Rainy Season in the Tropics

Today the worldwide community of museums will celebrate International Museum Day. Some special activities are taking place in every part of the world. Find out more about this event on your fauvorite museum's website. Frederic Church, master of 19th century Romantic American landscape painting, created ‘Rainy Season in the Tropics’ during a time of rebirth in his personal life. After diphtheria claimed the lives of both his son and daughter in March of 1865, Frederic Church was given a second chance at having a family upon the birth of his namesake in 1866. While some believe ‘Rainy Season in the Tropics’ is representative of the artists personal triumphs, some scholars believe the artist’s portrayal of a rainbow that bridges the Ecuadorian Andes and Jamaican tropical forest was meant to signify reunification after the American Civil War. “Rainy Season in the Tropics” is one of the most celebrated works by the second-generation Hudson River School artist Frederic Edwin Church. Despite being a highly theatrical, fantastical, and symbolic landscape, the scene incorporates a number of scientifically accurate and observed elements. The double rainbow that spans the canvas, notable for the reversal of the color spectrum that occurs in the second of its two bands, is technically known as Alexander’s band, and Church’s meticulous depiction of it suggests that he may have consulted a scientific treatise when painting the scene. Like other panoramic landscapes of epic proportions created from his New York studio, ‘Rainy season in the Tropics’ was composed from sketches and photos taken during the artist’s travels to South America, and from illustrated books contained in his library. Palm trees to the left and mountains on the right draw the viewer’s eyes into the misty valley below, while a rainbow stretches across the sky to connect the landscapes. We need your help :( Please donate and help us release a new version of the app: http://support.getdailyart.com