Rocks and Mountains: Oil Sketches from the Thaw Collection

During the second half of the eighteenth century, the practice of using oil paint on paper while working outdoors became popular among landscape artists. Rugged topography emerged as an important motif for oil sketch practitioners. Mountain settings, as well as single majestic boulders or outcroppings, provided a challenging focus for artists learning to capture light, color, and texture in oils. Rocky terrain allowed for close, prolonged study, while rushing streams and surrounding foliage gave artists the opportunity to grapple with depicting movement and the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere.

Artists from France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia, including celebrated landscape painters such as Théodore Rousseau, Eugène Delacroix, Alexandre Calame, and Thomas Fearnley, are featured in this selection. Directly engaging with nature, these artists used the oil sketch as a means of investigation and exploration.