Washing Day near Perugia

Maker George Inness (American, 1825 - 1894)

Collections

American Paintings Selections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1873

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions72 1/2 x 54 in. (184.2 x 137.2 cm.) frame: 84 × 66 × 3 1/2 in. (213.4 × 167.6 × 8.9 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation

Status

On view

Label TextWashing Day near Perugia demonstrates two major influences on George Inness's work during the 1870s. The sinuous composition winding from foreground to background along the river bank shows his interest in the 17th-century French artists Claude Lorrain and Nicholas Poussin. The loose, impressionistic brushstrokes in the foliage of the trees and sky suggest paintings by the French Barbizon School, which Inness admired.

Inness painted the ambitious Washing Day near Perugia while living in Italy. In 1874 he sent it for exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York, which was the most important venue for American art during the 19th century. The critics responded unfavorably. A reviewer for the New York Tribune wrote: "Mr. Inness does not look much like himself in 'Washing Day in Perugia,' and we are sure it doesn't look much like Perugia, or like any other place that can be named."

The sketch for Washing Day at Perugia contains most of the major compositional elements found in the finished work. Inness added several figures to the large painting, which lacks the liveliness and immediacy of the sketch.

Object number83.8.26