Community Art Connection: The Iceberg By Frederic Church

Community Art Connection The 1861 painting, The Iceberg by Frederic Church was one of my favorite pieces of art during my visit to the Dallas Museum or Art. What grabbed my attention were the colors of the painting. The different shades of blue gave me a sense of calmness and peace. The reflectivity of the sunlight on the iceberg was very well executed to the point where the viewer could easily tell which parts of the iceberg were colder and which parts were heated by the sun. Another reason why I found this painting interesting were all the specific details that were portrayed. The scenery itself was breath taking however I loved how Church added the remains of a wrecked ship onto the painting to show the dangers these iceberg can cause. This also helped determine how big the iceberg is
While talking to a museum docent, he pointed out how some of the icebergs in the painting had what appeared to be blue veins on them. He later explained that veins on an iceberg represent the melting and refreezing of water. Details like these, which many painter might miss or leave out in their painting, were why I was so amazed by Church’s work. After doing some research on the painting, I discovered that the process for creating the painting The Iceberg, involved an expedition to St. Johns, Newfoundland. There, Church sketched the different form and colors of icebergs for several weeks. He even mounted on a small row boat to get closer to the iceberg to acquire a better view. This process took a little under six months. After the expedition, Church gather all his sketches and created the large-scale painting. This process that took place in creating this piece of art was where I got my inspiration for developing a