Who created "The Parthenon"?

The Parthenon was created by Frederic Edwin Church in 1871.

What medium is "The Parthenon"?

The Parthenon is Oil on canvas.

Is "The Parthenon" in the public domain?

Yes, The Parthenon is in the public domain and available for free download under CC0 license.

The Parthenon

Frederic Edwin Church

1871

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

44 1/2 x 72 5/8 in. (113 x 184.5 cm)

Classification

Painting

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Bequest of Maria DeWitt Jesup, from the collection of her husband, Morris K. Jesup, 1914

Accession Number

15.30.67

Tags

Ruins

Art Historical Context

Frederic Edwin Church, a leading figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painting, created *The Parthenon* 1871 after a transformative trip to Greece in 1869. This monumental oil on canvas (44 1/2 x 72 5/8 in.) captures the ancient ruins atop the Acropolis in Athens, bathed in the golden glow of a Mediterranean sunset. Church's journey reflected the 19th-century American fascination with classical antiquity, blending Romanticism's awe of nature with a precise, almost scientific observation of historical sites. Church's masterful technique shines in the luminous effects and int...

About the Artist

Frederic Edwin Church · 1826–1900

Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900), born in Hartford, Connecticut, to a prosperous silversmith and banker father, Joseph Church, pursued art from youth thanks to his family's wealth. At age 18, introduced by patron Daniel Wadsworth, he studied under Thomas Cole in Catskill, New York, from 1844 to 1846, sketching across New England and earning Cole's praise for possessing "the finest eye for drawing...

The Parthenon

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