Italy

Daniel Huntington, Italy, 1843, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1973.41
Copied Daniel Huntington, Italy, 1843, oil on canvas, 38 5829 18 in. (98.174.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1973.41
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Artwork Details

Title
Italy
Date
1843
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
38 5829 18 in. (98.174.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure female
  • Architecture — religious — church
  • Landscape — water
  • Occupation — art — artist
  • Allegory — place — Italy
Object Number
1973.41

Artwork Description

Daniel Huntington made many trips to Italy, where he was fascinated by the classical art and architecture. Many nineteenth-century American artists traveled to Italy to study the country's rich cultural history and to sharpen their skills as painters and sculptors. In this painting, Huntington personified Italy as a young woman holding a sketchbook and paintbrush. The distant ruins to the left of the image symbolize the country's rich past, while the Tuscan bell tower on the right represents the continuing influence of Catholicism. Female painters were rare during the nineteenth century, so perhaps Huntington intended the figure to represent an artist's muse. He painted the girl bathed in warm, yellow light from the sunset, emphasizing his romantic, idealized view of Italy.