Under Storm King, Cornwall, 1871 (from Sketchbook) 1870

Daniel Huntington created "Under Storm King, Cornwall," in 1871, a sketchbook drawing now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The drawing presents two distinct yet connected scenes. The left shows a steep, looming mountain, while the right depicts a gentler, rolling landscape. Huntington masterfully employs line to define form and space. The jagged, assertive strokes on the left contrast sharply with the softer, more undulating lines on the right. This division creates a sense of visual and emotional dichotomy. The composition balances the weight of the imposing mountain with the open, receding space of the more distant landscape. This contrast destabilizes traditional landscape expectations, engaging with new ways of thinking about space and perception. It prompts a dialogue on how we categorize and experience the natural world. The formal qualities of line and composition function aesthetically and culturally. This artwork encourages ongoing interpretation and re-interpretation of our relationship to nature.