Description
This lyrical drawing on brilliant blue paper was done on a trip to Italy, where George Inness made a series of watercolor sketches of the Italian countryside in the vicinity of Albano. In contrast to the precision of his earlier Hudson River school paintings, in the early 1870s his work achieved a new freedom. This drawing is reminiscent of a classical Italian landscape, illustrating a broad expanse with a road winding through an Italian village, complete with framing trees in the foreground and ancient fortifications in the background. Inness made this drawing by applying wet washes one on top of another, intentionally creating a blurred effect, like that of a memory from the distant past.
Provenance
Mrs. Henry A. Everett [1866-1937], New York, NY (?–1937); Estate of Mrs. Henry A. Everett to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1937–38); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 3, 1938–)
Accession Number
1938.62
Medium
watercolor with gouache over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 32.6 x 24.2 cm (12 13/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Bequest of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
Tags
Drawing Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Watercolor Graphite & Pencil Gouache American Color: Blue Color: Gray
Background & Context
Background Story
Albano, Italy (c. 1872) depicts the town of Albano Laziale on the Alban Hills south of Rome—a landscape that had attracted painters since the 17th century for its combination of natural beauty, historical significance, and the distinctive light of the Roman Campagna. Inness's treatment of this Italian subject demonstrates how Tonalist principles transformed even the most familiar Italian scenery into something distinctly American. Albano was known for its lake, its views toward Rome and the sea, and its papal connections—Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer residence, was nearby. Inness's painting likely emphasizes the landscape's atmospheric character—the particular quality of Italian light that American painters found so compelling—rather than its topographical or historical features. The 1872 date places this squarely in Inness's European period, when he was absorbing the influence of the Barbizon School and developing the mature Tonalist style. His Italian landscapes were commercially successful: American collectors who had never visited Italy appreciated his evocative treatment of the scenery they knew from literature and earlier paintings. The painting's Albano subject also connects Inness to the broader tradition of American artists in Italy—a tradition that included Washington Allston, Thomas Cole, and many others who found in Italian landscape both aesthetic pleasure and cultural education.
Cultural Impact
Inness's Italian paintings influenced how American collectors and audiences understood Italian landscape, offering Tonalist alternatives to the more topographical treatments that dominated American Italianate painting. The paintings influenced the broader tradition of American art in Italy, demonstrating how personal vision could transform familiar scenery. The Albano subject influenced how this Italian landscape was perceived in America, contributing to its cultural identity.
Why It Matters
This painting matters because it demonstrates how Inness's Tonalist vision served European as well as American subjects, revealing that his artistic principles were not tied to specific places but to universal spiritual realities. Albano, Italy is as much an Inness landscape as Durham, Connecticut—both are vehicles for the atmospheric and spiritual effects that defined his art.
