American school; 1914.

American school; 1914.
Untitled, 1914.
Oil on canvas.
Inscribed on the back.
Signed "M. Wieduwilt" and dated in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 60 x 101 cm; 69 x 110 cm (frame).
This painting of the American school, is inscribed in a long tradition of representation of the nature that occupied a central place in the history of the North American art from the XIX century. The work presents a broad panoramic view dominated by a watercourse meandering between rocky islets and wooded masses, while in the background rises a mountain range crowned by snow-capped peaks. The elevated viewpoint makes it possible to articulate a staggered composition in successive planes. The work maintains a clear affiliation with the landscape tradition inherited from 19th century American painting, particularly with the sensibility developed around the contemplation of nature as a sublime and symbolic space. Although produced in the first decades of the twentieth century, when the avant-garde began to profoundly transform the international art scene, this painting preserves a pictorial language still linked to academic naturalism and detailed observation of the environment.
The theme responds to the ideal of landscape as an expression of territorial and cultural identity. During the development of American art, the representation of vast natural spaces became a vehicle to affirm the uniqueness of the territory and its almost epic dimension.