Artwork
The Sun Through the Trees
The Sun Through the Trees is a drawing by Charles Burchfield. It dates from 30 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a bright sun glowing through a tangle of dark tree branches.
Burchfield drew this in 1917, turning sunlight into a kind of stained glass. The branches act like a frame, making the sun feel almost holy. He wanted nature to feel full of meaning, not just pretty.
If you like this, look up *sfumato*—the way soft edges blur light and shadow.
Overview
The Sun Through the Trees is a drawing created by Charles Burchfield in 1917, depicting a sun shining through a tangle of tree branches.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing combines natural elements with religious iconography, as the branches form a dark, halo-like frame around the sun, suggesting a divine presence in the natural world.
Technique & Style
Burchfield's use of soft edges and diffused light creates a sense of luminosity, reminiscent of stained glass or the sfumato technique, where boundaries between light and shadow are blurred.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Ephraim Burchfield (April 9, 1893 – January 10, 1967) was an American painter and visionary artist, known for his passionate watercolors of nature scenes and townscapes.
