Estuary with a Fortified Seaport at Left and Cliffs at Right

Félix-Hilaire Buhot

National Gallery of Art

The image is a sketch of a landscape from an elevated point of view, showing a city and its surroundings. The horizon is positioned in the upper third, with a line of buildings and a prominent spire in the city. Above the horizon, there are clouds with horizontal brushstrokes. Close to us, there are loosely sketched figures near a waterway. The technique is light pencil strokes for shading, with cross-hatching for depth and darker areas. The color palette is primarily tan and gray tones on paper.