Landscape with Rising Sun, December 1, 1828, 8:30 a.m.
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
sheet: 4 3/16 x 6 3/4 in. (10.6 x 17.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2005
Accession Number
2006.46
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Joseph Michael Gandy’s “Landscape with Rising Sun, December 1, 1828, 8:30 a.m.” is a delicate watercolor over graphite that records a precise moment of dawn. Measuring just over four by six inches, the small sheet captures the sun’s first rays breaking across a quiet horizon. The exact date and time inscribed in the title reflect the early nineteenth-century fascination with direct observation of natural light, a hallmark of Romantic-era landscape studies. Working in transparent watercolor washes over a light graphite underdrawing, Gandy achieved a luminous, atmospheric effect that emphasizes...