弗雷德里克·埃德溫·丘奇

1826-1900 American

戲劇性全景美式風景

弗雷德里克·埃德溫·丘奇是一位出生於康乃狄克州哈特福的美國風景畫家。他是美國哈德遜河畫派風景畫家的核心人物，以繪製大型風景畫而聞名，作品中常描繪山脈、瀑布和日落。丘奇的畫作強調逼真的細節、戲劇性的光線以及全景式視野。他在紐約市舉辦單幅畫作展覽，向付費且常常為之著迷的觀眾展示其部分重要作品。在其鼎盛時期，他是美國最著名的畫家之一。 Frederic Edwin Church was a direct descendant of Richard Church, a Puritan pioneer from England who accompanied Thomas Hooker on the original journey through the wilderness from Massachusetts to what would become Hartford, Connecticut. Church was the son of Eliza (1796–1883) and Joseph Church (1793–1876). Frederic had two sisters and no surviving brothers. His father was successful in business as a silversmith and jeweler and was a director at several financial firms. His mother’s brother was Adrian Janes, who owned an iron foundry that constructed the U.S. Capitol Dome. The family’s wealth allowed Frederic to pursue his interest in art from a very early age. In 1844, aged 18, Church became the pupil of landscape artist Thomas Cole in Catskill, New York after Daniel Wadsworth, a family neighbor and founder of the Wadsworth Athenaeum, introduced the two. Church studied with him for two years; by this time his talent was more than evident. Cole wrote that Church had "the finest eye for drawing in the world". During his time with Cole, he travelled around New England and New York to make sketches, visiting East Hampton, Long Island, Catskill Mountain House, The Berkshires, New Haven, and Vermont. His first recorded sale of a painting was in 1846 to Hartford’s Wadsworth Athenaeum for $130; it was a pastoral depicting Hooker’s journey in 1636. In 1848, he was elected as the youngest Associate of the National Academy of Design and was promoted to full member the following year. He took his own students including Walter Launt Palmer, William James Stillman and Jervis McEntee. 《新英格蘭風景》（1851年）是丘奇的「第一幅真正的複合風景畫」——它利用來自不同地點的素描，創造出比科爾作品中更為細緻且空間結構更複雜的景觀。浪漫主義在19世紀初的英國和法國盛行，作為對啟蒙時代理性主義的反動。浪漫主義時期的藝術家常常在理想化的場景中描繪自然，展現自然的豐富與美麗，有時強調其宏大的規模。這一傳統在丘奇的作品中得以延續，他通過極其細緻的藝術手法，將未受干擾的自然理想化。對自然的強調通過低矮的水平線和佔據主導地位的天空得到加強。丘奇通常「隱藏」他的筆觸，使畫面表面光滑，畫家的「個性」似乎缺席。 丘奇是哈德遜河畫派第二代藝術家的產物，該畫派是由他的老師托馬斯·科爾創立的美國風景畫運動。科爾和丘奇都是虔誠的新教徒，後者的信仰在其繪畫作品中發揮了作用，尤其是他早期的畫作。哈德遜河畫派的作品以聚焦傳統田園風光（特別是卡茨基爾山脈）及其浪漫主義特質為特徵。他們試圖捕捉一個正在迅速消失的、未開發的美國的原始現實主義，以及對自然之美的欣賞。他的美國邊疆風景畫展現了「19世紀中葉美國的擴張主義和樂觀前景」。丘奇在繪畫題材上與科爾有所不同：他更偏愛自然且常常宏偉的場景，而非科爾傾向於寓言的風格——儘管人們正越來越多地從主題和意義的角度重新審視丘奇的作品。 普魯士探險家和科學家亞歷山大·馮·洪堡對丘奇產生了重大影響。在《宇宙》一書中，洪堡提出了科學、自然界和精神關切相互聯繫的觀點。丘奇擁有的《宇宙》一書專門用一章來論述風景畫；洪堡賦予視覺藝術家在「科學地」描繪自然多樣性方面的重要角色，尤其是在新世界。隨著查爾斯·達爾文的進化論在19世紀60年代開始顛覆洪堡的統一性思想，藝術史學家研究了丘奇的繪畫如何回應這一對其世界觀的衝擊。 英國藝術評論家約翰·羅斯金對丘奇產生了另一項重要而深遠的影響。在羅斯金的《現代畫家》中，他強調對自然的細緻觀察：「風景畫家的當務之急是以不減的注意力深入至最細微的細節。每一類岩石、每一種土壤、每一種雲朵形態，都必須以同樣的勤勉加以研究，並以同樣的精確度予以呈現。」這種對細節的關注必須與藝術家的詮釋、印象和想像力相結合，才能成就偉大的藝術。儘管丘奇的畫作在19世紀50年代和60年代廣受讚譽，但一些評論家認為他的細緻全景畫缺乏想像力或詩意。喬治·W·謝爾頓在其1879年出版的《美國畫家》中論及丘奇的畫布作品時寫道：「幾乎無需……解釋其主要缺陷是什麼，因為至此，幾乎所有有鑑賞力的美國藝術愛好者都已認識到這一缺陷。該缺陷在於以犧牲情感的統一性與力量為代價，過度細化細節……它們忠實而美麗，但在藝術的詩意與韻味方面，本可以更加豐富。