Lake Nemi
Artist: Sanford Robinson Gifford (American, 1823-1880)
Date: 1856-1857
Dimensions:
Painting: 39 5/8 × 60 3/8 in. (100.6 × 153.4 cm)
Frame: 55 3/4 × 76 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (141.6 × 193.7 × 11.4 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott
Object number: 1957.46
Label Text:Better known for his luminous American landscapes (see The Wilderness in this gallery), Sanford Gifford also painted a number of views of Europe and the Middle East. Many American artists traveled in Europe in order to study the works of the great masters of the past, few examples of which were available in America in the mid-1800s.
Gifford visited Lake Nemi near Rome in October of 1856. His description of the location in a letter corresponds exactly to the view he painted: “We were high up above the lake. On one side in the foreground were some picturesque houses and ruined walls—a tall dark cypress, rising out of a rich mass of foliage, cut strongly against the lake, distance, and sky.” Capturing the scene at sunset, Gifford masterfully recorded the subtle effects of atmosphere and light that would become his trademark.
Gifford visited Lake Nemi near Rome in October of 1856. His description of the location in a letter corresponds exactly to the view he painted: “We were high up above the lake. On one side in the foreground were some picturesque houses and ruined walls—a tall dark cypress, rising out of a rich mass of foliage, cut strongly against the lake, distance, and sky.” Capturing the scene at sunset, Gifford masterfully recorded the subtle effects of atmosphere and light that would become his trademark.
On view
In Collection(s)