Imaginary South American Landscape

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Artist: Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900)
Medium: Brush and oil paint on tan paperboard
Size: 16.1 × 23.1 cm (6 5/16 × 9 1/8 in.)
Museum: Smithsonian Institution
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Landscape sketch showing an imagined view of a sunset over generalized South American terrain. A single-arched bridge spans a river in the foreground at lower center. A figure in red clothing traverses the bridge just above the arch, while another figure is visible on the path at right. In the lower left corner, two tall palm trees frame the view as other plants grow around their bases and lower trunks. In the middle distance at center, a ruinous tower is situated atop a small prominence partially covered in trees and bounded by the river at right.

On the opposite bank at right, a single tree is visible among other indistinct foliage. In the background, the sun illuminates the sky and clouds around it in fiery shades of orange and yellow as it begins to set behind a range of sharp mountains. Another pair of sharp mountains is visible along the horizon at right. In the sky above, wispy banks of clouds are illuminated in warm hues of orange, purple, and reddish brown as they encircle an opening that reveals the clear, blue-green sky behind.