Orizaba, Mexico
December 1883
Medium
landscapes
Classification
landscapes
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Louis P. Church
Accession Number
1917-4-1206
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Frederic Edwin Church, a of 19th-century American landscape painting and a key figure in the Hudson River School, created *Orizaba, Mexico* in December 1883. This work depicts the towering Pico de Orizaba Mexico's highest volcano, reflecting Church's lifelong fascination with dramatic natural wonders. By the 1880s, Church shifted from his earlier grand expeditions to more intimate studies, influenced by his travels and declining health, yet his eye for light, atmosphere, and sublime scale remained unmatched. As a landscape in oil (typical of Church's medium), the painting exemplifies Luminism...