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Leroy Ferdinand Jonas
Hudson River School Large American Impressionist Landscape Wisconsin in the Snow
1926

About the Item

A large scale American Impressionist landscape of a snow scene, most probably Wisconsin, by Leroy Ferdinand Jonas. The painting is signed and dated bottom right and presented in a fine gilt frame. An imposing view of a snowy landscape most probably the artist's native Wisconsin. Jonas has captured the grandeur of the scene with the contrast between the thick lush snow and the rich colours of the foliage and leaves on the trees. His impasto technique is very characteristic of the American Impressionists as is the subject and sense of scale. A really beautiful painting which because of its scale would be a statement piece in any room. LeRoy Jonas was born in the town of Texas, Marathon County, Wisconsin, on April 18, 1897, son of Johann F. and Marie (Borchardt) Jonas. He was educated in Wausau public schools and attended the Chicago Art Institute, where he studied under John Norton, noted for his murals, Leopold Seifert, noted for his portraits, and William Wilmovsky, a landscape artist. He worked as a commercial artist and Conservator of Fine Arts there. Upon graduating, he painted for a while in Door County, Wisconsin and was then awarded a scholarship to study under Leon Lundmark, one of the most noted marine painters of his day. He worked with him in Portland, Maine, and on the shores of Lake Superior. After World War I, Jonas returned to Wausau to concentrate on painting his favourite scenes, the North Woods and Lake Superior. He also taught art for seven years in vocational schools in Wausau and Stevens Point. Countless of his paintings are found in private collections throughout the state and the country. In 1934 he painted an 8 by 18 foot lumberjack mural for the old Wausau City Hall. Jonas also painted Indian scenes in Wausau East High School and he also painted a noted portrait of Silas B. Tobey. American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colours with a wide array of subject matters but focusing on landscapes and upper-class domestic life. Impressionism emerged as an artistic style in France in the 1860s. Major exhibitions of French impressionist works in Boston and New York in the 1880s introduced the style to the American public. The first exhibit took place in 1886 in New York and was presented by the American Art Association and organized by Paul Durand-Ruel. Some of the first American artists to paint in an impressionistic mode, such as Theodore Robinson and Mary Cassatt, did so in the late 1880s after visiting France and meeting with artists such as Claude Monet. Others, such as Childe Hassam, took notice of the increasing numbers of French impressionist works at American exhibitions. Impressionism was initially unpopular in the United States. At the first exhibit in 1886, Americans were attracted to the landscape paintings but were offended by the realist figures and nudity depicted in other paintings. American artists were hesitant to adopt the style of Impressionism while studying in France as it was created as a radical rejection of tradition at the Academy and American artists hoped to gain acceptance through their traditional academy studies. Overtime, American patrons began to accept the abstract forms of Impressionism, especially as American artists, such as Mary Cassatt, began to adopt the styles of French Impressionism. Unlike early Renaissance painters, American Impressionists favoured asymmetrical composition, cropped figures, and plunging perspectives in their works in order to create a more "impressionist" version of the subject. In addition, American impressionists used pure colour straight from the tubes to make the works more vibrant, used broken brushstrokes, and practiced "impasto"- a style of painting characterized by thick raised strokes. European impressionists painted tranquil scenes of landscapes or the lower and middle classes. American impressionists focused on landscapes like the European impressionists, but unlike their European counterparts, American impressionists also painted scenes of quiet domesticity, in contrast to the emergence of industrialization. As railroads, automobiles, and other new technology emerged, American impressionists often painted vast landscapes and small towns in an effort to return to nature. Before the invention of collapsible paint tubes artists were often confined to using subjects in their studios or painting from memory. With the invention of paint tubes in 1841, artists could transport their paint and easily paint in nature.

Creator:

Leroy Ferdinand Jonas (1897 - 1981, American)

Creation Year:

1926

Dimensions:

Height: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 41.34 in (105 cm)Depth: 1.78 in (4.5 cm)

Medium:

Oil,Canvas

Movement & Style:

American Impressionist

Period:

Early 20th Century