Themes of optimism and oppression as seen in two luminous views of the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is celebrating its 143rd birthday on May 24, the day Gilded Age New Yorkers could finally walk across this wondrous span and celebrate the uniting of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Over close to a century and a half, the Brooklyn Bridge has taken the honor of the city’s most painted and photographed structure. I’d bet it’s also one of the most popular subjects for artists all over the world. The Brooklyn Bridge over peaceful waters, the bridge and its smoky harbors, the turbulent river and the sturdy bridge lighting the way, the Ashcan school bridge, the Abstract bridge—every artist sees and creates something different when they portray this steel, granite, and limestone beauty. The various takes on the bridge really hit me when I came across the two paintings in this post. Though both were completed in the early 20th century with the Brooklyn Bridge as a focal point, they conjure very different emotions and insight. The first is by Jonas Lie, entitled “Path of Gold” and…