Artwork

Mountains Overlooking Lake Maggiore, May 11, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook)

Mountains Overlooking Lake Maggiore, May 11, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) is a watercolor work on paper by the Impressionist artist Jervis McEntee. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

You see a quick, smudgy sketch of mountains rising behind a lake, with a small boat drifting near the shore.

You see a quick, smudgy sketch of mountains rising behind a lake, with a small boat drifting near the shore. The paper is soft blue, and the artist used white chalk to pick out the peaks.

McEntee drew this in a pocket sketchbook while traveling in Italy. The date—May 11, 1869—is scribbled right on the page, like a diary entry. It feels more like a memory than a finished picture.

If you like quiet, on-the-go sketches, look up the subject *watercolor*.

Overview

This small, informal drawing is one of many created by Jervis McEntee during his travels. It is a landscape study executed in multiple media on blue paper.

Subject & Meaning

The work depicts a scene from Lake Maggiore, featuring mountains and a small boat near the shore. The sketch captures a moment in time, with the date 'May 11, 1869' inscribed on the page.

Technique & Style

The artist employed a range of techniques, combining graphite, white gouache, and watercolor to achieve a soft, expressive effect on the blue paper. The use of white highlights adds a sense of luminosity to the mountain peaks.

History & Provenance

McEntee, associated with the Hudson River School, created this drawing while traveling in Italy. It is part of a sketchbook, suggesting it was a personal, on-the-spot observation rather than a formally composed work.

Artist & collection

Artist

Jervis McEntee

Jervis McEntee (July 14, 1828 – January 27, 1891) was an American painter of the Hudson River School.

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art

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