HALF DOME / TIS-SA-ACK PAR ANSEL ADAMS

ANSEL ADAMS (1902-1984)
Half Dome / Tis-sa-ack (2, 695 m - 8,844 ft)
Etats-Unis d'Amérique (Californie)

 

In Moon and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California 1960, printed 1974 Gelatin silver print
The MET, New York

Le photographe
Ansel Easton Adams est un photographe et écologiste américain, connu pour ses photographies en noir et blanc de l'Ouest américain, notamment dans la Sierra Nevada, et plus particulièrement du parc national de Yosemite. Une de ses plus célèbres photographies s'intitule Moonrise, Hernandez, Nouveau-Mexique. En collaboration avec Fred Archer, Adams développa le zone system, procédé qui permet de déterminer l'exposition correcte ainsi que l'ajustement du contraste sur le tirage final. La profondeur et la clarté qui en résultent sont la marque de fabrique des photographies d'Ansel Adams et de ceux à qui il a enseigné la technique. Dans un premier temps, Adams utilisera des appareils photographiques grand format (plus que 4 × 5 pouces), qui malgré leur taille, leur poids, le temps de mise en place et le prix des films sont un bon moyen, de par leur résolution élevée, de s'assurer du piqué de l'image. Adams fonda le Groupe f/64 avec ses amis photographes Edward Weston et Imogen Cunningham, qui à leur tour, mettront en place le département de la photographie au sein du Museum of Modern Art. Les photographies intemporelles et visuellement saisissantes d'Ansel Adams sont de nos jours encore reproduites sur une grande variété de supports : calendriers, posters, livres, faisant de ses clichés des images célèbres et reconnaissables. Une réserve de nature sauvage porte désormais son nom, au sud du parc national de Yosemite, en Californie.

La montagne
Half Dome / Tis-sa-ack (2, 695 m - 8,844 ft) « Demi Dôme » en anglais, " roche fendue » en langage amérindien, est un dôme granitique situé à l’extrémité est de la vallée de Yosemite, sans doute l’élément le plus célèbre de la vallée. Le sommet se situe à plus de 1 440 mètres au-dessus du niveau de la vallée. Half Dome est un excellent exemple de dôme d'exfoliation. Il ne fut probablement jamais un dôme complet et rond. Quand le Half Dome s’est formé, il avait déjà des fractures dans le granite. L’eau s’infiltra dans les fractures et gela, cassant la roche. Des glaciers érodèrent la base du dôme. Finalement, environ 20 % du dôme fut emporté par le glacier Tenaya, laissant derrière lui une paroi presque verticale.
Jusque dans les années 1870, on considérait que le Half Dome ne pouvait être grimpé. De nos jours, des milliers de randonneurs atteignent le sommet chaque année par la « voie normale avec les câbles ». Un itinéraire qui part du fond de la vallée et fait 13,5 kilomètres (8,5 miles) pour 1 500 mètres de dénivelé positif, avec une difficulté de « randonnée alpine » (T4). Les derniers 200 mètres d'ascension sont une dalle très inclinée (30°) équipée de câbles métalliques (posés en 1919).
D’autre part, il existe une douzaine de voies d’escalade qui mènent de la vallée au sommet à travers la face verticale nord-ouest du Half Dome. D’autres itinéraires escaladent la paroi sur la face sud et la paroi ouest. La première voie ouverte était la voie Regular Northwest Face (voie normale de la face nord-ouest), grimpée pour la première fois en 1957 par Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick et Jerry Gallwas. Cette ascension dura 5 jours et fut la première voie de niveau VI aux États-Unis. Depuis, cette montagne f  a été le témoin d'un autre grand exploit sportif. Le 6 septembre 2007, la jeune figure montante de l'escalade en solo, Alex Honnold, a grimpé le Regular Northwest Face (voie de plus de 700 mètres (23 longueurs de corde) cotée 5.12a) sans aucune protection en seulement 2 heures et 50 minutes.
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2023 - Wandering Vertexes ....
            Errant au-dessus des Sommets Silencieux...
            Un blog de Francis Rousseau

