Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
The North Cape
Peder Balke Norwegian
Not on view
By the time Balke executed this work, dated 1853 at the lower right, the North Cape had become a signature image. He employed his materials cannily: the smooth paper support is well suited to the flatly applied, gradated tones of the sky, which is clear, save for the quickly worked clouds that form a dome with the moon as its keystone. The cape’s massif appears as a single broad horizontal stroke of dark gray paint, with visible brush marks that contribute a subtle note of texture. This restraint was abandoned through the use of bolder impasto for the snowy crags and the surface of the water.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
