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The image shows a valley surrounded by mountains, with cliffs blocking the horizon. The painting has loose brushstrokes in an impressionistic style, using a muted color palette. Vegetation is depicted in various greens, while rocks are shown in browns and grays. The sky is a pale color. A figure in dark clothing is seated on a slope, looking at the landscape, with trees and shrubs around them. Further away, there are cliffs with greenery, creating a dramatic backdrop.
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The image shows a valley surrounded by mountains, with cliffs blocking the horizon. The painting has loose brushstrokes in an impressionistic style, using a muted color palette. Vegetation is depicted in various greens, while rocks are shown in browns and grays. The sky is a pale color. A figure in dark clothing is seated on a slope, looking at the landscape, with trees and shrubs around them. Further away, there are cliffs with greenery, creating a dramatic backdrop.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Seated Man Contemplating a Sunlit Mountain Valley

Jakob Alt

Date
c. 1825
Medium
watercolor over graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 16.5 x 26.3 cm (6 1/2 x 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
2012.60.1
Credit line
Purchased as the Gift of Joan and David Maxwell
Time span
1801 to 1825
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • landscape
Provenance

Heinrich Stinnes [1867-1932], Cologne] (Lugt 1376a). (sale, Karl & Faber, 4 December 2009, no. 162, bought in). (Nicholaas Teeuwisse OHG, Berlin); purchased 2012 by NGA.

Inscription

by later hand, verso in graphite: 286/6 59 x 38 / [undeciphered] / [undeciphered] ; by later hand, lower verso in graphite: 2381/17 Frz. Halota / 1x927 Jakob Alt / [not deciphered] / Aquarelle / [not deciphered] seybl / [not deciphered ] Sch. 150

NGA object ID 158360. 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.