Brentford Ferry
1864
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1864
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This sketch shows a quiet riverbank with tangled trees and brush along the water’s edge. The lines are loose and fast, like quick scribbles—some thick, some faint—capturing the rough shapes of branches and reeds. In the distance, a few buildings peek through the foliage, barely defined. The artist focused on texture, using scratchy marks to suggest movement in the water and wind in the trees. This style was new at the time, breaking from polished, detailed landscapes. Next, check out Impressionism to see how this sketch fits into that movement.
