Study for "The Great River"

The Hudson River waters fill the foreground and flow back to the horizon in Juan Bernal’s triptych. This study was part of his process in creating a nine-foot wide panorama paying homage to the Hudson River School painters Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Jasper Cropsey. These earlier artists often fabricated idealized scenes using pencil or oil sketches from different locations.

Bernal, too, makes preparatory “sketches” first, but with camera and computer. Light on water and landscape are a primary focus for the artist, and he used the oil study to work out his desired effects. Whether painting the Hudson River or drops of water on a leaf, Bernal looks deeply into nature’s elemental forms and sees broader life and a larger landscape.