The Mountain
1628
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1628
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Mountain is a 1628 ink by Herman van Swanevelt, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a rocky riverbank with two people walking along the shore. Behind them, a large tree stands on a hillside covered in smaller bushes. The sky is dark, and the water looks rough, with a distant town barely visible on the horizon. The artist used fine lines to show texture—notice how the tree bark and rocks look almost three-dimensional. The two figures seem small compared to the wild landscape around them. Try looking up etching to see how artists like this one create detailed prints.
