Landscape with Hill, Lake and Figures

William Gilpin

ca. 1772 · Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, on buff paper · Drawings and Prints

In his writings, Gilpin encouraged his readers to seek the picturesque in nature, which he defined as "that peculiar kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture." Nature was to be viewed and experienced like a landscape painting, with emphasis on composition, the harmony of light and dark masses, and overall effect rather than a precise description of topography. In this drawing of hills around a lake, with a small building precariously perched on a cliff, picturesqueness is achieved through the rough application of broad and bold washes of monochrome ink. In his Three Essays, displayed nearby, Gilpin wrote "Picturesque composition consists in uniting in one whole a variety of parts; and these parts can only be obtained from rough objects."

Artist

William Gilpin

Date

ca. 1772

Medium

Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, on buff paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, and Jeffrey L. Berenson Gift, 2012