“Sunset, Winter (Church at Dusk)”
This oil on canvas painting from 1862 is by American artist Louis Rémy Mignot and is titled “Sunset, Winter (Church at Dusk)”. Although he was from South Carolina, Mignot painted in the style of the Hudson River School of Art. He was the only southerner that painted in this movement. Mignot’s art is known for its bright colors and atmospheric quality; both features you can see in this piece.
In this painting, Mignot paints a bright and saturated sunset landscape. The bold yellows, oranges, and pinks in the sky outline the trees on the horizon and the silhouette of a church. It is winter, and the snow on the ground reflects a pale pink from the sky. A bending waterway gives direction to the viewer’s eye, as it snakes from the lower left into the midportion of the canvas, before it bends out of view.
This painting was made the same year that Mignot, as a southern supporter, decided to leave the United States due to the onset of the American Civil War, and move to London. In London, he befriended another American artist, James Whistler. Mignot did well in Europe, often showing his works at the Royal Academy of Art in London, in addition to the Paris Exposition of 1867 and the Paris Salon in 1870.
“Sunset, Winter (Church at Dusk)” is currently in a private collection.
For more on Louis Rémy Mignot, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
