Barbara C. Matilsky. Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012. Bellingham: Whatcom Museum, 2013. 144 pp. $39.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-295-99342-3.
Reviewed by Sophie Dietrich
Published on H-Environment (July, 2015)
Commissioned by Dolly Jørgensen (University of Stavanger)
Vanishing Ice
Today, alpine and polar regions are associated mainly with environmental issues such as climate change. But the modern concept of these regions, at least for those of us living in the more temperate parts of the world, owes much to stories and images originating in the late eighteenth century. In Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012, Barbara C. Matilsky traces the impact of alpine and polar landscapes on artists' imaginations, examining the rich artistic legacy of glaciers, ice fields, and icebergs. Matilsky's publication accompanied a touring exhibition, which she organized for the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. She states that Vanishing Ice seeks to stimulate an appreciation for alpine and polar landscapes by revealing their significance for both nature and culture, particularly by focusing on the effect of global warming on these landscapes. By exploring phenomena such as glacial recession through the lens of art, history, and science, Vanishing Ice aims to expand people's understanding of the implication of environmental change. Matilsky argues that contemporary artists such as Helen Harrison and Newton Harrison play an important role in increasing public awareness of the effect of global warming. Thus, the publication as well as the exhibition suggest how arts can help to galvanize environmental activism.
Vanishing Ice concentrates on historic and contemporary artists from England, France, and the United States, combining Matilsky's background in French nineteenth-century landscape painting with English-language sources. The publication reveals connections between generations of artists over two centuries and provides insights into similarities and differences among them. Within this context, Vanishing Ice presents different artistic styles, media, and approaches to interpreting alpine and polar landscapes. Furthermore, the book speaks about how the introduction of new technologies such as photography expanded the communication between artists and the public.
Matilsky begins her narrative with a juxtaposition of historic and contemporary art. The poles became popular subjects during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries at the same time that artists, naturalists, and mountaineers were discovering mountain glaciers. Through the realistic and often romantic interpretations of alpine and polar landscapes, which appeared in scientific publications, travelogues, and exhibition journals, artists informed the public about territories little known at the time. Moreover, several artists were commissioned to create mural-size landscape paintings for natural history museums and schools of higher learning. These works helped students and visitors to visualize, for example, the movement of glaciers. For those who could not travel to the icy landscapes, these paintings were the closest substitute for firsthand observation. Matilsky argues that during this period of time the public developed a passionate relationship to these regions because of the arts and natural science and that a similar coalescence of art and science marks contemporary culture. What differs, according to Matilsky, is that artists now call attention to the rapid transformation of nature, and a concern for the future of life on Earth underlines their work.
Matilsky intricately combines historic and contemporary art, scientific data, philosophy, and literature to create a gripping account of the importance of alpine and polar landscapes in shaping Western consciousness about nature. The publication profits from the use of wide-ranging sources from various disciplines. For example, in one section, Sacred Theory of the Earth (1685) by the cleric and scientist Thomas Burnet, Mountain Gloom and Mountain Glory (1958) by American literary scholar Marjorie Hope Nicolson, and the writings of pioneering geologist Horace Benedict de Saussure (1740-99) are all referenced. Moreover, dramatic quotations from the works of writers, scientists, and artists such as Mark Twain and Louis Agassiz are woven into each chapter. Vanishing Ice benefits from this interdisciplinary approach and can be considered as a hybrid of natural history, environmental history, the history of alpine and polar exploration, and art history.
In her foreword to the book, Patricia Leach, the executive director of the Whatcom Museum, states that at the heart of the museum's mission lies the desire to fuel meaningful public conversations about art, nature, and history. All three elements were brought together in the exhibition, and are reflected in this book which accompanied it. Matilsky makes a persuasive argument for the enormous impact of historic and contemporary art on public perceptions of alpine and polar landscapes. Her work is at its best in describing how contemporary artists shape public awareness of environmental issues. Her many case studies serve to drive this point home. It is also an excellently written work of environmental history, particularly in its inclusion of scientific data and case studies visualizing the effect of climate change on glaciers and polar landscapes, which situate it well within the current historiography of climate change. I will note, however, that Matilsky's decision to include only French, English, and American artists leaves out important Scandinavian artists such as Johann Christian Dahl (Norwegian, 1788-1887), Jens Ferdinand Willumsen (Danish, 1863-1958), and Peder Balke (Norwegian, 1804-1887). Despite this minor caveat, Matilsky's Vanishing Ice is a highly recommended and welcome addition to the fields of art history and environmental history.
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Citation:
Sophie Dietrich. Review of Matilsky, Barbara C., Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012.
H-Environment, H-Net Reviews.
July, 2015.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=43714
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