Who painted Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook)?

Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) was painted by Jervis McEntee in 1869.

Where can I see Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook)?

Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook)?

Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) is associated with Impressionism.

Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) by Jervis McEntee (1869)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

It captures the lake’s surrounding mountains and water surface, reflecting the topographic interest of 19th-century American landscape painters.

The work portrays Lake Como as a tranquil landscape, rendered in graphite and white gouache on blue paper. It captures the lake’s surrounding mountains and water surface, reflecting the topographic interest of 19th-century American landscape painters. The composition emphasizes natural forms without symbolic allegory, presenting the scene as a direct observation from the artist’s sketchbook. Its creation in 1869 aligns with McEntee’s travels in Europe, documenting scenic locations through precise visual records.

Technique & Style

Jervis McEntee executed Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) using graphite and white gouache applied to blue paper. This combination of materials allows the artist to utilize the blue support as a mid-tone, reserving the white gouache for highlights and the graphite for linear definition and shading. The work functions as a landscape sketch, capturing the forms of a lake and mountains with a direct, observational approach typical of plein air studies.

The handling of the medium suggests a focus on rapid notation of light and atmospheric conditions rather than a highly finished surface.

History & Provenance

The drawing is recorded in the verso of a sketchbook page dated May 3, 1869, and was created by Jervis McEntee using graphite and white gouache on blue paper. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view in The American Wing as part of the landscape genre. The work was produced during a period when McEntee frequently documented Hudson River scenery, and its inscription links it directly to a field sketch made on that date.

The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, classified within The American Wing. It is a graphite and white gouache drawing on blue paper, dated 1869, and forms part of a sketchbook associated with the artist Jervis McEntee. No specific accession number, credit line, or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

Legacy

Lake Como, May 3, 1869 (verso, from sketchbook) by Jervis McEntee has been recognized as a significant early American landscape sketch, later influencing perceptions of 19th-century Hudson River School sensibilities through its atmospheric treatment of mountain and lake settings. Though housed in The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, its legacy persists in scholarly discussions of American plein air practice and the evolution of sketch-based composition in American art.

The work is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection and is documented in major art historical references on American landscape painting.

Overview

Jervis McEntee’s Lake Como, May 3, 1869 is a sketchbook drawing executed in graphite and white gouache on blue paper. Part of a larger body of work by the artist, the piece reflects his engagement with landscape subjects during European travel. Though less celebrated than some contemporaries, McEntee’s contributions to 19th-century American art remain notable for their observational precision and intimate scale.

Context

McEntee’s ties to the Hudson River School situate this work within a broader movement dedicated to landscape painting. His friendships with figures like Frederic Edwin Church and Sanford Robinson Gifford highlight his immersion in New York’s artistic circles. The sketchbook format reflects the era’s growing interest in travel and direct observation, practices that shaped both American and European landscape traditions.