Americas Society
will present Unity of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and the Americas,
( 29.04.2014 – 26.07.2014) the first exhibition in New York to focus on the
intrepid Prussian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and author.
was reputedly the second most well-known person in France
in the early nineteenth century, his popularity eclipsed only by Napoleon’s.
The eminent Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould said he was "probably
the world's most famous and influential intellectual [of the early nineteenth
century]," yet he is virtually unknown in the United States today.
From 1799 to
1804, Humboldt traversed about 6,000 miles, journeying through the Spanish
American colonies (modern-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, and
Cuba) to observe nature in the "torrid zone." Over the three decades
after his return, Humboldt published some thirty volumes relating to his
journey, the most renowned of which is the beautifully illustrated Vues
des Cordillères, et Monumens des Peuples Indigènes de l'Amérique (1810). Unity
of Nature will serve as a re-introduction of Humboldt to the American
public. Included in the exhibition will be books, sculpture, scientific instruments,
and paintings, especially landscapes by the artists who followed in his
footsteps to South and Central America. Oftentimes the first European to
venture into the interior areas of South America, Humboldt and his travel
publications inspired many American artists, including >> Frederic Edwin Church * 1826 Hartford † 1900 New York and >> Louis Rémy Mignot * 1831 Charleston † 1870 Brighton who were among the first to
retrace his voyage. Their goals were not only to follow Humboldt's journey, but
also to adhere to his scientific-aesthetic principles, especially in their
portrayals of nature, a major theme of the exhibition. During the latter part
of the nineteenth century, Humboldt’s writings helped fuel a belief in manifest
destiny influencing painters such as >> Albert Bierstadt * 1830 Solingen † 1902 New York and Thomas Moran
(1837–1926) as well as the photographer Carleton Watkins (1829–1916).
Sections of the
exhibition are devoted to Humboldt's impact on Latin American independence and
U.S. expansionism encompassing material relating to the explorer's 1804 visit
to the United States and meeting with Thomas Jefferson, his final years, and
death in 1859, a year in which Charles Darwin published On theOrigin of
Species and Frederic Church exhibited his iconic painting "Heart
of the Andes." New York-based artist >> Mark Dion, who often addresses
ecological issues in his work, will offer a contemporary response to Humboldt’s
classification of nature by exploring the tradition of scientific field
illustration. On exhibit will be a drawing cabinet he created during an
artists’ residency in Colombia, where he collected specimens daily from the
local rain forest and then worked with a team of colleagues to record his
findings through a series of watercolors and drawings.(Text: Americas Society)