A Picturesque Landscape

William Gilpin

Associated Names
William Gilpin

Artist, British, 1724 - 1804

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.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    brush and black ink with gray washes over graphite on light ocher prepared laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of William B. O'Neal

  • Dimensions

    overall: 27.1 x 36.9 cm (10 11/16 x 14 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1995.52.56

Artwork history & notes

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.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1988

  • The Imprints of Gloomth: The Gothic Novel in England, 1765-1830, Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1988.

Inscriptions

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

Wikidata ID

Q64636996

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