Across the Campagna

While living and working in Italy from 1870 to 1874, Inness received a salary from his Boston dealers in exchange for creating paintings that could be sold in the United States. He used watercolor to experiment with ideas and compositions for his oil paintings. In this evocative view of the Campagna south of Rome, Inness avoided familiar landmarks, creating a nearly abstract composition with a lush foreground and pale sky. Along the horizon, characteristic umbrella pine trees and farmhouses divide the sky from the earth and provide a sense of space and scale. A visit to the Campagna was an essential part of the Grand Tour—an extended educational trip through Europe that culminated in Rome, usually undertaken by members of the elite class. The Campagna became a popular subject for artists who were attracted to its pastoral beauty and for tourists who sought records of their tour.

Credit: Bequest of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1966