HALF DOME PEINT PAR WAYNE THIEBAUD

 

WAYNE THIEBAUD (1920-2021)
Half Dome (2, 695 m - 8,844 ft)
United States of America (California)

In Yosemite Rock Formation, Memory Mountains  huile sur toile 80,x 60 cm, 2012

A propos de la série Memory Mountains
Memory Mountains, se compose de 31 peintures et 17 œuvres sur papier qui occupe les deux étages de la Galerie Paul Thiebaud. à San Fransisco. A propos de la peinture de montagnes Watne Thiebaud au Hufftington Post :  " Un jour je me suis demandé ce qui se passerait si on essayait de voir les montagnes sous un autre angle que l'angle habituel.   En effet, en peinture,  nous les voyons le plus souvent  de loin, à moins que nous ne les escaladions. Face à cette tendance à toujours représenter les montagnes vues de loin, j'ai pris le parti dans ma série Memory Mountains,  de m'en rapprocher le plus possible pour les peindre. "

 

La montagne
Half Dome (2 695 m - 8 844 pieds) est un dôme de granit situé à l'extrémité est de la vallée de Yosemite dans le parc national de Yosemite, en Californie, qui fait partie de la chaîne de montagnes de la Sierra Nevada. C'est une formation rocheuse bien connue dans le parc, nommée pour sa forme particulière la faisant apparaître comme un dôme coupé en deux. La crête de granit s'élève à plus de 4 737 pieds (1 444 m) au-dessus du fond de la vallée. L'impression ressentie du fond de la vallée qu'il s'agit d'un dôme rond qui a perdu sa moitié nord-ouest est une illusion. De Washburn Point, Half Dome peut être vu comme une mince crête de roche, une arête orientée nord-est-sud-ouest, avec son côté sud-est presque aussi raide que son côté nord-ouest à l'exception du sommet. Jusque dans les années 1870, Half Dome était décrit comme "parfaitement inaccessible" par Josiah Whitney du California Geological Survey. Le sommet a finalement été conquis par George G. Anderson en octobre 1875, via un itinéraire élaboé en forant et en plaçant des boulons en fer dans le granit lisse.
Aujourd'hui, Half Dome peut  être escaladé de plusieurs manières différentes. Des milliers de randonneurs atteignent le sommet chaque année en suivant un sentier de 13,7 km depuis le fond de la vallée. Après une approche rigoureuse de 3,2 km (2 mi), comprenant plusieurs centaines de pieds d'escaliers en granit, la pente finale de la face est escarpée mais quelque peu arrondie du pic est montée à l'aide d'une paire de câbles en acier tressé montés sur poteau construits à l'origine près de la route Anderson en 1919.
Plus d'une douzaine de voies d'escalade mènent de la vallée à la face verticale nord-ouest du Half Dome. La première ascension technique a eu lieu en 1957 via un itinéraire lancé par Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick et Jerry Gallwas, aujourd'hui connu sous le nom de Regular Northwest Face. Leur épopée de cinq jours a été la première ascension de grade VI aux États-Unis. Leur route a maintenant été parcourue en solo plusieurs fois en quelques heures.

 Le peintre
Morton Wayne Thiebaud était un peintre américain connu pour ses œuvres colorées représentant des objets du quotidien  - tartes, rouges à lèvres, pots de peinture, cornets de crème glacée, pâtisseries et hot-dogs - ainsi que pour ses paysages et ses peintures de personnages. Thiebaud est associé au mouvement pop art en raison de son intérêt pour les objets de la culture de masse, bien que ses premières œuvres, exécutées dans les années cinquante et soixante, soient antérieures aux œuvres des artistes pop classiques. Thiebaud a utilisé des pigments lourds et des couleurs exagérées pour représenter ses sujets, et les ombres bien définies caractéristiques des publicités sont presque toujours incluses dans son travail.
Thiebaud était opposé aux étiquettes telles que « beaux-arts » par opposition à « art commercial » et se décrivait comme « juste un peintre à l'ancienne ». Il n'aimait pas les peintures "plates" et "mécaniques" d'Andy Warhol et ne se considérait pas comme un artiste pop.
En plus des pâtisseries, Thiebaud a peint des personnages tels que Mickey Mouse ainsi que des paysages, des paysages de rue et des paysages urbains, qui ont été influencés par le travail de Richard Diebenkorn. Ses peintures telles que Sunset Streets (1985) et Flatland River (1997) sont réputées pour leur hyper réalisme et ont été comparées au travail d'Edward Hopper, un autre artiste fasciné par les scènes banales de la vie quotidienne américaine.
En 1962, le travail de Thiebaud a été inclus, avec Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine et Robert Dowd, dans la "Nouvelle peinture d'objets communs" historiquement importante et révolutionnaire organisée au Pasadena Art Museum. Cette exposition est considérée comme l'une des premières expositions de Pop Art aux États-Unis. Ces peintres faisaient partie d'un nouveau mouvement, à une époque de troubles sociaux, qui a choqué les États-Unis et le monde de l'art.

