Artwork
Shore of the Uruguay - Making a Sketch
Shore of the Uruguay - Making a Sketch is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist George Catlin. It dates from 1862 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1862, *Shore of the Uruguay – Making a Sketch* is an oil painting on a card that has been mounted onto paperboard.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1862, *Shore of the Uruguay – Making a Sketch* is an oil painting on a card that has been mounted onto paperboard. The work measures modestly, reflecting its function as a field study rather than a finished salon piece. It records a solitary figure drawing on the banks of a river, framed by a solitary tree that anchors the composition.
Subject & Meaning
The scene captures a moment of artistic observation: an individual, presumably the artist, is seated on the river’s edge, engaged in the act of sketching. The inclusion of the tree and the tranquil water suggests an interest in documenting the natural environment of the Uruguay shoreline, aligning with the broader 19th‑century impulse to record frontier landscapes.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on a portable card support, the painting employs a relatively direct handling of pigment, allowing rapid rendering of light and form. The modest surface and the immediacy of brushwork indicate a study intended for later elaboration, a common practice among landscape painters who worked en plein air before completing larger studio versions.
History & Provenance
The work was produced by George Catlin, an American lawyer‑turned‑artist best known for his extensive visual records of Native American peoples in the 1830s.
The work was produced by George Catlin, an American lawyer‑turned‑artist best known for his extensive visual records of Native American peoples in the 1830s. Though his fame rests on those earlier western expeditions, this 1862 piece demonstrates his continued engagement with landscape observation after his principal field trips. The painting remains mounted on its original paperboard backing, preserving its original field‑study format.
Artist & collection
Artist
George Catlin ( KAT-lin; July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier.
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