
Read the visual description
The image shows an aerial view of a hillside town. The town's buildings are depicted with soft brushstrokes, displaying classical architectural elements. The horizon is placed higher in the image, allowing a view of the town's ridgeline. In the foreground, there are outlines of trees and bushes in tan and soft brown shades. A viaduct with arches stretches across the landscape in the distance. The sky is a muted gray-blue tone, possibly indicating a calm or overcast atmosphere. The use of neutral tones and fine lines gives the drawing a contemplative quality.
National Gallery of Art · Drawing
Ariccia Seen from across a Valley
August Christian Geist
- Date
- 1866
- Medium
- watercolor over graphite heightened with white, on brown laid paper
- Dimensions
- sheet: 29.9 x 36.6 cm (11 3/4 x 14 7/16 in.)
- Classification
- Drawing
- Accession number
- 2011.129.1
- Credit line
- Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
- Time span
- 1851 to 1875
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- Italy
- landscape
Provenance
(sale, Galerie Bassenge, Berlin, 29 November 2011, no. 6437); (via C. G. Boerner, New York); purchased 2011 by NGA.
Inscription
lower right in brown ink: Ariccia / 27. Juli 1866.
NGA object ID 157401. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.