This painting by Thomas Cole comments on the contrast between the wild and the

orderly within nature, and natures very power over humans using composition,
lighting, subject matter, and naturalism to convey his meaning. Coles painting
depicts a beuatiful, serene landscape just after it had been ravaged by a harsh storm.
Trees are broken, and the dark clouds can be seen to recede into the distance. They
tower greatly over the small depiction of the artist at his craft, who seems meager
compared to this wild turbulence created by the earth. Nature is thus a force greater
than man, both beautiful and poerful. The use of naturalism allows the viewer to
take this scene as a simply aesthetic piece, yet also interpret it in deeper meanings.
The viewer sees a serene scene to lthe right depicted in such a manner that it could
almost be mistaken for a a phtograph. The viewer can thus experience this paintings
content, and not focus on its style.

This work by Anselm Kiefer show nature as something that man has taken control of
and ravaged, showing mans unstable nature. Kiefer depicts a torn landscape using
dark colors and harsh brushstrokes, giving the viewer a sense of unease. The
painting depicts a field laid to waste, sitting in the bitter snow. In the foreground
heavy black shapes provides a sense of foreboding. Kiefers brushstrokes in the
background give the sky a chaotic look on hat otherwise may have been a beautiful
clear day. The subject matter of a field ties this painting directly to humans. The
dark forms to the right and in the background seem to recall human bodies, splayed
out on the ground. These people are clearly not simply asleep, but laid out in a field
where they took there last breaths. Nature thus becomes something that man has
touched and shaped, for food and good, yet has also been shaped for the worse from
the ravages of war.

This painting depicts nature as a vibrant and serene entity, that, although made up
of many parts, is of one whole that nurtures man, yet towers over us with its age and
beauty. Cezanne uses a vibrant palette of colors, not many that provide naturalism
to the scene, but provide a sort of impression of the landscape and its basic forms.
The blocks of color he uses remind the viewer that the world is made up of so many
vibrating parts, yet when put into one whole, form the beautiful earth. Cezanne
places French houses directly into this landscape showing the viewer that man has
come to live off of these many parts, and that although different, we are just as
integral a part. This can be seen in how he simplifies the shape of the houses to
mimic those of the landscape.

Although these three artists depict a landscape composed in similar style, they all
create different meanings of nature and its relation to mankind through there
technique, composition, and subject matter. Thomas Cole seeks to show the power
and beauty of nature, and how man is but an insignificant speck. On the other hand,
Cezanne wishes to show us that nature is something that humans are an integral
part of, something that is composed of so many parts. In contrast, Kiefer seeks to
show how the earth is simply something that reflects human kinds destructive
qualities, something that is much subordinate to mankind. While Cole depicts his
meaning mostly through subject matter, painting in a Classical style, Cezanne uses
vibrant blocks of color placed along side each other to convey his meaning. Kiefer
uses a variety of media and technique to provide a chaotic and rough surface to his
painting, showing the earths grit. He also hints at form, giving a fleeting nature to
the piece, but showing human bodies that makes this depiction not one of a field
tilled for the winter, but of a horrifying scene of destruction.