1890
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Orvieto is a 1890 ink by Elihu Vedder, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a tall, narrow tower and a wider building behind it, both made of rough stone. The walls are drawn with quick, uneven lines, and the ground slopes sharply down in the foreground. Shadows are dark and jagged, while the sky is barely there—just a pale wash. The artist used loose, sketchy strokes to show texture, like scratching into the paper. It feels like a quick study, not a finished drawing. Check out cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines.
Elihu Vedder (26 February 1836 – 29 January 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator and poet from New York City.
See the richer artist page
