# Wooded Landscape with a Nymph and a Satyr

**Salomon Gessner** (Swiss, 1730–1788)  
1764  
etching on laid paper tinted pale blue  
plate: 20.8 x 19 cm (8 3/16 x 7 1/2 in.) sheet: 29.5 x 26 cm (11 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996.12.8. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.94132.html).

## About this work

Salomon Gessner made this in 1764, aged 34. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows an etching of a forest scene with towering trees dominating the upper half. The horizon is not clearly visible due to dense foliage, but a line of trees and rocky outcrops in the distance provide a boundary. The fine lines and cross-hatching technique create detailed textures in the tree bark and foliage. The color palette is monochromatic, in shades of black and white emphasizing light and shadow. A large tree with a partially hollow trunk and figures scattered throughout the scene give a sense of scale and activity within the forest setting.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Etching.** The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [Salomon Gessner](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/salomon-gessner)

Swiss, 1730–1788

Gessner was a Zurich poet, painter and etcher whose prose Idylls, gentle pastoral scenes of shepherds and nymphs, were translated across Europe and made him one of the most widely read writers of his day. Largely self-taught as an artist, he illustrated his own books with delicate etchings and later painted landscapes in gouache. He also ran a publishing firm and served on Zurich’s city council.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 34
- Real size: about 8 × 7½ in (21 × 19 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Landscape, topographical, mythology, Satyr, Nymph
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1628.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1628/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/wooded-landscape-with-a-nymph-and-a-satyr-nga-94132).