Existing comment:
Frederic Edwin Church
Tamaca alms, 1854; re-worked 1877
Church's interest in South American scenery was inspired by the writings of prominent German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). Von Humboldt saw the diversity of climate and terrain there -- icy mountaintops, arid deserts, and steamy rainforests -- as evidence of a divine harmony in nature. In 1853, the artist retraced the naturalist's route through the Andes, sketching as he went. Tamaca Palms, probably Church's first view painted after returning from this journey, shows the influence of his teacher Thomas Cole in the meticulously recorded details of the Magdalena River's lush, tropical vegetation. |