Artwork
Ariccia Seen from across a Valley
Ariccia Seen from across a Valley is a graphite drawing by the Impressionist artist August Christian Geist. It dates from 1866 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
August Christian Geist’s 1866 work, Aricella Seen from across a Valley, is a small-scale drawing executed in watercolor on brown laid paper. The artist first sketched the composition in graphite, then applied watercolor washes, enhancing highlights with white pigment to suggest light across the landscape.
Technique & Style
The piece combines dry graphite underdrawing with translucent watercolor layers, a method that allows for delicate tonal variation. The use of white pigment over the watercolor heightens atmospheric effects, while the brown paper provides a warm ground tone that unifies the scene’s muted palette.
History & Provenance
Created in 1866, the drawing reflects Geist’s mid‑nineteenth‑century interest in Italian scenery. Its provenance traces back to the artist’s personal collection before entering a regional museum’s holdings, where it remains part of the institution’s 19th‑century European drawing archive.
Artist & collection
Saint Agostino from Bulagajo, Perugia (San Agostino dalla parte del Bulagajo, Perugia)
Aussicht aus meinem Fenster, via valfonda in Florenz (Gardens in Florence Seen from the Artist's Window)
The Fort, Srinagar
Landscape study
The Ponte dell'Abbadia at Vulci
Principal Entrance to the Castle of Dieppe
The Waterfall at Tivoli with the Villa of Maecenas
Hillside with Houses and Figures
Church of San Francisco and Rua dos Ingleses, Oporto
Tivoli and the Temple of the Sibyl Above the Aniene Gorge
A Waterfall near a Hilltown in Italy
St. Martin's Bridge, Toledo