Artwork
Cloud Study; Lake [Maggiore?] and Village (verso, from sketchbook)
![Cloud Study; Lake [Maggiore?] and Village (verso, from sketchbook), by Jervis McEntee, watercolor, 1869](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/jervis-mcentee--cloud-study-lake-maggiore-and-village-verso-from-sketchbook--1f3f39c3005c9a2a-w1024.webp)
Cloud Study; Lake [Maggiore?] and Village (verso, from sketchbook) is a watercolor work on paper by the Hudson River School artist Jervis McEntee. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created circa 1869, this study combines graphite, gouache and watercolor on blue paper.
- Accession no.
- 1982.217.10a
- Credit line
- Morris K. Jesup Fund, 1982
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1869 by Jervis McEntee, this work functions as a landscape study that specifically depicts a house.
Created in 1869 by Jervis McEntee, this work functions as a landscape study that specifically depicts a house. The composition combines cloud formations with architectural elements, suggesting a focus on the relationship between the built environment and the atmospheric conditions above. As a piece executed in graphite, gouache, and watercolor on blue paper, the image serves as a direct observation of a village scene, potentially located near Lake Maggiore, rather than an allegorical or heavily symbolic narrative.
The inclusion of the dwelling anchors the sketch in a tangible reality, emphasizing the artist's interest in recording specific topographical and structural details alongside transient weather patterns.
Technique & Style
This sketchbook leaf by Jervis McEntee is executed in graphite, gouache, and watercolor on blue paper. The combination of drawing and opaque-and-transparent paint media on a tinted ground is characteristic of mid-nineteenth-century American landscape sketching practice, allowing the artist to work both in line and in atmospheric color while the blue sheet provides a mid-tone for cloud and sky effects. The verso composition, depicting a house within a lakeside village setting, would have lent itself to rapid, observational handling typical of a working sketchbook page rather than a finished studio piece.
History & Provenance
The work titled Cloud Study; Lake [Maggiore?] and Village is a graphite, gouache, and watercolor drawing on blue paper created in 1869 by Jervis McEntee. It is part of the American Wing's landscape genre collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains in the museum's collection.
Legacy
Jervis McEntee's 1869 graphite, gouache, and watercolor sketch Cloud Study; Lake [Maggiore?] and Village (verso, from sketchbook) was housed in The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though not widely known as a major painter, McEntee's atmospheric landscapes contributed to the evolving American vision of nature in the late 19th century, influencing later artists who explored mood and transience in landscape. The work is part of the museum's collection and was created during a period when American artists were developing distinct approaches to depicting the natural world.
The piece has been studied in exhibitions focusing on American landscape drawing, underscoring its significance within the artist's body of work and the broader trajectory of American art. Its inclusion in institutional holdings reflects its recognized value in documenting the development of landscape as a genre in the United States.
Overview
Created circa 1869, this study combines graphite, gouache and watercolor on blue paper. It records a lakeside scene with a village and a house, rendered in a loose, sketch‑book manner that emphasizes atmospheric clouds and reflected light.
Context
McEntee frequently accompanied leading Hudson River School painters on excursions, absorbing their focus on natural light and landscape. This study reflects that shared practice of documenting specific locales quickly, serving as a visual reference for larger studio paintings.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jervis McEntee (July 14, 1828 – January 27, 1891) was an American painter of the Hudson River School.













