Old Tower at Avignon
c. 1875
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
20.3 × 23.7 cm (8 × 9 5/16 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
16659
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Old Tower at Avignon depicts a 14th-century fortress in southern France. A noted colorist for his use of saturated hues, Samuel Colman captured the romance of the age-old structure amid sunlight, storm clouds, and reflections on the Rhône River. An accomplished landscapist, Colman began his career depicting New England scenery, as did his contemporaries among the Hudson River School, the dominant style of landscape painting in mid-19th-century America. After first going to Europe to study in 186...
About the Artist
Samuel Colman · 1832–1920
Colman grew up in New York, where his father ran a successful publishing business. The family bookstore on Broadway, was a popular meeting place for artists and there Colman met Hudson River School painters. American interior designer, New York, N.Y.; associated with L.C. Tiffany. Comment on works: landscape