Rome Representative of the Arts
Elihu Vedder
American Art
During the 1890s a new classicism in architecture led to the demand for large, decorative wall paintings that recalled the classical past. This is a finished study for a mural representing Rome that Elihu Vedder executed for the Walker Art Building on the campus of Bowdoin College, in Maine, where it joined panels symbolizing Athens, Venice, and Florence (key historical artistic centers) by three other artists. Using a traditional allegorical visual language, Vedder cast the central nude female figure as Nature—the primary inspiration of art. Flanking her are personifications of the elements of art (love, color, and form on the right and knowledge, thought, and soul on the left).
MEDIUM
Oil on canvas
DATES
1894
DIMENSIONS
29 9/16 x 55 3/16 in. (75.1 x 140.1 cm)
frame: 41 x 67 x 4 in. (104.1 x 170.2 x 10.2 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed lower right: "ELIHU VEDDER--ROMA--1894"
COLLECTIONS
American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
12.919
CREDIT LINE
Gift of William T. Evans
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Elihu Vedder (American, 1836â1923). Rome Representative of the Arts, 1894. Oil on canvas, 29 9/16 x 55 3/16 in. (75.1 x 140.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 12.919 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.919_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 12.919_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
No known copyright restrictions
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![Recto: [Untitled] (Man in Boat)
Verso: [Untitled] (Beach Scene)](https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2_sq/1999.143a_SL1.jpg)
