Landscape with Two Washerwomen

1580s

Agostino Carracci

Associated Names
Agostino Carracci

Artist, Bolognese, 1557 - 1602

This image features a pastoral landscape scene viewed from a slightly elevated point of view. The horizon is lined with distant mountains and a cluster of tall trees. The drawing shows thin, controlled lines and cross-hatching to create texture and depth in the trees and clouds. The overall color palette is a monochrome sepia tone. Closest to us are two figures, one seated, dressed in period attire. Beyond them are trees, open fields, and structures on the horizon.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 20.5 x 29.3 cm (8 1/16 x 11 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1978.19.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Carlo Bianconi; Samuel Woodburn; Sir Thomas Lawrence; Samuel Woodburn; Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere (L. Supp.2710b), and by descent (sale, Sotheby's, London, 11 July 1972, no. 37); purchased by Edward Speelman; Robert H. and Clarice Smith, Washington; gift to NGA in 1978.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1836

  • The Lawrence Gallery, Sixth Exhibition, Messrs. Woodburn's Gallery, London, 1836, no. 37.

1954

  • The Ellesmere Collection of Old Master Drawings, The Museums and Art Gallery, Leicester, 1954, no. 40 (P. A. Tomory).

1955

  • Drawings by the Carracci and Other Masters from the Ellesmere Collection, P. & D. Colnaghi, London, 1955, no. 33.

1956

  • Mostra dei Carracci. Disegni. Palazzo dall'Archiginnasio, Bologna, 1956, no. 82.

1961

  • The Carracci, Drawings and Paintings, The Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1961, no. 43.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 49.

1988

  • Italian Renaissance Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1988, no cat.

Bibliography

1898

  • Catalogue of the Ellesmere Collection of Drawings at Bridgewater House. London, 1898: no.101.

1995

  • De Grazia, Diane. "Storia dei disegni emiliani del XVI secolo". in La pittura in Emilia e in Romagna: Il Cinquecento. Milan, 1995, 2: 255.

1998

  • Whitfield, Clovis. "Francesco Brizio: Prospetti e paesaggi," Accademia Clementina, Atti e memorie, nos. 38-39, Bologna, 1998-1999: 16, fig. 9 (as Francesco Brizio).

Inscriptions

in unknown hand, lower left: Agosto. Caracci; lower right: Caracci; upper right verso: Agostino Car.cci

Wikidata ID

Q64533475

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