The Toilers of the Sea

Largely self-taught, Albert Pinkham Ryder is widely considered one of America's greatest visionary painters. His intense use of color and mysterious themes are distinctly Romantic. Ryder moved with his family from New Bedford, Massachusetts to New York in 187, where he studied briefly at the New York National Academy of Design. He studied the engravings of Camille Corot and other Barbizon painters, and adapted theri tonal pallettes and fine lines in his work. He traveled to Europe extensively from 1877-1896, where he studied the art collection of Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, and France. Around 1880, Ryder moved from pastoral themes to explore subjects of literary, biblical, and Wagnerian themes. Although his work is similar to that of the Symbolists, he avoided that movement's passion for eroticism and decay. Ryder combines his interest in landscapes with his passion for romantic and literary themes in is one of his best known works, "Toilers of the Sea" (1884), inspired by the Victor Hugo novel of the same name. Ten of his works were shown in the Armory Show of 1913. Comment on works: genre