______________________________
2023 - Wandering Vertexes ....
Errant au-dessus des Sommets Silencieux...
Un blog de Francis Rousseau   

EL CAPITAN PAINTED BY WAYNE THIEBAUD

WAYNE THIEBAUD (1920-2021)
El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft)
United States of America

 In Mount and Cloud, 1972, oil on canvas 20 1/4 x 22 in.

 
The painter
Morton Wayne Thiebaud was an American painter known for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure paintings. Thiebaud is associated with the pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his early works, executed during the fifties and sixties, predate the works of the classic pop artists. Thiebaud used heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work.
Thiebaud was averse to labels such as "fine art" versus "commercial art" and described himself as "just an old-fashioned painter". He disliked Andy Warhol's "flat" and "mechanical" paintings and did not consider himself a pop artist.
In addition to pastries, Thiebaud painted characters such as Mickey Mouse as well as landscapes, streetscapes, and cityscapes, which were influenced by the work of Richard Diebenkorn. His paintings such as Sunset Streets (1985) and Flatland River (1997) are noted for their hyper realism, and have been compared to Edward Hopper's work, another artist who was fascinated with mundane scenes from everyday American life.
In 1962, Thiebaud's work was included, along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine, and Robert Dowd, in the historically important and ground-breaking "New Painting of Common Objects" curated at the Pasadena Art Museum.  This exhibition is considered to have been one of the first Pop Art exhibitions in the United States. These painters were part of a new movement, in a time of social unrest, which shocked the U.S. and the art world.

The mountain
El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft) is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.
The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah".
It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief". In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers and BASE jumpers.
The top of El Capitan can be reached by hiking out of Yosemite Valley on the trail next to Yosemite Falls, then proceeding west. For climbers, the challenge is to climb up the sheer granite face. There are many named climbing routes, all of them arduous, including Iron Hawk and Sea of Dreams, for example.
The Nose was first climbed in 1958 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore in 47 days using "siege" tactics: climbing in an expedition style using fixed ropes along the length of the route, linking established camps along the way.
In September 1973, Beverly Johnson and Sibylle Hechtel were the first team of women to ascend El Capitan via the Triple Direct route.

_______________________________

2022 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

MOUNTAINS OF YOSEMITE VALLEY PAINTED BY THOMAS HILL

 

THOMAS HILL (1829-1908)  

Middle Cathedral Rock (2,026 m - 6,648 ft)

El Capitan (2,309 m - 7,573 ft)

Sentinel Dome (2,477 m - 8,127 ft)

Half Dome (2, 695 m - 8,844  ft)

United States of America (California)

In View of Yosemite Valley oil on canvas, 1885, (92.1 x 137.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (not on view)



