A Cottage on a Lane

John Varley

1805

chalk

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century Landscape

About this work

This sketch shows a small house at the end of a quiet lane. Trees line the path, their branches tangled and full of leaves. The ground is rough, with patches of grass and shadows. The artist used only black and white chalk on blue paper. The blue background makes the lines pop, like a night sky behind the trees. Look up Romanticism next to see how artists like this one used nature to tell stories.