We look slightly down onto a rocky, natural stone arch next to a cave opening, both perched on a high, grassy cliff in front of a shimmering, aquamarine-blue body of water in this horizontal landscape painting. The arch is situated to our left of center, and the cave beyond the gaping opening extends off the left side of the canvas. In tones of ash and caramel brown, the jagged arch and outcroppings are lit from our left so deep shadows are cast along crevasses to our right. Shadow also sweeps across the emerald-green grass at the base of the arch and cave. A few more serrated rocks poke out of the water like teeth far below, to our right, presumably at the base of the cliff on which we are situated. To our left, the rocky shoreline juts into the water in the distance in front of mauve-purple mountains in the deep distance along the horizon, which comes about halfway up this composition. Tiny in scale, minuscule, triangular white sails dot the waterway. Similarly tiny white birds fly high above the water. Pale, petal-pink and white clouds line the horizon beneath a sky that deepens from light turquoise over the clouds to the same aquamarine blue of the water below.

Natural Arch at Capri

William Stanley Haseltine

We look slightly down onto a rocky, natural stone arch next to a cave opening, both perched on a high, grassy cliff in front of a shimmering, aquamarine-blue body of water in this horizontal landscape painting. The arch is situated to our left of center, and the cave beyond the gaping opening extends off the left side of the canvas. In tones of ash and caramel brown, the jagged arch and outcroppings are lit from our left so deep shadows are cast along crevasses to our right. Shadow also sweeps across the emerald-green grass at the base of the arch and cave. A few more serrated rocks poke out of the water like teeth far below, to our right, presumably at the base of the cliff on which we are situated. To our left, the rocky shoreline juts into the water in the distance in front of mauve-purple mountains in the deep distance along the horizon, which comes about halfway up this composition. Tiny in scale, minuscule, triangular white sails dot the waterway. Similarly tiny white birds fly high above the water. Pale, petal-pink and white clouds line the horizon beneath a sky that deepens from light turquoise over the clouds to the same aquamarine blue of the water below.

Colors in this work

Details
Artist
William Stanley Haseltine
Date
1871
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 86.4 x 139.7 cm (34 x 55 in.) framed: 123.2 x 174 x 14 cm (48 1/2 x 68 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
Department
CAB
Holding institution
National Gallery of Art
Palette

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Image provider
national-gallery-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Gift of Guest Services, Inc., in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art

Art Genome Taxonomy

9 tags

Subject Matter

  • Landscapes and Waterscapes Both · 99%

    The title and catalog description identify a natural arch and cliff at Capri, while the image clearly depicts rocky landforms, open water, shoreline, and sky in a horizontal landscape composition.

  • Atmospheric Landscapes Both · 93%

    The catalog describes distant mountains, shoreline, clouds, and an aquamarine body of water; the image visibly uses atmospheric recession across the sea and horizon.

  • The Sublime Interpretive · 78%

    The monumental cliffs, elevated viewpoint, expansive sea, and minute scale of the sails and birds support an interpretation of the scene through the visual idea of the sublime, without asserting a documented artist intention.

Visual Qualities

  • Angular Visual · 98%

    The foreground formations, arch, cave, and detached rock outcrop are composed of sharply fractured, serrated, and predominantly angular contours.

  • Earth Tones Visual · 94%

    The rocks and foreground cliff are rendered in ash gray, ocher, caramel, and brown tones, contrasted with green vegetation and blue-green water.

Medium and Techniques

  • Painting Both · 99%

    The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting, and the image visibly presents a painted landscape on a rectangular canvas.

  • Oil Painting Metadata · 100%

    The NGA catalog specifies the medium as oil on canvas.

  • Chiaroscuro Both · 91%

    The catalog notes illumination from the left and deep shadows in the crevasses; the image visibly models the rock through strong contrasts between lit planes and dark cave and arch recesses.

Time Periods

Source & rights

William Stanley Haseltine. Natural Arch at Capri. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.

High-resolution sources

Catalog record ↗ Image source ↗ Image license ↗ Image-use terms ↗ Catalog metadata terms ↗

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