自然的高階與精神真理才是風景藝術的真正歸宿。」 丘奇的一些畫作與光色主義風景畫風格相關，並對其產生了影響。光色主義藝術往往強調水平線條，使用非漫射光，並隱藏筆觸，使畫家的存在感或「個性」對觀者而言不那麼明顯。一本展覽圖錄認為，丘奇的《熱帶早晨》和《荒野暮色》突顯了該風格「精細的繪圖技巧和濃烈的色彩」，而《科托帕希》和《帕特農神廟》則「在其全景式結構中體現了該風格」。儘管如此，丘奇並不視為主要的光色主義藝術家。 丘奇的職業生涯始於繪製紐約和新英格蘭地區的經典哈德遜河畫派場景，但到1850年，他已定居紐約。他在美國藝術聯盟、波士頓藝術俱樂部以及（對一位年輕藝術家而言最令人印象深刻的）國家設計學院展出自己的作品。他的創作方法是在工作室中根據自然寫生草圖完成畫作。在職業生涯早期，丘奇的風格讓人聯想到他的老師湯瑪斯·柯爾，並體現了哈德遜河畫派的創始風格。隨著風格的演進，他逐漸偏離了柯爾的方法：他以更精細的細節作畫，構圖在形式上更加大膽，有時還帶有戲劇性的光影效果。 Church quickly earned a reputation as a traveler-artist, with early domestic painting and sketching trips to the White Mountains, western Massachusetts, the Catskills, Hartford, Conn, Niagara, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maine. He made two trips to South America in 1853 and 1857 and stayed predominantly in Quito, visiting the volcanoes and cities of modern day Colombia and Ecuador, and crossing the isthmus of Panama. The first trip was with businessman Cyrus West Field, who financed the voyage, hoping to use Church’s paintings to lure investors to his South American ventures. Church was inspired by Alexander von Humboldt’s exploration of the continent in the early 1800s; Humboldt had challenged artists to portray the "physiognomy" of the Andes. After Humboldt’s Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America was published in 1852, Church jumped at the chance to travel and study in Humboldt’s footsteps. When Church returned to South America in 1857 with painter Louis Rémy Mignot, he added to his sketches of the area. After both trips, Church had produced a number of landscapes of Ecuador and the Andes, such as The Andes of Ecuador (1855), Cayambe (1858), The Heart of the Andes (1859), and Cotopaxi (1862). The Heart of the Andes, Church’s most famous painting, pictures several elements of topography combined into an idealistic, broad portrait of nature. The painting was very large, yet highly detailed; every species of plant and animal is identifiable and numerous climate zones appear at once. 正如他此前對《尼亞加拉》所做的那樣，丘奇於1859年在紐約市以單幅畫作展覽的形式首次展出《安第斯山脈之心》。成千上萬的觀眾付費觀賞這幅畫，其巨大的落地式畫框起到了望向安第斯山脈的窗戶的作用。觀眾坐在長椅上欣賞作品，有時還使用歌劇望遠鏡以便近距離觀看，而丘奇則策略性地佈置展廳，利用頂部天窗的光線照亮畫作。該作品一經亮相便大獲成功。丘奇最終以1萬美元的價格將其售出，這在當時是在世美國藝術家作品所創下的最高成交價。 丘奇與著名北極探險家艾薩克·以色列·海斯博士的友誼，激發了這位藝術家對北極地區的興趣。1859年，丘奇和他的好友路易斯·勒格朗德·諾布爾牧師前往紐芬蘭和拉布拉多。這次旅程被記錄在諾布爾的著作《與畫家同行追尋冰山》（1861年）中，該書在丘奇的畫作《冰山》展出前不久出版。 到1860年，丘奇已成為最著名的美國藝術家。在巔峰時期，丘奇不僅在藝術上取得成功，在商業上也同樣成功。丘奇的藝術作品利潤豐厚；據報導，他在1900年去世時身家達50萬美元。 In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, Church was inspired to paint Our Banner in the Sky by a sunset featuring red, white, and blue that he believed was a symbol that "the heavens indicated their support for the United States by reflecting the nation’s colors in the setting sun". A lithograph was made from it and sold to benefit the families of Union soldiers. 1863年，他當選為美國藝術與科學院的副院士。 