Heart Of The Andes (1859) by Frederic Edwin Church

Heart Of The Andes - Frederic Edwin Church - 1859

Artwork Information

TitleHeart Of The Andes
ArtistFrederic Edwin Church
Date1859
MediumOil On Canvas
Dimensions66 1/8 x 119 1/4 in. (168 x 302.9 cm)
Current LocationThe Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York
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About Heart Of The Andes

Frederic Edwin Church, one of America’s greatest landscape artists, created The Heart of the Andes in 1859. This large oil-on-canvas painting is almost ten feet wide and more than five feet high. It depicts an idyllic South American Andean landscape that Church visited twice, portraying a romanticized image of the mountain range.

One of the painting’s notable features is its detailed rendering of fauna in the foreground, capturing every detail with exacting precision. However, the painting’s inspiration comes from pioneering scientist Alexander von Humboldt, who explored South America in the late eighteenth century and recognized it as one of Earth’s unique habitats.

The Heart of the Andes achieved iconic status as part of Hudson River School art movement since it marked a culmination for them. The painting led to calls for galleries specifically made to display artistic works and eventually inspired New York City to found its own Metropolitan Museum.

In summary, Church’s The Heart Of The Andes is an awe-inspiring work that captured not only an ideated view but also a scientific insight on South American habitats by leveraging von Humboldt’s legacy inspiration. Being almost ten feet wide and more than five feet high makes it hard not to be impressed by its scale alone but Church also went into great detail depicting fauna closest to us coupled with his intuition on how he perceives this part Earth further cemented his place among America’s most remarkable landscape painters – leading way for permanent gallery spaces like NYC Metropolitan Museum considered solely for paintings such as this breathtaking religiously-inspired portrait at its centre..

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