Approaching Thunder Storm
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
28 x 44in. (71.1 x 111.8cm) Framed: 42 1/2 × 58 3/8 × 5 in. (108 × 148.3 × 12.7 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Erving Wolf Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Erving Wolf, in memory of Diane R. Wolf, 1975
Accession Number
1975.160
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the moody expanse of *Approaching Thunder Storm* (1859), Martin Johnson Heade captures nature's sublime drama with masterful restraint. This oil on canvas, measuring 28 x 44 inches, depicts a vast marsh landscape where dark thunderheads loom ominously over calm waters, punctuated by a solitary boat. Heade, a key figure in American Luminism—a movement emphasizing ethereal light and atmospheric effects—painted during the Hudson River School era, when artists celebrated the American wilderness as a symbol of divine power and national identity. Heade's technique shines in his luminous skies an...