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Landscape with Tower and Distant Lake

William Payne

Artwork Details

Landscape with Tower and Distant Lake
late 18th century - early 19th century
William Payne
watercolor on wove paper
11 3/4 in x 16 1/2 in (29.85 cm x 41.91 cm)
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink
2012/2.215

On Display

Not currently on display

Description

William Payne
England, 1760–1830
Landscape with Tower and Distant Lake
Late 18th to early 19th century
Watercolor on wove paper
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink, 2012/2.215

Subject Matter:

This watercolor drawing depicts a picturesque landscape with rolling hills and a tower in the background. A group of travelers make their way across a shaded hill in the left foreground, while a herd of sheep and two donkeys rest in the sunlit fields in the mid-ground. In the far background there is a lake or similar body of water that separates this scene from a hazy series of hills in the distance. The atmospheric treatment of these hills transitions almost imperceptibly into the sky, which is depicted in a very light wash and takes up the upper half of the picture plane. Payne was known for a technique that substituted pen outlines to model form for pale gray washes that give his compositions a fluid, painterly touch.

Physical Description:

Watercolor drawing of a hilly landscape with travelers in the left foreground, grazing animals in the middle ground, and a tower in the right background.

Usage Rights:

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