Interior of Tasso's Prison, Ferrara
Medium
Drawing
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Martha F. Butler
Accession Number
1991.56.16
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the somber confines of *Interior of Tasso's, Ferrara*, a poignant 1843 drawing by artist Miner Kilbourne Kellogg Captured during his travels in Europe, this work depicts the stark cell in Ferrara, Italy, where Renaissance poet Torquato T was confined for seven years (1579–1586). Tasso, famed for his epic *Jerusalem Delivered*, suffered imprisonment amid rumors of madness and court intrigue at the Este family's palace, fueling Romantic fascination with tormented genius. Kellogg's delicate drawing medium—likely graphite or ink on paper—conveys the prison's austerity through simple lin...