The Mountain Stream
Medium
Pen and black ink
Dimensions
7 5/8 x 6 3/4 in. (19.3 x 17.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The J.B. Neumann Collection, Gift of Dr. Franz H. Hirschland, 1951
Accession Number
51.504.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Rodolphe Bresdin’s *The Mountain Stream is a compact yet evocative pen-and-ink drawing that invites viewers into a rugged natural setting. Rendered with fine, precise lines, the work depicts a flowing stream winding through mountainous terrain, accompanied by figures of men and horses. Its modest size—roughly 7⅝ by 6¾ inches—encourages intimate viewing, allowing the intricate details of water, rock, and foliage to emerge gradually. Created in an era when drawing often served as both preparatory study and finished work, this piece highlights the expressive potential of black ink on paper. The ...
About the Artist
Rodolphe Bresdin · 1822–1885
Rodolphe Bresdin (1822–1885) was a visionary French draughtsman, engraver, and lithographer whose fantastical imagery captured the empathy of rural poverty and the wild exuberance of the imagination. Born on August 12, 1822, in Montrelais near Le Fresne-sur-Loire in Brittany, he grew up in the Breton countryside amid its bardic folklore traditions before a family dispute left him homeless in Paris...