John Henry Twachtman

John Henry Twachtman was an American painter who became primarily known for his landscape paintings. Today, Twachtman belongs to a group labeled by art historians as American Impressionism. He is considered among the most experimental artists of his generation, and his manner varied greatly throughout the years. Twachtman was a member of the seminal group The Ten, known for one of the first initiatives towards an authentic and freer American art. Along with fellow painter Childe Hassam and other peers, they created a circle that pushed for a more progressive approach in the 19th-century USA. In 2014, one of his artworks reached the price of $317,000.

Early Life

John Henry Twachtman was born on August 4, 1853, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was Sophia Twachtman, and his father Frederick Christian, two German immigrants. During this period, Cincinnati was a common destiny among people who traveled from Germany. Amongst the several jobs John's father had, was the position of window shade decorator. The young artist took on the same job when he was only fourteen years.

Artistic Education in the US and Munich

As a young man, John attended the Ohio Mechanics Institute before enrolling part-time at the McMicken School of Design in 1871. There, he met the American painter Frank Duveneck in 1874. Although only five years older than John Henry, Duveneck, who studied in Munich, had already achieved significant success in the United States. Duveneck invited Twachtman to share his studio and eventually return to Europe along with him.

In 1875, Twachtman enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, studying under Ludwig von Löfftz, a friend of Duveneck. There, the artist learned to work with vigorous, broad brushstrokes and somber tones that were typical of the school, characterized by deep black pigments and a Romanticist mood. His palette later changed when he was in Paris, transforming into almost the opposite as it was before.

Twachtman returned to the United States in 1878. In the next year, he became a member of the Society of American Artists. It was around this period he became close to Julian Alden Weir, a painter that was frequently coupled with him by art dealers and for displaying a similar sensibility. Soon, he took another trip to Europe, where he taught at Duveneck's school, with a group known as "the Duveneck Boys", in Florence. He also went to Venice, where he joined Duveneck and William Merritt Chase in artistic endeavors.

In 1881, the painter got married, and the couple, accompanied by Weir, traveled through Europe. The trip was a pivotal moment for the developing artist, who became acquainted with the work of landscape painter Anton Mauve. Through Jules Bastien-Lepage's work, Twachtman had his first contact with en plein air painting - a technique in which artists paint landscapes on location. In the next few years, with his father-in-law's financial aid, he managed to return to Europe.

The Academie Julien in Paris

Between 1883 and 1885, the artist studied at the distinguished Academie Julien in Paris, also painting in Normandy and Arques-la-Bataille in the summer. During this period, Twachtman's art style changed significantly. His brushstrokes became more contained, and his color palette became lighter. Under the institution and lectured by Gustave Rodolphe Boulanger, the artist studied figurative painting but wasn't particularly captivated by it.

He was influenced by Bastien-Lepage, whose artworks became quite popular in the United States. Although Twachtman was not very fond of Bastien-Lepage's meticulous zeal for detail, he admired the penetrating quality of natural light displayed in his production. His contact with James McNeil Whistler's pictures may have contributed to a more atmospheric and thinly painted body of work. Another reference is the many Impressionist paintings that he saw during those years.

During this two-year period, he also met fellow American painters Theodore Robinson, Robert Reid, Edmund Tarbell, and Childe Hassam. Robinson was someone that later acted as a middle man between the formation of the Modernist circle in the US and the developments of Impressionist art in France, as he was in direct contact with Claude Monet.

In the later part of this trip, Twachtman went to Venice, where he started to create pastel drawings, probably becoming interested in the medium through Whistler and Weir. Today, these drawings are highly valued for their sketch-like quality and great force of expression, and he is considered a master draughtsman.

Maturity

After his experience in France, his style yet again changed dramatically. From the thick layers of his Munich influenced production, he started to make thinly painted pictures that explored chromatic relations. This French-like and delicate handling of oil paint was hailed and recognized by many. Even in the present day, some of his best works are still associated with this period. Not surprisingly, some years later, Twachtman took another direction in painting style.

The shift in his work seemed to be partly, as it was for a considerable part of Modernist artists, influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints. There was a sense of flatness in his compositions and no particular interest in symmetry; also, the vegetation and its lyrical aspect were highly emphasized as well. The painter's primary influence was, once again, Whistler, the most famous exponent of tonalism, a realm of painting dedicated to subtle color dynamics and atmospheric works.

In 1886, Twachtman went back to the United States with his family. For a period, the artist provided for his family by painting Civil War battle scenes. He became a professor at the Art Students League in New York, where he gave classes for the rest of his life. He also started to create illustrations for Scribner's Magazine. Around this time, the now long relationship with Weir became a joyful camaraderie.

During this time, he began to receive local acclaim and was participating in shows alongside Weir. The painter had his first solo exhibition in 1891 and participated in a collective show with Monet in 1893.

Settling in Connecticut

Soon, he was able to acquire a farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, a place that became a significant inspiration for several of his best-known landscapes. His work, along with Weir's, was labeled as derivative by art critics. Many were confused by the changes in his style after he moved to Greenwich.

One of the artworks that exemplifies this personal manner is Icebound, dated around 1889, which is part of the Art Institution of Chicago collection. While having a subdued color palette, the artwork was once again worked with heavy and thick layers of paint, giving a unique texture to its surface.

This kind of winter scene became a recurring subject of the painter's oeuvre. Along with his friend Hassam, they became famous for their depiction of snow, with the difference that the latter usually chose urban scenery for his compositions. On the other hand, the rural aspect was a defining characteristic of Twachtman's images.

Later Years and Death

During his later life, the artist achieved a great level of respect. He received commissions to execute a series of landscape paintings of the Yellowstone National Park and Niagara Falls.

Some historians point to the last two years of his life as a different phase in his production. During the summer of those years, he went with Duveneck to Massachusetts, and they were joined by an avid student and admirer of his work.

John Henry Twachtman died on August 8, 1902.

Quotes

"I can see how necessary it is to live always in the country - at all seasons of the year. Never is nature more lovely than when it is snowing. Everything is so quiet, and the whole earth seems wrapped in a mantle... All nature is hushed to silence."
- John Henry Twachtman