River with Castle Ruin and Boat II c. 1855

Elizabeth Murray’s "River with Castle Ruin and Boat II" is a drawing using graphite on paper, and it presents a landscape dominated by a river, flanked by trees and featuring a ruined castle. The composition’s tonal gradations, ranging from the light sky to the dark foliage, create depth and a sense of atmospheric perspective. Note how Murray employs a limited palette to focus on structure and form. The river acts as a central horizontal axis, mirroring the sky and creating a sense of balance. The ruined castle on the left and the dense trees on the right frame the scene. The artist’s structuralist approach, with its emphasis on binaries like light and dark, ruin and nature, invites a semiotic reading. The castle could symbolize the past, decay, and the sublime, while the boat suggests human presence and the passage of time. Murray’s work invites reflection on the interplay between nature and culture. The drawing's somber tone leaves us contemplating its historical and artistic significance.