Word and Image — the Art of Samuel Palmer in the Mirror of Romanticism

Samuel Palmer (1805-1881) is an artist who was rediscovered after the years of oblivion. His rediscovery happens during the new wave of English interest for national art. Samuel Palmer is recognized as the national painter and highly original Romantic artist. This paper will examine Palmer’s artistic uniqueness of his early period and discuss the relationship of his oeuvre to contemporary Romantic context. Drawing on the analysis of Palmer’s artworks, this paper investigates the connections between Samuel Palmer and three different artists – John Constable, J.M.W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich. In this paper it is argued that Samuel Palmer is an artist who tended to follow the common trends of Romanticism in visual arts like the other contemporary artists. First of all, Samuel Palmer’s manner is depiction of Shoreham scenery like the earthly Eden or Virgil’s Arcadia. Secondly, Samuel Palmer is an inheritor of older generation of English artists (John Constable, J.M.W. Turner and John Linnell) because he depicts the recognizable English scenery of Kent but Palmers landscapes are filled with the sense of classical antique pastoral. Moreover, Samuel Palmer uses the citations as an additional mean for creating the artistic image. Thirdly, Palmer’s religious approach to imagery of Nature is similar to Friedrich’s approach although they did not communicate. For example, they both use the symbol of the moon or the clouds as the sign of divine presence. To conclude, Samuel Palmer’s art is deeply connected to the art of Romanticism.