Hill, Thomas (1876). Yosemite Valley (from below Sentinel Dome as seen from Artist’s Point) [oil on canvas]. The Oakland Museaum Kahn Collection 68.244.2.

A hyper-realistic landscape painting of the title location. Simply stunning; this work comes as close as possible to photorealism. Hill’s use of atmospheric perspective gives the impression of water vapor hanging in the air from the river below. The scene is serene, unspoiled and slightly cold. |

There is no code to crack when subject is compared to title, things are very straightforward there. The subject is treated with pure respect, leaving no hint that any of the details were changed or purged from what was seen in reality. One of the subtle messages could be a lamentation for the harm done by mankind on nature. 

Color purity, value and shape are subordinate to space, hue and texture in this work. Value contrast is used to great effect to define minute details in the foreground shapes. That contrast becomes increasingly muddied in the mid- and backgrounds.

Diminishing detail, atmospheric perspective, careful calibration of edge definition and an increasing restriction of value range build depth. Actually, these four qualities heavily overlap, nearly describing the same attribute. Colors actually tend to increase in chroma as the illusion of depth sinks into the canvas. As is typical with works of optical realism, pictorial balance is stable, arguably approximately symmetrical in its role to support subject and content. The picture frame is treated similarly.

Natural shapes dominate, of course, but the only figurative forms are tiny and contrast sharply in their field of browns and greens. If edges are treated as lines, there is strong variety in their directionality: perpendicular, arching and meandering. They also run a blended gamut from well-defined to amorphous.

Vertically-oriented shapes on either side of the composition (trees to the left, cliff faces to the right) are paced and arranged on a slope in such a way to cause the eye to flow toward the valley. Some of the better-defined edges in the midground support this, although others tend to direct upward into the sky. The viewer actually does not seem to be standing on solid ground as much as elevated somewhat.

In conclusion, the viewer knows immediately that this a masterfully executed work. After it’s amazing photo-realistic quality, the remarkable use of texture sets this one apart.