Extreme Nature!
November 10, 2018–February 24, 2019
Alphonse de Neuville
Underwater Landscape of Crespo Island (Paysage sous-marin de l’île Crespo)
From Vingt mille lieues sous les mers by Jules Verne
c. 1895. Color wood engraving on paper, 11 1/2 x 15 in. (open).
Chapin Library, Williams College
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Extreme Nature! explores how nature’s extremes—remote, fantastical, and unpredictable—permeated artistic imagery throughout the nineteenth century. Influenced by the rise of popular science, artists examined everything from volatile weather patterns and the stars to the Earth’s most cavernous depths. Documentary images of fires and floods enabled viewers to see nature’s destructive power from a distance, while other artists pushed beyond nature’s known boundaries to imagine its limitless possibilities. Featuring more than thirty-five prints, drawings, and photographs, this exhibition reveals how artists sought to mitigate nature’s dangers, transforming the hazardous and remote into awe-inspiring portrayals of natural phenomena.