Cotopaxi, Annotated

Dark smoke and ash rise from a volcano and drift across the sky. The sun blazes through the haze as if preparing for battle with the mountain. The dramatic painting above, Cotopaxi, represents a volcano by the same name in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains. The artist, Frederic Edwin Church, was one of the 19th century’s most famous American artists. He trained with Thomas Cole for two years in New York and then traveled the world looking for inspiration. Church intended viewers to see deeper meaning in the painting. He painted it in 1862, during the Civil War. Americans recognized symbols that present a parable for this national tragedy in the painting. Read on to learn how Church composed the scene, what it represents, and why viewers lined up to see the sensational painting.

The painting below is full of drama. Smoke and ash rise from a volcano and move across the sky. The sun blazes. Titled Cotopaxi (koh-toh-PAHKsee), it shows a volcano with the same name in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. The artist is named Frederic Edwin Church. He was a famous American artist from the 19th century. He trained with Thomas Cole. Then he traveled the world to look for inspiration. Cotopaxi isn’t only a dramatic painting of a volcano. Church painted it in 1862, during the American Civil War. He included symbols that tell a story about the national tragedy.

• Cotopaxi fascinated Church. He completed at least 10 paintings of the volcano. 
• Church paints with extraordinary detail. A viewer seeing the painting in person can identify individual leaves and flowers.
• The painting is hyperrealistic, but Church took some artistic license.
• The artist invented the lake and waterfall. The real landscape is completely dry.
• Church never actually witnessed the volcano erupting.
• The sides of the volcano are much steeper in the painting than in real life.

• Church made at least 10 paintings of the volcano.
• He paints with fine details. Up close, viewers see tiny leaves and flowers.
• The painting is extremely realistic. But Church made up some features, like the lake and waterfall.
• Church never actually saw the volcano erupting.
• The volcano is steeper in the painting than in real life.

• American abolitionist Frederick Douglass called slavery America’s “moral volcano.”
• The paintings of Cotopaxi that Church made before the Civil War contained more vegetation and less drama than in this example.
• Volcanos are a common symbol for the destruction of war.
• The clouds resemble cannon smoke.
• The right side of the scene is dominated by smoke and the rising sun.
• The left side of the composition reveals blue sky, as if hope is on the horizon.

• Volcanoes are often a symbol for the destruction of war.
• The writer Frederick Douglass fought to end slavery. He called slavery America’s “moral volcano.”
• Church also made paintings of Cotopaxi before the Civil War. They were less dramatic than this one.
• The clouds are meant to look like cannon smoke.
• Above the clouds on the left side of the painting, there’s blue sky. It represents hope.

• This work is huge! Including the frame, it is 50 feet tall and 80 feet wide.
• Many large-scale Hudson River School paintings were first displayed in art galleries with dramatic lighting and surrounded by potted plants. This created the impression that viewers were peering into the landscapes themselves, rather than at paintings.
• Church captured audiences’ attention with his seamless representations of nature, scientific exploration, and romantic beauty.
• Viewers might have experienced the sublime: feelings of beauty, terror, and awe inspired by nature.

• This work is huge! With the frame, it is 50 feet tall and 80 feet wide.
• The work was very popular. Viewers lined up to see it at the gallery where it was displayed.
• Like many Hudson River School paintings, Cotopaxi was presented with dramatic lighting and potted plants. This made viewers feel like they were looking into the actual landscape, not a painting.
• Viewers might have felt terror and awe inspired by nature. This experience is called the sublime.