement of the 19th cent. Luminism was an outgrowth of the Hudson River school. In its concern for capturing the effects of light and atmosphere it is sometimes linked to impressionism. Its practitioners included Frederick E. Church (in his early career), Fitz Hugh Lane, John F. Kensett, Sanford R. Gifford, and Martin Johnson Heade. They painted majestic landscapes and seascapes bathed in the mystical light of a pristine sky with an emphasis on Nature's grand scale.

Bibliography

See B. Novak, Nature and Culture: American Landscape and Painting, 1825-1875 (1980).

 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more