Existing comment:
Frederic Edwin Church
Tequendama Falls near Bogotá, Colombia
1853
Tequendama Falls near Bogotá, Colombia
July 1853
both pencil and gouache on paper
When Church visited Tequendama Falls, he relied on Humboldt's description of his approach from the bottom of the Bogotá River up to a vantage point where he could take in the thundering cascade. The work on the left closely adheres to the vantage point used by Humboldt for his engraving. Church adjusted his view and the drawing on his right served as the basis for his finished painting, on view to the right. Humboldt admired the falls, proclaiming, "The solitude of the place, the richness of the vegetation, and the dreadful roar that strikes upon the ear, contribute to render the foot of the cataract of Tequendama one of the wildest scenes, that can be found in the Cordilleras." Church used a numerical key in his pencil sketches to remind himself of the colors, sound, and other sensory experiences he wanted to capture in his finished painting, which he painted in his New York studio.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-260, -265 |