The Chariot of the Sun Fantasy
date: label: Date
content: probably 1868–69
name: label: Artist
content: Frederic Edwin Church, American, 1826–1900
notes: label: Description
content: Landscape sketch showing an imagined view of the Chariot of the Sun riding across the twilight sky above a body of water surrounded by mountains. The rippling surface of a lake or inlet comprises the foreground and part of the middle distance as it reflects the golden-orange glow of the sun above. A group of ancient ruins, including a pair of columns, is situated atop a small prominence in the middle distance at left. A dark mountain range span across the horizon and features a sharp peak at right. Above, the sun stands in as the wheel of a fantastic cosmic chariot, likely representing Apollo's (in the Roman tradition) or Helios's (in the Greek tradition) chariot of the sun. The immense robed figure driving the chariot holds a whip aloft as two pinkish-gold horses carry the load. The sky, otherwise, is a tumultuous mix of puffy and wispy clouds, illuminated in shades of pink and gray in a dark, twilight sky.
place: label: made in
content: USA
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Louis P. Church
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1917-4-1326
objectType: label: Type
content: landscapes
label: Object Name
content: Drawing
label: Type
content: Drawing
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Brush and oil on tan paperboard
label: Dimensions
content: 32.8 × 29.6 cm (12 15/16 × 11 5/8 in.)