Theodore Robinson: An American Artist 

Oftentimes, art is a powerful indicator of, comment on, or a response to the social zeitgeist of an era or social environment in which it appears. Theodore Robinson objects to the actions occurring in his surrounding environments of the 1880s through his tremendous use of brilliant colors and emphasis on human perception. Robinson is one of the first American artists to bring attention to impressionism during this era. Since 1877 he was exhibiting his paintings across Europe but it was not until 1879 when he returned to the United States that he became known as a famous American Impressionist Artist for his loose brushwork and depictions of domestic life.

It is clear to the viewer the sense of worth nature has on Robinson during the time of the Second Industrial Revolution.

On June third, 1852 Theodore Robinson was born in Irasburg, Vermont. Theodore is the son of Elijah and Ellen Robinson, he was the third born of six children. At a young age, one of Theodore’s brothers and two of his sisters passed away, leaving him and his other two brothers Hamline and John.

His father worked to be a part of the Methodist congregation, but due to bad health conditions had to give up his spot in the ministry and become a shopkeeper. In 1855 the family moved to a small town in Illinois known as Barry, and later on, moved to Evansville Wisconsin. The main reason for the move into the countryside was Robinson’s illness, as a child, he developed a strong case of asthma that would b with him for the rest of his life.

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While residing in Wisconsin, Robinson traveled to Chicago in 1869 to study at the Art Institute and remained there for one year. His work was suddenly stopped as his asthma began to worsen. The polluted air was not healthy for his lungs. This led him to move to the clean airs of Denver, Colorado where he remained for a few years before returning to Evansville. While in his hometown, Robinson worked towards collecting money for art college by doing portraits of people in his surrounding communities. In 1874, he continued his studies at the National Academy of Design in New York. The Academy was run by much older artists who believed in teaching a more generic way of painting and mainly focused on landscapes. The dissatisfaction of the students made them turn in another direction, Robinson and his other colleagues created the Art Students League. The league allowed for a greater influence on their works and gave them more imaginative freedom. Two years later Robinson went abroad to study in Paris. For a short time, he worked alongside a famous painter Carolus-Duran until he moved on to be a student at École des Beaux-Arts. Robinson soon began to work under the French painter and sculptor, Jean-Léon Gérome. This was a big achievement because most of the American students that traveled to Paris wanted to attend this course and only a few would get to this point. Robinson then continued his work between the United States and Paris for many years. When returning to Paris after one summer, the weather conditions were too harsh on Robinson’s illness. He was an artist who lived in poverty and did not have the idle living conditions which led to him suffering from the cold and small asthma attacks. It was then in 1896 when Robinson was only forty-three years old that he passed away due to an acute asthma attack in New York. His body was then buried in his hometown of Evansville.

The genre of art that Robinson excels in and is most known for is impressionism, but this was not until 1888. Before learning the ways of impressionism paintings, Robinson focused more on a realistic brush style. It was then in 1888 when Robinson moved next door to famous painter Claude Monet, that he learned the traditional ways of impressionism under the influence of Monet. Traditional impressionist paintings displayed views of landscapes rather than people. But Robinson put his American twist on it and became one of the first impressionist artists to include living figures in his art. Impressionism is defined as a style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s. Characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color. Many impressionism paintings can be identified through the loose brushstrokes, bright colors, and depiction of domestic life. Impressionism is used to give the audience a glimpse of the artist’s impression of the sense and to give the viewer insight. During the 1870s and the 1880s when Robinson’s paintings were getting famous, the Second Industrial Revolution was also taking place. Surrounding this time in history, many people began moving from more rural settings into bigger bustling cities. The expansion of railways and telegraph lines allowed for modern ideas to spread rapidly. Due to the movement of large numbers of people out of the country and into the city, many people began forgetting and ignoring the nature that surrounded them for the newer more innovative culture. Artists used this as a gateway to get people to remember the environment that they had left behind. Other artists of this genre include Vincent van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, and Camille Pissarro. All of the paintings by these artists show very vibrant colors and realistic day-to-day pastoral events. These paintings brought out the life and beauty in nature most people just looked past.

In one of his private collections, Robinson exhibited a painting in 1893, entitled “Stepping Stones” which is to be considered the greatest example of French Impressionism during this era. Robinson created this 21.5-inch by 28.5-inch painting by using oil-based paints on a canvas to express how impressionism is not about what is there but how we see it and perceive it in our way through various color shades and brushwork styles. The painting displays a scene of two young girls, towards the center of the painting stepping across parted stones stretching from one side of a creek to another. Viewers may conclude the young girls to be sisters because they are both dressed in the same clothing and have identical blonde wavy hair. The stepping stones the children are on are used as a symbol of a new path in life. The period in which they are growing up is changing at an exponentially fast rate, and viewers were watching as they take their next steps in this new direction. Robinson adds to the impressionistic style by using loose brushwork that allows the viewer to interpret a lot of what they see and leaves room for a slight amount of imagination and wonder. Robinson’s use of colors in this painting is what makes it so pleasing to look at. The colors that catch your eye instantly are the pastel blue and purple shading on the girl’s dresses that bring your attention to the front, rather than the dark shades in the background, bringing depth to the painting. The deep green contrast in the trees encompassing the creek brings out the delicate and innocent mood the girls give off. The reflection of the sun against the glistening water gives the viewer a sense of hope and liveliness to nature during a period when people looked down upon the tranquil environment and only felt a need for the hustle and bustle of big growing cities. Robinson uses this fascinating landscape and pure depiction of the young girls to draw attention back to nature and its importance to human society.