Fitz Henry Lane, Castine Harbor and Town, 1851, oil on canvas, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego
The coast of Maine holds a very special place in my heart. Having spent four years of college along the southern coast of Maine and returning to this beautiful region many times for visits through the years, I feel a deep connection to this area. And I think of all the people who are lured by the sea and sailing during the summer months. It is uniquely special. One feels a peaceful quietude.
Perhaps that is why I am drawn to the artwork created by Fitz Henry Lane. A 19th-century painter and lithographer known for his marine and coastal scenes of Massachusetts and Maine, Lane is regarded today as one of foremost American painters of his generation. His works represent the “luminist” style known for its precision and attention to detail, as well as its glowing, soft, shining light. The Maine seascape is one of his most memorable and poetic subjects. These seascapes exude a quiet stillness that serves to calm the onlooker.
Lane’s home base for many of his visits was the town of Castine, which we see in the distance in Castine Harbor and Town. Castine is located in the Downeast Maine Acadia region, which is rich in culture and well-preserved architecture.
Castine Harbor and Town has a still, calm, yet haunting quality about it. The muted blue hues of the ocean and the sky seem to melt into each other, separated only by the rolling green hills and the harbor town in the far distance. The sky dominates three-quarters of the composition, reminiscent of many of the 17th-century Dutch landscape paintings, symbolizing heaven and life beyond. The sky contains a variety of cloud types, a perfectly round sun, and a soft, glowing sunset, adding to its stillness.
At first glimpse the ships appear randomly placed. But in fact, Lane purposefully lays them out on a measured grid. The perspective is deep and exact. Lane had the ability to depict a real place with an exact realism combined with spirituality, heart, and a feeling of mystery.
What scenes of natural places are you especially drawn to? What does Lane’s harbor painting, with sailboats in the foreground and buildings on a hilly slope in the distance, evoke within you? Does the sunset remind you of beautiful sunsets or sunrises you’ve had the opportunity to experience?
Moments of peace and solitude as reflected in Lane’s artwork are necessary in today’s busy life. Even if your schedule is packed, it is beneficial to create those little moments of quietude here and there. They are necessary for relaxation and contemplation, something we all need to reconnect with the divine and enjoy a sense of wholeness.