Distant Landscape with Tree in Foreground
17th century
Medium
Counterproof. Red chalk on cream paper. Framing outline in red chalk
Dimensions
6-5/8 x 4-1/2 in. (16.8 x 11.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1880
Accession Number
80.3.356
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, *Distant Landscape with Tree Foreground* is a 17th-century sketch Aureliano Milani an Italian artist from Bologna known for his fluid Baroque drawings. Rendered as a counterproof—a rare technique where a freshly drawn red chalk image is pressed onto damp cream paper, creating a subtle, reversed impression—this intimate work measures just 6-5/8 x 4-1/2 inches. The faint framing outline in red chalk adds a touch of studio authenticity, evoking the preparatory processes of the Bolognese school, influenced by masters like ...