Italian Sketchbook
Sanford Robinson Gifford
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. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
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
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