Cloud Study (Early Evening), ca. 1786–1806. Simon Denis. Oil on paper. The Whitney Collection, Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003.
Denis here employed a minimal strip of ground to emphasize the awesome height and scope of a cloud formation. While higher and more distant portions of these clouds are depicted in full sunlight, breaks within them are edged in the pink of early evening. To record these fleeting effects, Denis painted quickly and without making a preliminary drawing. The study was painted in or near Rome.