Eilshemius’s early paintings were almost all landscapes. These were unlike the personal style with which he later became identified but were typical of the period. As did many late nineteenth-century artists, Eilshemius fell under the influence of GEORGE INNESS and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875) and produced paintings that could be considered to be in the Barbizon manner. Stormy Landscape reflects Inness’s concern for weather conditions, specifically his love for approaching storms, as well as his colorful, poetic palette. Eilshemius painted the clouds in shades of pink, lavender, and gold to form a brilliant foil for the somber greens and blues of the foreground and distant trees. Eilshemius also constructed his composition as INNESS so often did by composing it around an expansive, open field in a settled area of the countryside. While Eilshemius captured the dramatic poetry of INNESS, he avoided the hazy atmosphere of Inness’s late paintings. Small figures in peasant dress often appear in paintings of the Barbizon school. Here the woman seems to be wearing simple rustic clothes and wood shoes. The relatively large scale of the figure is more in keeping with those in the paintings of Corot than of Inness, except in the latter’s work of the mid-1880s. While the painting reads as a landscape rather than as a figure composition set outdoors, the figure is an essential element of the painting, forming a compositional counterpoint to the stream on the right and row of trees in the background. Moreover, the woman contributes to the unsettling mood by her disproportionate scale and mysterious activity.

The late nineteenth century witnessed a growing cosmopolitanism and sophistication in American culture. Great riches were amassed by railroad tycoons and land barons, and along with this came the desire for a luxurious standard of living. Collectors filled their homes with European as well as American works of art. American artists, generally trained abroad, often painted in styles that were indistinguishable from their European counterparts.
Most Americans who studied abroad did so in the European academies, which promoted uplifting subject matter and a representational style that emphasized well-modeled, clearly defined forms and realistic color. Academic painting served American artists well, for their clients demanded elaborate large-scale paintings to demonstrate their wealth and social positions. With an emphasis on material objects and textures, academic artists immortalized their patrons’ importance in full-length portraits.
Academic painting dominated taste in Europe throughout the century. But in the 1860s impressionism emerged in France as a reaction to this hegemony. By the 1880s this “new painting” was still considered progressive. Mary Cassatt was the only American invited to participate in the revolutionary Paris impressionist exhibitions. Despite her participation and the early interest of several other American painters, few Americans explored impressionism until the 1890s. Impressionist painters no longer had to choose subject matter of an elevated character but instead could depict everyday scenes and incidents. Nor did impressionists have to record the physical world with the objective detail of a photograph. Artists were now encouraged to leave their studios and paint outside under different weather conditions. American impressionists used the new aesthetic to capture the charm and beauty of the countryside and the city as well as the quiet delicacy of domestic interiors.