Near Glaris [Glarus], Switzerland

Francis Towne British
 Paper manufactured by C. & I. Honig Dutch

Not on view

After a year in Italy, Towne returned to England through the Swiss Alps, sketching this steep tree-lined slope near Glarus, the capital of a mountainous eastern canton. The sheet was part of a large sketchbook, a format that allowed the artist to draw outdoors and move rapidly from pencil to brush to pen, capturing the essential qualities of the site. Working outdoors with wash was unusual at the time; most artists simply used pencil. Towne carefully record the date, time, and conditions on the verso: No. 25, Near Glaris, light from the right hand in the morning, September 2, 1781.

Near Glaris [Glarus], Switzerland, Francis Towne (British, Isleworth, Middlesex 1739–1816 Exeter), Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over traces of graphite

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