Sketch for the Chapel of the Virgin at Subiaco
Artist/Culture
Samuel Finley Breese Morse
(American, 1791–1872)
Date1830
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 22.5 x 27 cm (8 7/8 x 10 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1941.16
Label Text2005-08-30: Samuel Finley Breese Morse
American, 1791-1872
Sketch for THE CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN AT SUBIACO, 1830
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
Museum purchase, 1941.16
THE CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN AT SUBIACO, 1830
Oil on canvas
Bequest of Stephen Salisbury III, 1907.35
This oil sketch and complete painting demonstrate Samuel F. B. Morse's interest in such picturesque subject matter as peasants tending their flocks and praying at remote hillside chapels. Morse's small study demonstrates his careful observation of a specific place that he visited in May 1830. Describing the scene for Stephen Salisbury II, who purchased this painting during his Grand Tour of Europe, Morse noted: "This chapel stands by the side of the road upon a hill east of Subiaco, and is a good example of those shrines before which the contadini bow the knee, and worship the virgin; in this distinc is the town of Subiaco." Like many of his American and British contemporaries, Morse was captivated by the Italian landscape, dotted with ruins of ancient civilizations and populated with picturesque peasants.ProvenanceWilliam Macbeth Inc., New York NYOn View
Not on view
