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The image depicts a landscape with a low angle view of a valley flanked by steep rocky walls. The horizon is high in the composition, indicating an expansive scene with rugged cliffs and a bridge in the distance. The artwork uses a monochromatic palette of grays and blacks created with watercolor washes, giving a misty quality to the scene. The brushwork is loose and expressive, capturing the texture of the cliffs and foliage.
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The image depicts a landscape with a low angle view of a valley flanked by steep rocky walls. The horizon is high in the composition, indicating an expansive scene with rugged cliffs and a bridge in the distance. The artwork uses a monochromatic palette of grays and blacks created with watercolor washes, giving a misty quality to the scene. The brushwork is loose and expressive, capturing the texture of the cliffs and foliage.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Picturesque Landscape

William Gilpin

Medium
brush and black ink with gray washes over graphite on light ocher prepared laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 27.1 x 36.9 cm (10 11/16 x 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1995.52.56
Credit line
Gift of William B. O'Neal
Time span
1701 to 1725
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • Landscape
  • topographical
  • landscape
Provenance

Probably Gilpin estate (blind stamp, WG, Lugt undescribed); (Sabin Galleries, Ltd., London); purchased by William B. O'Neal, Charlottesville, VA, 1978-1994; gift to NGA, 1995.

Inscription

by later hand, lower left verso in graphite: Blind stamp / WG; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: P61/2 / 47 / p.; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: William Gilpin

NGA object ID 75972. 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.