Frederick Childe Hassam - American

Isles of Shoals,
Broad Cove,
1911







In this work by the American impressionist Childe Hassam, the interlocking areas of water and land are nearly the same in size and shape, creating a sort of yin yang symbol. This produces a visual ambiguity of figure and ground - the viewer's eye cannot fully decide if the land is the figure on the ground of the sea, or vice versa. This makes the composition more interesting.
Childe Hassam was one of the handful of artists who took the Impressionist style of landscape painting from Europe to America.

Framed View

Charles Walter Simpson (English)


Childe Hassam (American Impressionist)
Coastal Scene, Isle of Shoals, 25 x 30 inches

Sea framed by rocks. The sea tends to be flat and relatively featureless. A seascape can easily look lopsided if the cliffs or rocks are on one side only. In both of these works the compositional problem is solved by framing the water with rocks on both sides.

Also, both works have created a path along which the eye is led into the distance - this creates visual interest.