Italian Sketchbook
1 of 82
Object Label
This sketchbook served as a travel diary for the Hudson River School landscape painter Sanford Robinson Gifford during his journeys in France, Switzerland, and Italy. In this two-page spread depicting the church of Santa Caterina del Sasso, perched precariously on the edge of a cliff overlooking Lake Maggiore in Italy, Gifford’s precise and assured lines exemplify his skills as a draftsman. A practitioner of plein air sketching, the artist used these drawings as preparatory studies for paintings executed later in his studio. The small framed motifs that appear on this and other pages of the sketchbook show his initial experiments with composition.
Caption
Sanford Robinson Gifford American, 1823–1880. Italian Sketchbook, 1867–1868. Graphite on tan, medium-weight, slightly textured wove paper, 5 x 9 x 7/16 in. (12.7 x 22.9 x 1.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Jennie Brownscombe, 17.141. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 17.141_p00_front_cover_PS6.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Italian Sketchbook
Date
1867–1868
Medium
Graphite on tan, medium-weight, slightly textured wove paper
Classification
Dimensions
5 x 9 x 7/16 in. (12.7 x 22.9 x 1.1 cm)
Signatures
[see Description]
Inscriptions
[see Description]
Credit Line
Gift of Jennie Brownscombe
Accession Number
17.141
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at