Transcendentalism is a belief in self reliance and returning to nature that is expressed in both paintings Kindred Spirits by Asher Durand and The Oxbow by Thomas Cole. The paintings both depict men in nature however Kindred Spirits depicts transcendentalism better.
Kindred Spirits and The Oxbow both depict men in nature but whereas Kindred Spirits keeps its scope narrow The Oxbow also depicts a town in the distance. Transcendentalism has a strong belief in self reliance and having a town near by does not depict self reliance. Kindred Spirits however does not depict anything other than the forest and the men in it, better representing self reliance. The Oxbow shows other hesitance towards nature as well.
In Kindred Spirits the scenery is depicted