Landscape Paintings
by Peter and
Catharine Whyte
Landscape Paintings |
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Painting with the Group of Seven As artists, Peter and Catharine were not only influenced by their environment, but also influenced by the artists they were in contact with. By looking at Peter and Catharine's work in the context of these other artists, we can understand their paintings on another level. Accordingly, one of the key influences on Peter and Catharine were the ideas and techniques of the Canadian painters the Group of Seven. The Group of Seven consisted of a group of seven painters from Eastern Canada who shared similar ideologies about painting and a zest for the Canadian landscape. In the time of their founding, 1920, the art world was undergoing dramatic change with a pull away from traditionalist painting in respect to both subject matter and painting technique. This shift away from European Romantic tradition could be seen in the Impressionist movement at the end of the 18th century, and continuing with the Post-Impressionists of the early 19th century. The Impressionist movement introduced many key ideas to painting, one of which was understanding the necessity of painting outdoors to truly capture one's subject. This drastically changed the technique of traditional highly finished painting, as painting outdoors required one to work comparatively fast and resulted in sketchy "unfinished" work. This work was free and intuitive and spoke about the actual act of painting rather than focusing on painting as a mirror of one's environment. The change implemented by these new ideas spread and found a home among the Group of Seven in Canada; what better place to embrace these innovations than in the wild Canadian landscape. The group of Seven embraced the spirit of Canada and the spirit of painting in their work. They introduced a bold colour palette, welcomed the imperfections of the Canadian landscape, and expressed their experiences in abstract simplified shapes. The Group's work was based more on feeling than merely capturing the scene, and focused on small personal glimpses of nature rather than overwhelming grand views. Traveling all across Canada to paint, the Group of Seven were recognized as being among the first to start a truly distinctive Canadian art movement. The Group, originally consisting of J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Haris, Frederick Varley, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson, Franklin Carmichael, and Franz Johnston, held a wide respect and awe for the Canadian landscape and many members often traveled to the Rocky Mountains to paint. Here J.E.H. MacDonald befriended Peter Whyte, and the two spent seven summers together painting nearly every day in the mountains around Banff.
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Untitled Poem by J.E.H. MacDonald
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