Mountains of Yosemite Valley
The Middle Cathedral Rock (2,026 m- 6,648 ft)  (on right in the painting above with the cascades) is a prominent rock face on the south side of Yosemite Valley, California.
El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft) (on left in the painting above) is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers. The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain", "the chief") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah". It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief". In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers and BASE jumpers.
Sentinel Dome (2,477m - 8,127ft) (behind Cathedral rock in the painting above) is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, United States. It lies on the south wall of Yosemite Valley, 0.8 miles (1.3 km) southwest of Glacier Point and 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northeast of Profile Cliff. Sentinel Dome is known for a Jeffrey Pine that grew from its peak (see photograph above). The pine was photographed as early as 1867 by Carleton Watkins, and was the subject of the well-known photograph by Ansel Adams. The pine died during the drought of 1976, but remained standing until August 2003. The original Native American name of Sentinel Dome, in the Southern Sierra Miwok language, was "Sakkaduch". The Bunnell survey named it "South Dome", but the Whitney survey renamed it Sentinel Dome (from its likeness to a watch-tower). The view from the top offers a 360 degree view of Yosemite Valley and surroundings. One can see Half Dome,Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, North Dome, Basket Dome, and much more.
Half Dome (2, 695 m - 8,844 ft) (behind Sentinel Dome in the painting above) is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California, part of the Sierra Nevada Range. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape; One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half. The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome that has lost its northwest half is an illusion. From Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock, an arête, that is oriented northeast-southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top. Although the trend of this ridge, as well as that of Tenaya Canyon, is probably controlled by master joints, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there. As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by Josiah Whitney of the California Geological Survey. The summit was finally conquered by George G. Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite.


The painter
Thomas Hill produced many fine paintings of the California landscape, in particular of the Yosemite Valley, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hill’s work was often driven by a vision resulting from his experiences with nature.
Hill was loosely associated with the Hudson River School of painters. The Hudson River School celebrated nature with a sense of awe for its natural resources, which brought them a feeling of enthusiasm when thinking of the potential it held. Mainly the earlier members of the Hudson River School, around the 1850-60’s, displayed man as in unison with nature in their landscape paintings by often painting men on a very small scale compared to the vast landscape. Thomas Hill often brought this technique into his own paintings in for example in his painting, Yosemite Valley, 1889.
He made early trips to the White Mountains with his friend Benjamin Champney and painted White Mountain subjects throughout his career. An example of his White Mountain subjects is Mount Lafayette in his Mount Lafayette in Winter.
Hill acquired the technique of painting en plein air. These paintings in the field later served as the basis for larger finished works.
Hill’s move to California in 1861 brought him new material for his paintings. He chose monumental vistas, like Yosemite. During his lifetime, Hill’s paintings were popular in California, costing as much as $10,000. Hill's best works are considered to be these monumental subjects, including Great Canyon of the Sierra, Yosemite, Vernal Falls and Yosemite Valley.

_____________________________
2020 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

CATHEDRAL ROCK, EL CAPITAN, SENTINEL DOME AND HALF DOME BY DAVID HOCKNEY

 

DAVID HOCKNEY (bn. 1937)

Middle Cathedral Rock (2,026 m - 6,648 ft)

El Capitan (2,309 m - 7,573 ft)

Sentinel Dome (2,477 m - 8,127 ft)

Half Dome (2, 695 m - 8,844  ft)

United States of America (California)

In Yosemite I, October 16, 2011, 

iPad drawing printed on four sheets of paper, mounted on four sheets of Dibond, Private collection

Mountains of Yosemite Valley
The Middle Cathedral Rock (2,026 m- 6,648 ft)  (on right in the painting above with the cascades) is a prominent rock face on the south side of Yosemite Valley, California.
El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft) (on left in the painting above) is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers. The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain", "the chief") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah". It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief". In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers and BASE jumpers. 
Sentinel Dome (2,477m - 8,127ft)  (behind Cathedral rock in the painting above) is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, United States. It lies on the south wall of Yosemite Valley, 0.8 miles (1.3 km) southwest of Glacier Point and 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northeast of Profile Cliff. Sentinel Dome is known for a Jeffrey Pine that grew from its peak (see photograph above). The pine was photographed as early as 1867 by Carleton Watkins, and was the subject of the well-known photograph by Ansel Adams. The pine died during the drought of 1976, but remained standing until August 2003. The original Native American name of Sentinel Dome, in the Southern Sierra Miwok language, was "Sakkaduch". The Bunnell survey named it "South Dome", but the Whitney survey renamed it Sentinel Dome (from its likeness to a watch-tower). The view from the top offers a 360 degree view of Yosemite Valley and surroundings. One can see Half Dome,Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, North Dome, Basket Dome, and much more.
Half Dome (2, 695 m - 8,844 ft) (behind Sentienl Dome in the painting above) is a granite dome at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California, part of the Sierra Nevada Range. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape; One side is a sheer face while the other three sides are smooth and round, making it appear like a dome cut in half.  The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome that has lost its northwest half is an illusion. From Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock, an arête, that is oriented northeast-southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top. Although the trend of this ridge, as well as that of Tenaya Canyon, is probably controlled by master joints, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there. As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by Josiah Whitney of the California Geological Survey. The summit was finally conquered by George G. Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite.

