Kindred Spirits, by American artist Asher Brown Duran, features painter Thomas Cole and poet William Cullen Bryant. I include it on a PowerPoint slide show to introduce my students to the American Renaissance. Tonight (this morning? I have lost track of time and am exhausted at the moment), this painting speaks volumes to me. The title of the painting was inspired by Sonnet to Solitude by John Keats, an English Romantic poet. O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell, Let it not be among the jumbled heap Of murky buildings: climb with me the steep,— Natures observatory—whence the dell, In flowery slopes, its rivers crystal swell, May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep Mongst boughs pavilioned, where the deers swift leap Startles the wild bee from the foxglove bell. But though Ill gladly trace these scenes with thee, Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind, Whose words are images of thoughts refined, Is my souls pleasure; and it sure must be Almost the highest bliss of human-kind, When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 10:27:17 +0000
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