Marco Ricci

Intersecting a gentle landscape, a stream flows in the foreground toward the viewer. In the distance the outlines of a village can be discerned, while the middle ground is dominated by a rambling watermill, its sharply slanted roofs typical of the region around Venice. Human presence is suggested, but no people are to be seen in this idyllic view.

The drawing’s peaceful vision of nature is at odds with the artist’s notoriously tempestuous character. In his youth he killed a gondolier in a tavern by smashing a tankard on his head. Despite this, Ricci—a native of the Veneto region of Italy who trained as a painter with his famous uncle Sebastiano—quickly achieved wide acclaim for his landscapes, architectural views, and stage designs.