Landscape Pencil Drawings

Landscape pencil drawings have been created for centuries due to the medium's unique ability to capture chiaroscuro and fine detail. The finely sharpened graphite end of the pencil gives artists the ability to render their landscape in taxonomic detail or use gestural freedom.

While mentions of a writing implement with a graphite core date back to the 16th century, the modern pencil likely did not emerge until the 18th century. Comparatively speaking, pencil drawings of every sort are a recent addition to the world of fine art.

Artists ranging from Paul Gauguin to David Hockney have contributed compelling landscape drawings in both monochromatic graphite and vibrant shades of colored pencil. Many artists prize pencil for its artistic connotations as well as its expressive possibilities. It is a medium that is unpretentious, enjoying equal popularity by children and master artists. But in the hands of a competent draftsman, pencil can be transformed into a medium of incredible precision and fluidity.

Quick Facts

• While Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet are best known for their paintings, many also created their most acclaimed subjects as pencil drawings. These include works such as Monet’s views of the Normandy coast
• Celebrated contemporary artist Gerhard Richter creates pencil works that blur the distinctions between abstraction and landscape drawings
• "Landscape with Cows" by French Impressionist artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot featuring pencil on paper sold at Christie’s in 2014 for more than $11,000