View of a river with a promenade
1820–70
Medium
Pen and black ink, brush and wash, over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 2 7/8 x 4 13/16 in. (7.3 x 12.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Walter Schatzki, 1959
Accession Number
59.532.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
David Octavius Hill's *View of a River with a Promenade* (ca. 1820–70) captures a serene 19th-century leisure scene, where men and women stroll along a tree-lined riverbank. This intimate drawing, measuring just under 3 by 5 inches, evokes the Romantic era's fascination with nature and everyday social life, reflecting Scotland's picturesque landscapes that Hill knew well as a pioneering artist and early photographer. Executed in pen and black ink with brush and wash over graphite, the work showcases Hill's masterful use of mixed media to build depth and atmosphere. The fluid wash adds subtle ...
About the Artist
David Octavius Hill · 1802–1870
David Octavius Hill (1802–1870) was a Scottish painter, photographer, and arts administrator whose pioneering photography partnership with Robert Adamson from 1843 to 1847 transformed the medium into an art form. Born in Perth and trained in Edinburgh, Hill established himself as a landscape painter and became secretary of the Royal Scottish Academy, a position he held for nearly forty years. His ...