Google Lens entry:The setting sun was one of Church's favorite subjects. It gave him the opportunity to depict the glowing, light-suffused effects of clouds and atmosphere that give the appearance of illuminating the canvas from within rather than relying on light striking the canvas. Mysterious and evocative, Twilight creates an impression that is simultaneously serene and ominous. Some of these effects were made possible by new pigments introduced in the 1850s, which created richer tones and vivid colors. Frederic Edwin Church was encouraged to pursue his interest in art at a young age. The only student of Thomas Cole, Church favored a detailed realism derived from a close study of nature. Cole taught him to consider the landscape as both a manifestation of God's creation and a vehicle for the expression of nationalist ideals. Church traveled widely in search of grand panoramic landscapes and natural monuments, creating imaginative and theatrical paintings upon his return to his New York studio.---------Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)Twilight, 1858Oil on canvas mounted on hardboard panelGift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd1993.35.6The only student of Thomas Cole, Frederic E. Church favoreda detailed realism derived from the close study of nature.As the art critic Henry Tuckerman observed, the setting sunenabled Church to depict the sublime spectacle of nature:Few places are better adapted to study sunset than the hillsbehind Church's house [in Hudson, New York]; the river andthe mountains are spread before his gaze under every aspectof cloud, sunshine, and starlight; and twilight there weaves hermost pensive hues, while the most glowing tints of the westernsky irradiate the far horizon. Church is deeply sensible of theinadequacy of art in the presence of nature. “I am appalled,”he says, in a recent letter now before me, “when I look at themagnificent scenery which encircles my clumsy studio, andthen glance at the painted oil-cloth on my easel.”Henry Tuckerman, “Church,” in Book of the Artists, American Artist Life(New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1867)