Italy
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase
Accession Number
1973.41
Tags
About this artwork
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...
About the Artist
Daniel Huntington · 1816–1906
Daniel Huntington (1816–1906) was born into a prominent New York family on October 4, 1816, descending from distinguished New England lineage. His early education began at age fourteen at Smith's Academy in New Haven, followed by Yale College, where he studied with Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor, artist, and president of the National Academy of Design, in 1835. After a disciplinary incident invo...