George Inness

George Inness’s earliest paintings were made in the style of the Hudson River School. On a trip to France in 1853, however, he was exposed to the work of the Barbizon school of painters, who used a looser brushstroke and softer tonal qualities. He began painting landscapes with ethereal, atmospheric effects. The writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, which described the visual world as a metaphor for a higher metaphysical reality, also influenced him and became apparent in his paintings.