The Chariot of the Sun Fantasy

Frederic Edwin Church, American, 1826–1900 · probably 1868–69

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.