Description
Book SynopsisA wide-rangingstudy of Louisiana landscape painting that places art from the region into a broader national and global context With its dense forests and swamps, Louisiana captured the imagination of writers and painters who viewed its landscape as a fascinating, untamed wilderness. Starting in the 1820s when French émigrés brought the Barbizon school to New Orleans, the state attracted artists from Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the greater United States who shared ideas and experimented with approaches to the enigmatic scenery. Although Louisiana was in many ways an artists' paradise, the land also bore the scars of colonialism and the forced migrations of slavery. Inventing Acadia explores this complex history, following the rise of Louisiana landscape art and situating it amid the cultural shifts of the 19th century. The authors engage not only with artworks but also with the issues that informed themrepresentations of race and industry, international trade, and climate
