Learning
Frederic E. Church, The Heart of the Andes
Alice W. Schwarz
1802 trek through the Andes. While traveling,
Church assembled a portfolio with individual
sketches in pencil, watercolor, gouache, and
oil. When he returned home to paint The
Heart of the Andes he relied on these sketches
as well as his memory. This landscape is an
idealized view and integration of Church’s
experiences and visions.
A Closer Look
Looking diagonally from the lower right corner to the upper left, one travels from brightly
colored, wet tropics, past the crest of a rushing
waterfall, through a small town and plains
area, and over the forested hills to a snow-capped mountain in the far distance. One can
enter the scene on the dirt path in the lower
left corner. A spot-lit tree with carving on it
(“1859 F. E. Church”) catches one’s eye. Below
and
Looking
be active in the New York art world, was a
founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
and retired to Olana, his home and studio in
Hudson, New York.
von Humboldt, the most popular German
explorer and naturalist of the time. In 1853 and
in 1857, Church journeyed to Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama, retracing von Humboldt’s
About the Scene
It is a climatic microcosm, including torrid
to temperate to frigid
zones. The painting was
inspired by Cosmos,
a multi-volume series
written by Alexander
The Heart of the Andes is a landscape panorama of the Ecuadorian Andes Mountains.
The Heart of the Andes is a landscape
panorama of the Ecuadorian Andes
Mountains. It is a climatic microcosm,
from torrid to temperate to frigid zones.
All Levels
Frederic Edwin Church was the son of a
wealthy Connecticut businessman. He trained
with local artists as a young man and in 1844
was introduced to Thomas Cole, founder of
the Hudson River School. He quickly learned
Cole’s style of sketching outdoors and creating a heroic style of landscape painting in the
studio. In April
of 1853, Church
became the first
American artist
to explore South
America. After subsequent trips there
and years of intensive work, he developed a
mature style of atmospheric detail and great
attention to color. The Heart of the Andes is
a product of this focus. Church continued to
About the Artist
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900), The Heart of the Andes, details, 1859. Oil on canvas. 661/8 x 119¼" (168 x 303 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, Bequest of Margaret E. Dows, 1909 (09.95).
