Tropical Forest Scene, c. 1870–74
Oil on canvas Martin Johnson Heade, American, 1891–1904 Gift of Theodore E. and Susan Cragg Stebbins 17 3/4 x 27 1/2 in. (2020-004:19)
Heade kept Tropical Forest Scene in his studio all his life; he did not make landscape oil sketches or use other tools to guide his memory in later works, and so it seems possible that he retained the painting as a model or prototype for his future use. The painting seems an evocation of the tropical experience rather than a view of a particular place. Palm trees are weighed down by dense, smothering vines with occasional glimpses of flowers. The sun is barely seen through the murky sky and a worn path leads into the jungle where a single bird is perched on a bare branch.