Tall Trees Along Paradise Brook, Near the Bridge of Third
Beach Road, c. 1865
Watercolor over graphite on watercolor paper
2004.8
Tall Trees along Paradise Brook illustrates two of La Farge’s most important artistic innovations from the 1860's. First, the artist was intent on “copying” an honest view of nature in which every element in the landscape and the exact effects of time of day, season, light, and weather are represented, no matter how “absolutely everydayish” the product may be: this was revolutionary for the day and coincides with the work of the French Impressionists. Second, La Farge is considered one of the first Western artists to exhibit the influence of Japanese art in his work. He learned of Japan as a boy studying with a Jesuit who had been a missionary in that far-away land. He started collecting Japanese prints as early as 1863 and in 1870 published one of the earliest and most important essays on Japanese art, the first written by a Western artist.