1860年，丘奇在紐約州哈德遜附近購買了一座農場，並娶了伊莎貝爾·莫蒂默·卡恩斯（Isabel Mortimer Carnes，1836年生於俄亥俄州代頓），他是在《安第斯山脈之心》於紐約展出期間與她相識的。他們很快組建了家庭，但兩歲的兒子赫伯特和五個月大的女兒艾瑪均在1865年3月死於白喉。幾個月後，隨著南北戰爭接近尾聲，仍沉浸在悲痛中的丘奇與妻子以及一位年輕的藝術家朋友前往牙買加旅行。丘奇進行素描創作，伊莎貝爾則收集了壓製的牙買加蕨類植物標本，其中有許多極為壯觀的品種。隨著1866年弗雷德里克·約瑟夫（Frederic Joseph）的出生，他和妻子開始了新的家庭生活，隨後西奧多·溫思羅普（Theodore Winthrop）於1869年出生，路易斯·帕爾默（Louis Palmer）於1870年出生，伊莎貝爾·夏洛特（Isabel Charlotte，暱稱「Downie」）於1871年出生。 In late 1867, Church began the longest period of travel of his career. That fall he and his family went to Europe, moving through London and Paris fairly quickly. From Marseille they went to Alexandria, Egypt, but Church did not visit the pyramids, perhaps being afraid to leave his family alone. Passing through Jaffa, they arrived at Beirut, where they spent four months. They stayed with American missionaries, including David Stuart Dodge. In February 1868 Church travelled with Dodge to the city of Petra by camel from Jerusalem. There he sketched the Al Khazneh tomb, which became the subject of one of his important later works, El Khasné, Petra (1874). Later that spring the family visited Damascus and Baalbek, then sailed the Aegean Sea with a stop in Constantinople. Back in southern Europe by summer, they wintered in Rome. There were many American artists in Rome that year, and they joined several artist/friends, including Sanford Robinson Gifford, Jervis McEntee and other friends who were also living in Rome. While in Rome, Church learned fresco painting, and made a collection of “Old Masters” paintings. However, apparently Europe on the whole did not seem to interest Church as it did most American artists of the 19th century, many of whom traveled there to experience the Western artistic heritage. Leaving his expanded family in Rome with friends, Frederic made a two-week visit to stay in Athens ended the journey in April 1869. At Athens the Parthenon exceeded all his expectations as the finest single specimen of architecture in the world, and he sketched and painted energetically. The Churches left Rome in May 1869, and made their way home via Paris and England, arriving home by the end of June. 在啟程前往那次旅行之前，丘奇購買了位於其哈德遜河畔農田上方山丘頂部的18英畝（7.3公頃）土地，他長期以來一直渴望擁有這片土地，因其可俯瞰哈德遜河和卡茨基爾山脈的壯麗景色。1870年，他在山頂開始建造一座受波斯風格啟發的豪宅，家人於1872年夏季搬入該住宅。如今，這座莊園作為奧拉納州立歷史遺址得到保護。在奧拉納豪宅的早期規劃階段，曾諮詢理查德·莫里斯·亨特的意見，但在丘奇夫婦旅行之後，聘請了出生於英國的美國建築師卡爾弗特·沃克斯來完成該項目。丘奇深度參與了整個過程，甚至親自繪製了建築設計草圖。這座極具個人色彩且折衷主義的建築融合了許多他在旅行中汲取的設計理念。在一封當時的信件中，他寫道：「本季我修建了約1¾英里的道路，開闢了全新而美麗的景觀。通過這種方式，我比在工作室裡擺弄畫布和顏料能創造出更多、更好的風景畫。」在他生命的最後二十年裡，他將大量精力投入於奧拉納。 丘奇作為藝術家取得了巨大的成功。在他生命的最後幾十年裡，疾病限制了他的繪畫能力。到1876年，丘奇患上了類風濕性關節炎，使得繪畫變得困難。他最終用左手作畫，並繼續創作作品，儘管速度慢了很多。他仍然像科爾之前那樣教授繪畫。他的兩名學生是沃爾特·勞恩特·帕爾默（他親密的朋友埃拉斯特斯·道·帕爾默的兒子）和霍華德·拉塞爾·巴特勒。晚年，他經常在墨西哥過冬，並在那裡教導巴特勒。 丘奇在奧拉納和墨西哥度過時光，較少受到紐約市藝術潮流的影響。他在紐約保留了一間畫室，直至19世紀80年代，但通常轉租給馬丁·約翰遜·希德。他的妻子伊莎貝爾多年患病，於1899年5月12日在已故友人兼贊助者威廉·H·奧斯本位於紐約公園大道的家中去世。不到一年後，即1900年4月7日，73歲的丘奇也在奧斯本遺孀的家中去世。弗雷德里克和伊莎貝爾安葬於康乃狄克州哈特福德斯普林格羅夫公墓的家族墓地。