View of the Quarries at Cervara
Medium
Pen and brown ink over traces of graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 19 1/2 × 26 5/8 in. (49.5 × 67.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Kristin and Gary Friedman and Karen and Edward Friedman Gifts, in memory of Matthew Rutenberg, 2021
Accession Number
2021.57
Art Historical Context
Théodore Caruelle dAligny’s *View of the Quarries Cervara* (1834) captures the rugged beauty of ancient stone quarries near Rome, Italy, in a masterful pen and brown ink drawing faint graphite underdrawing. Measuring an impressive 19½ × 26⅝ inches, this large-scale sheet showcases d'Aligny’s skill as a young French artist on the cusp of his illustrious career. Just a year later, he would win the prestigious Prix de Rome, earning a stay at the French Academy in Rome—likely influencing this on-site study of dramatic natural forms and human intervention in the landscape. Rendered with precise, f...