Print of Cotopaxi, 1862 by Frederic Edwin Church.
The oil on canvas work is in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Cotopaxi, the quintessential nineteenth-century vision of nature’s sublime and terrifying power, was painted on commission for the well-known book collector and philanthropist James Lenox when Church was at the height of his fame. The painting made a tremendous impact on the American art public, who perceived it as a geological parable of the Civil War then in progress. The viewer’s attention is focused on two principal motifs—the burning disc of the rising sun in its contest with the smoldering volcano. The colors radiate with fiery intensity against a low, pearlescent skyline. In this cosmic drama of light dispelling darkness, Church mirrors the contemporary tragedy of the Civil War and offers hope for its resolution through the cross formed by the sun’s reflection on the lake. No other representation so summarized American ideals at this critical point in the nation’s history.
Printed with archival-quality pigment inks on high-resolution, large-format twelve-color printers, the substrate is an acid-free and lignin-free 230gsm coated fine art paper. The bright white base color and smooth matte finish allows for the highest quality reproduction possible.
The image size is 10.5 x 6 inches on an 11 x 14 white ground, allowing it to fit into our standard 11 x 14 inch frame.
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