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Panorama from the Sasso

Brown toned drawing of figure seated on low wall, vast countryside in background.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Brown toned drawing of figure seated on low wall, vast countryside in background.

Date:

1649/1655

Artist:

Claude Lorrain
French, 1600-1682

About this artwork

For Claude Lorrain, one of the most important aspects of his adopted city of Rome was its surrounding countryside, the Campagna, which the artist studied, sketched, and painted all his life. His evocative classical landscapes were sought after by papal patrons as well as by aristocrats and royalty throughout Europe. For nearly a century after his death, travelers on the grand tour of European capitals judged real scenery according to his standards. In Claude’s landscapes, as in this superb drawing, order and tranquility prevail; men perform no labor but rather exist peacefully in beautiful pastoral settings blessed by the warm Roman light. Depicted here is the region around the Sasso, a large rock ten miles south of Civitavecchia, Rome’s modern seaport. Evidently made at the site of the rock itself, the drawing is remarkable in its mastery of subtle ink washes that evocatively suggest, rather than describe, the landscape and sea. Individual trees stand out as nearly geometric forms against the unifying light. The drawing’s horizontal format enhances the idyllic landscape’s panoramic sweep, which the viewer savors along with the solitary shepherd.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Claude Lorrain

Title

Panorama from the Sasso

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1649–1655

Medium

Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, heightened with white gouache and traces of white chalk, over black chalk and graphite, on cream laid paper

Inscriptions

Inscribed verso, center, in pen and brown ink: "lo sasso Claudio Gillee/I-V fecit"

Dimensions

16.2 × 40.2 cm (6 7/16 × 15 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Helen Regenstein Collection

Reference Number

1980.190

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/60031/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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