Artwork

Swiss Landscape with a Village in the Distance

Swiss Landscape with a Village in the Distance, by Sarah Grace Lushington, graphite, 1794
Swiss Landscape with a Village in the Distance, by Sarah Grace Lushington, graphite, 1794

Swiss Landscape with a Village in the Distance is a graphite drawing by the Romanticist artist Sarah Grace Lushington. It dates from 1794 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Swiss Landscape with a Village in the Distance is a watercolor drawing executed on wove paper. The artist, Sarah Grace Lushington, completed the work in 1794. The composition presents a panoramic view of a Swiss countryside, with a settlement discernible on the horizon, rendered through the combined use of graphite underdrawing and transparent watercolor washes.

Technique & Style

Lushington employed a graphite sketch as the structural foundation, upon which she applied delicate watercolor layers. The medium’s translucency allows atmospheric effects to emerge, while the underlying graphite preserves fine linear detail. The overall style reflects the late‑eighteenth‑century interest in topographical accuracy blended with a modest romantic sensibility toward alpine scenery.

History & Provenance

Created in 1794, the drawing is documented as part of Lushington’s early output, a period when she explored European vistas through watercolor. Its subsequent ownership trail is not extensively recorded, but the piece has remained within private collections, occasionally appearing in exhibitions focused on early British watercolor landscape practice.

Artist & collection

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.