Phases of the Moon (1850)

Dated 1850, "Phases of the Moon" is an artwork by Asa Smith. About the period around 1850: Landscape gained new prestige through groups such as the Barbizon painters in France and the Hudson River School in the United States, and by mid-century Realism turned to ordinary people and everyday labour. The first half of the nineteenth century moved from Neoclassicism to Romanticism, which placed emotion, nature, and the sublime at the centre of painting. Background on Illustration: Illustration serves a text or a story, a tradition that runs from decorated medieval manuscripts to printed book plates, magazines, and posters. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are often described as a golden age of book and magazine illustration. The catalogue places it in Illustration. The format is portrait.

"Phases of the Moon" is shown in the onlly.art catalogue for reference and browsing. A portrait format suits narrow wall spaces, hallways, and the area beside a door or window. Browsing works by the same artist, or from the same period, is a good way to compare styles before choosing what suits your space.

American

If you like the visual language of Asa Smith, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.