The artist
David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. An important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century.
At the Royal College of Art, Hockney featured in the exhibition Young Contemporaries—alongside Peter Blake—that announced the arrival of British Pop art. He was associated with the movement, but his early works display expressionist elements, similar to some works by Francis Bacon. When the RCA said it would not let him graduate in 1962, Hockney drew the sketch The Diploma in protest. He had refused to write an essay required for the final examination, saying he should be assessed solely on his artworks. Recognising his talent and growing reputation, the RCA changed its regulations and awarded the diploma. After leaving the RCA, he taught at Maidstone College of Art for a short time. A visit to California, where he subsequently lived for many years, inspired him to make a series of paintings of swimming pools in the comparatively new acrylic medium rendered in a highly realistic style using vibrant colours. The artist moved to Los Angeles in 1964, returned to London in 1968, and from 1973 to 1975 lived in Paris.
Hockney has a home and studio in Kensington, London and two residences in California, where he has lived on and off for over 30 years: one in Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, and an office and archives on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California.
_____________________________

2020 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

EL CAPITAN PAINTED BY THOMAS HILL

 

THOMAS HILL  (1829-1908)

El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft) 

United States of America

In El Capitan, oil on cnavas,  Oakland Museum of California

The mountain
El Capitan  (2,309m - 7,573 ft) is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.
The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah".
It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief". In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers and BASE jumpers.
The top of El Capitan can be reached by hiking out of Yosemite Valley on the trail next to Yosemite Falls, then proceeding west. For climbers, the challenge is to climb up the sheer granite face. There are many named climbing routes, all of them arduous, including Iron Hawk and Sea of Dreams, for example.
The Nose was first climbed in 1958 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore in 47 days using "siege" tactics: climbing in an expedition style using fixed ropes along the length of the route, linking established camps along the way.
In September 1973, Beverly Johnson and Sibylle Hechtel were the first team of women to ascend El Capitan via the Triple Direct route.

The painter
Thomas Hill produced many fine paintings of the California landscape, in particular of the Yosemite Valley, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Hill’s work was often driven by a vision resulting from his experiences with nature.
Hill was loosely associated with the Hudson River School of painters. The Hudson River School celebrated nature with a sense of awe for its natural resources, which brought them a feeling of enthusiasm when thinking of the potential it held. Mainly the earlier members of the Hudson River School, around the 1850-60’s, displayed man as in unison with nature in their landscape paintings by often painting men on a very small scale compared to the vast landscape. Thomas Hill often brought this technique into his own paintings in for example in his painting, Yosemite Valley, 1889.
He made early trips to the White Mountains with his friend Benjamin Champney and painted White Mountain subjects throughout his career. An example of his White Mountain subjects is Mount Lafayette in his Mount Lafayette in Winter.
Hill acquired the technique of painting en plein air. These paintings in the field later served as the basis for larger finished works.
Hill’s move to California in 1861 brought him new material for his paintings. He chose monumental vistas, like Yosemite. During his lifetime, Hill’s paintings were popular in California, costing as much as $10,000. Hill's best works are considered to be these monumental subjects, including Great Canyon of the Sierra, Yosemite, Vernal Falls and Yosemite Valley.

_____________________________
2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

EL CAPITAN PAINTED BY JULES TAVERNIER

JULES TAVERNIER (1844-1889) 

El Capitan (2,309m - 7,573 ft) 

United States of America 

The mountain 

El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.

