Waterfall between Vevey and Sion, Switzerland
August 24, 1868
Classification
landscapes
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Louis P. Church
Accession Number
1917-4-163
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Frederic Edwin Church, a leading figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painting, captured the dramatic beauty of Switzerland's alpine terrain in *Waterfall between Vev and Sion, Switzerland*, precisely to August 24, 1868. Known for his luminous, detailed depictions of nature's grandeur—evident in masterpieces like *Niagara* *Heart of the Andes—Church traveled extensively, including to Europe, to study and render awe-inspiring vistas. This work reflects his fascination with waterfalls as symbols of sublime power, a recurring motif that evoked Romantic ideals of the divine in t...