JOHN LA FARGE (1835-1910)
Mount Tohivea (1,207 m- 3,960 ft)
French Polynesia (Moorea)
In L'ile de Moorea, 1891, watercolour,
The Mountain
Mount Tohivea also called Tohiea (1,207 m- 3,960 ft) is a volcanic peak and the highest point on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. On its slopes are many streams and fertile soils. There are hiking trails along the summit close to Belvedere Point where people can view Mont Routui and the two bays and three peninsulas of Moorea. Mount Tohivea is a dormant volcano easily visible from Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. The surrounding peaks are almost as tall as Mount Tohivea.
Mount Tohivea is located at the center of Moorea. As seen from Tahiti, Mount Tohivea appears to be in the southern part of Moorea. The mountain is about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Pao Pao, 20 miles (32 km) from the town center of Papeete, 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Honolulu, Hawaii, 2,000 miles (3,200 km) east of Sydney, Australia, and 4,000 miles (6,400 km) southwest of Los Angeles, California. It is at about 20 degrees south of the equator and at the same longitude as Anchorage, Alaska.
The area was first settled by early Polynesians during the early 4th century. Then Charles Darwin explored the area. After many years the area became very populated. Then people made trails and then it become a park. Today, the park is a tourist attraction.
There about 5 miles (8.0 km) of dirt hiking trails along the Mount Tohivea's slopes. The trails are about 2 feet (0.61 m) wide. There are some points with views of Cook's Bay, Opunohu Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and Pao Pao, the largest commune of Moorea. The animals that people can see are mainly Geckos. The hiking trails end close to Mont Mouaroa which is only a couple of miles west of Mont Tohivea. People can also see Mont Mouaroa from both the main road and the two bays. People can mainly see Mont Mouaroa from Opuhunu bay.Some of the hiking trails go to the bottom of Moorea from the south point. One can also see Mont Tohivea from the south point and get on the trails from there.
The Painter
John La Farge was an American painter, muralist, stained glass window maker, decorator, and writer.
born in New York City to wealthy French parents and was raised bilingually; as a child, he and his brothers produced a handmade magazine in French entitled Le Chinois. His interest in art began during his studies at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University) in New York. He initially intended to study law, but this changed after his first visit to Paris, France in 1856. Stimulated by the arts in the city, he studied with Thomas Couture and became acquainted with notable literary people. La Farge also studied with the painter William Morris Hunt in Newport, Rhode Island.
La Farge's earliest drawings and landscapes, from his studies in Newport, show marked originality, especially in the handling of color values. Many of La Farge's mythological and religious paintings, including Virgil, were executed in an area of Rhode Island known as "Paradise," in a forest which La Farge called "The Sacred Grove" after Virgil.
He was a pioneer in the study of Japanese art, the influence of which is seen in his work. During his life, La Farge maintained a studio at 51 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, which now is part of the site of Eugene Lang College at the New School University.
Between 1859 and 1870, he illustrated Tennyson's Enoch Arden and Robert Browning's Men and Women.
In the 1870s, La Farge began to do murals, which became popular for public buildings as well as churches. His first mural was done in Trinity Church, Boston, in 1873. Then followed his decorations in the Church of the Ascension and St. Paul's Chapel, New York. For the Minnesota State Capitol at St. Paul, he executed at age 71 four great lunettes representing the history of law. He created a similar series based on the theme of Justice for the State Supreme Court building at Baltimore, Maryland. He also took private commission from wealthy patrons (e.g. Cornelius Vanderbilt) and was reputedly worth $150,000 at one point.
La Farge made extensive travels in Asia and the South Pacific, which inspired his painting. He visited Japan in 1886, and the South Seas in 1890 and 1891, in particular spending time and absorbing the culture of Tahiti. Henry Adams accompanied him on these trips as a travel companion. He visited Hawaii in September 1890, where he painted scenic spots on Oahu and traveled to the Island of Hawaii to paint an active volcano.
In 1892, La Farge was brought on as an instructor with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Schools to provide vocational training to students in New York City. He served as President of the National Society of Mural Painters from 1899 to 1904.
La Farge died at Butler Hospital, in Providence, Rhode Island in 1910. His papers, together with some of those of certain children and grandchildren, are held by Yale University Library.
