Twilight on the Campagna

Gallery 216, American Art, second floor (McCausland Gallery)

Main Building

Twilight on the Campagna

1851-1852

George Inness (American, 1825–1894)

Unburdened by narrative—a major shift for the young Inness—Twilight on the Campagna experiments instead with mood. The artist later declared that his primary goal was “not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion.” The twisting, tortured trunks of the trees at right, silhouetted by the waning light, are melancholic and resonate with the dramatic scenes of Baroque master Salvator Rosa (1615–1673). Painted soon after Inness’s arrival in Italy, Twilight on the Campagna anticipates the poetic dimension that became the artist’s signature in the last decade of his life.

Gallery 216, American Art, second floor (McCausland Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

Twilight on the Campagna
Evening

Date:

1851-1852

Artist:

George Inness (American, 1825–1894)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

38 × 53 5/8 inches (96.5 × 136.2 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The Alex Simpson, Jr., Collection, 1945

Accession Number:

1945-5-1

Geography:

Made in Italy, Europe

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Gallery 216, American Art, second floor (McCausland Gallery)

Main Building

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