Artwork
Farm with Trees in a Hilly Landscape
Farm with Trees in a Hilly Landscape is a drawing by the Renaissance artist Gherardo Cibo. It dates from 1567 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
If you like how science and art mix, look up *Italy, 16th century* for more field drawings from the same era.
You see a small farm tucked between rolling hills, with a few trees and a path winding up the slope.
This isn’t just a pretty scene—it’s a scientist’s notebook. The artist, Gherardo Cibo, was a botanist who pressed plants in books. He scribbled the name of a cornflower in the corner, proving he drew this right where he found it. Most artists of his time painted in studios; Cibo worked outside, sketching what he saw.
If you like how science and art mix, look up *Italy, 16th century* for more field drawings from the same era.
Overview
Farm with Trees in a Hilly Landscape is a drawing created by Gherardo Cibo, a botanist with artistic training, primarily for the purpose of documenting plant habitats during his fieldwork.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing depicts a serene rural scene with a small farm nestled among rolling hills, trees, and a winding path. However, its primary function was scientific: to record the environment of a specific plant specimen, identified as a dried cornflower (concia fior da liso), annotated in the upper left corner.
Technique & Style
Executed on location, the drawing reflects Cibo's early training in landscape drawing, influenced by Northern European styles, yet also showing awareness of Florentine and Venetian artistic models of his time.
History & Provenance
Created in the 16th century, during Cibo's botanical expeditions in the Marches region of Italy, this work is part of a broader collection of his field drawings and plant specimen volumes.
Context
Unconventional for its time, the drawing exemplifies Cibo's innovative approach to combining scientific observation with artistic expression, contrasting with the studio-based practice of most contemporary artists.
Legacy
This work contributes to the historical intersection of art and science, particularly in 16th-century Italy, offering insight into the methodologies of early botanists who used visual recording as a tool for their research.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gherardo Cibo, also known by the alias of Ulisse Severini da Cingoli (1512 − 30 January 1600), was an artist and a herbalist from Italy.
