Students may be surprised to learn that the American painter Frederic Church traveled from New York to South America in the 1850s—and twice!—because of scientific books he’d read by the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. The place depicted is Ecuador, or more accurately, many places in Ecuador. Church combined views of the low elevation rain forest in the foreground, temperate upper regions in the middle and the peak of Mount Chimborazo (elevation 20,700 feet), towering in the background. Like the naturalist von Humboldt, who visited here around 1800, Church carefully noted details in sketches and diaries, which he used as pictorial clues. The river’s changing levels are evidenced by the high banks in the foreground and the floating base of the house. Goods were transported on the river—like bananas in one of the boats. People animate the landscape and, because of their small size, help the viewer imagine the immensity of this Andean region. The artist shows a sunny day—with sun shining on the clues and people—creating a calm mood. Special note: Church described his trips in diaries. He traveled by boat on the Atlantic and by train, mule and foot overland. When he ran short of food, he ate leftover toast and chocolate. He camped at night, once getting lost in dense foliage and another time fighting off a tarantula, which he killed.     The artist John Constable grew up in this place, an area of England north and east of London. Farmers grew wheat, some of which was ground into flour at mills owned by Constable’s family. The painting shows people at work in the countryside. Boats, called “lighters,” took the flour to markets and delivered supplies like coal to the farmers. Near the house on the right, one woman fills a jug with water while another walks over the bridge. Constable walked over the same bridge and through these fields to the village in the distance. The church identifies the place as Dedham, where he attended school. Constable made many pencil and oil sketches of his home, noting details that become small and large pictorial clues—like the tiny water lilies in the river (called the Stour, pronounced “stew-er”) and the wide expanse of sky, filled with clouds, which he believed created mood in his paintings. Special note: This painting is really large, measuring six feet across. In the early 19th century, when Constable painted his views of the English countryside, few artists painted landscapes and even fewer at this size. He believed landscapes were important, especially ones well known to the artist. He told a friend, “I should paint my own places best.”