Accession Number
1961.168
Medium
brush and brown wash with green gouache, heightened with lead white; framing lines in brown ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 40 x 54.5 cm (15 3/4 x 21 7/16 in.); Image: 36.7 x 51.9 cm (14 7/16 x 20 7/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Delia E. Holden Fund
Tags
Drawing Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Gouache Italian Color: White Color: Gray
Background & Context
Background Story
Landscape with Bridge from 1700-1729 is a brush and wash drawing by Ricci, executed in brown wash with green gouache and lead white highlights—the combination of media that allows both the tonal subtlety of wash and the coloristic richness of gouache. The drawing's landscape with a bridge is a characteristic Ricci composition, combining architectural elements with natural scenery in a way that balances the Picturesque and the Sublime. The wide date range reflects Ricci's return to this compositional type throughout his career, and the drawing medium preserves the spontaneity and directness that the finished gouaches on kidskin sometimes lose.
Cultural Impact
Ricci's brush and wash drawings are important documents in the history of Venetian landscape drawing because they reveal the working method behind his finished gouache capricci. Landscape with Bridge shows how Ricci built up his compositions: brown wash for the tonal values, green gouache for the coloristic enrichment, and lead white highlights for the luminosity that makes his landscapes so atmospheric. The drawing preserves the spontaneity of Ricci's compositional thinking before the finishing touches.
Why It Matters
Landscape with Bridge is Ricci's working method in brush and wash: brown wash for tonal values, green gouache for color, lead white for luminosity—the same combination that makes his finished gouaches so atmospheric, but with the spontaneity of a drawing. The landscape with bridge balances the Picturesque and Sublime in a composition Ricci returned to throughout his career.
