Italian Girl
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
16 1/4 x 8 3/8 in. (41.3 x 21.3 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Martha T. Fiske Collord, in memory of her first husband, Josiah M. Fiske, 1908
Accession Number
08.136.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Morris Hunt's *Italian Girl* (1867) is a delicate oil-on-canvas portrait that captures the quiet elegance of its young subject in profile. Measuring just 16¼ × 8⅜ inches, this intimate work exemplifies the portability and immediacy of small-scale oils, popular among 19th-century artists sketching abroad. Hunt, a leading American painter trained in Düsseldorf and Paris, drew inspiration from European masters during his travels, blending realist observation with a soft, luminous touch. The painting depicts a girl of Italian origin, her poised silhouette highlighted against a simple back...
About the Artist
William Morris Hunt · 1824–1879
American, Brattleboro, Vermont 1824–1879 Appledore, New Hampshire