Landscape with hills and a lake
William Gilpin British
Not on view
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."
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
