Lake Maggiore, May 11, 1869 (recto, from Sketchbook) 1869

"Lake Maggiore, May 11, 1869" is a graphite on paper sketch made by Jervis McEntee. It’s part of a sketchbook, a format which hints at the artist's intimate, immediate engagement with the landscape before him. McEntee, working in a period marked by significant social and economic change in America, often turned to landscape to express deeper emotional states. As an artist of the Hudson River School, he navigated the tensions between industrial progress and the yearning for an unspoiled natural world. This sketch, with its soft lines and atmospheric perspective, evokes a sense of tranquility, a retreat from the disquiet of urban life and the aftershocks of the Civil War. The choice of Lake Maggiore, a popular destination for European travelers, suggests a dialogue with European artistic traditions, but also a personal journey. The quiet, reflective quality of the sketch invites us to consider the artist's own search for peace and meaning in a rapidly changing world, mirroring our own desires for solace and connection.