The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan ("the captain", "the chief") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah". It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief".  In modern times, the formation's name is often contracted to "El Cap", especially among rock climbers and BASE jumpers.

The top of El Capitan can be reached by hiking out of Yosemite Valley on the trail next to Yosemite Falls, then proceeding west. For climbers, the challenge is to climb up the sheer granite face. There are many named climbing routes, all of them arduous, including Iron Hawk and Sea of Dreams, for example.

Climbing

The Nose was first climbed in 1958 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore in 47 days using "siege" tactics: climbing in an expedition style using fixed ropes along the length of the route, linking established camps along the way. 

The second ascent of The Nose was in 1960 by Royal Robbins, Joe Fitschen, Chuck Pratt and Tom Frost, who took seven days in the first continuous climb of the route without siege tactics. 

The first solo climb of The Nose was done by Tom Bauman in 1969. 

The first ascent of The Nose in one day was accomplished in 1975 by John Long, Jim Bridwell and Billy Westbay. Today, The Nose typically takes fit climbers 4–5 days of full climbing, and has a success rate of around 60%.

Beverly Johnson was the first woman to successfully ascend El Capitan, via the Nose route, with Dan Asay in June 1973. In September 1973, Beverly Johnson and Sibylle Hechtel were the first team of women to ascend El Capitan via the Triple Direct route, which takes the first ten pitches of the Salathe Wall, then continues up the middle portion of El Capitan via the Muir Wall, and finishes on the upper pitches of the Nose route.  In 1977, Molly Higgins and Barb Eastman climbed the Nose, to become the second party of women to climb El Capitan and the first to climb it via the Nose. In 1978, Bev Johnson was the first woman to solo El Capitan by climbing the Dihedral Wall.  Hazel Findlay has made three free ascents of El Capitan, including the first female ascent of Golden Gate in 2011, the first female ascent of Pre-Muir Wall in 2012, and a three-day ascent of Freerider in 2013.

Reference:

- El Capitan in web Stanford edu page 
- El Capitan in Wikipedia page 

The painter 
Jules Tavernier was a French painter, illustrator, and an important member of Hawaii’s Volcano School.  He studied with the French painter, Félix Joseph Barrias (1822–1907). he left France in the 1870s and never  return. Tavernier was employed as an illustrator by Harper's Magazine, which sent him, along with Paul Frenzeny, on a year-long coast-to-coast sketching tour in 1873.
 Eventually, he continued westward to Hawaii, where he became quite famous as a landscape painter. He was fascinated by Hawaii’s erupting volcanoes—a subject that pre-occupied him for the rest of his life, which was spent in Hawaii, Canada and the western United States. Tavernier died on 18 May 1889 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He painted several version of the Kilauea erupting between 1880 and the end of his life.
Among the public collections holding paintings by Jules Tavernier are the Brigham Young University Museum of Art (Provo, UT), the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (Colorado Springs, CO), the Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento), the Gilcrease Museum (Tulsa, OK), Hearst Art Gallery (Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA), the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Museum of Nebraska Art (Kearney, NE), the Oakland Museum of California, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Stark Museum of Art (Orange, TX), the Society of California Pioneers (San Francisco, CA), the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts (Hagerstown, MD) and the Yosemite Museum (Yosemite National Park).

After his death his art lived on in the hearts and homes of Hawaiians, and many more artists picked up on the volcano landscape theme he started. His Western art was mostly forgotten. Fifty years after his death the Honolulu Advertiser remembered Jules Tavernier in December 1940 with the comment: “...to the generation which knew King Kalakaua, Tavernier recalls to mind some of the greatest paintings ever made of Hawaii volcanoes.” At the beginning of the twenty-first century interest has reawakened in Tavernier's Western landscape art; museums are purchasing his pictures and prices for his oil paintings are increasing. His students included D. Howard Hitchcock (1861–1943), Amédée Joullin (1862–1917), Charles Rollo Peters (1862–1917) and Manuel Valencia (1856–1935). Reference   - Biography of  Jules Tavernier in Tigertail Virtual Museum