The Appian Way
John Linton Chapman
American Art
Images of places can also represent time. For nineteenth-century Americans, who understood the American landscape to be unmarked by traces of past civilizations, the ancient ruins of Europe were objects of fascination and contemplation.
With the American tourist in mind, John Linton Chapman produced numerous versions of this painting of the Via Appia, the ancient roadway outside Rome that is lined with the ruins of tombs. Chapman describes the scene in precise detail, thus competing with popular photographic views of the site.
With the American tourist in mind, John Linton Chapman produced numerous versions of this painting of the Via Appia, the ancient roadway outside Rome that is lined with the ruins of tombs. Chapman describes the scene in precise detail, thus competing with popular photographic views of the site.
MEDIUM
Oil on canvas
DATES
1869
DIMENSIONS
29 7/16 x 71 9/16 in. (74.8 x 181.8 cm)
frame: 38 3/4 × 81 5/16 × 3 5/8 in. (98.4 × 206.5 × 9.2 cm)
(show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed lower right: "J. Linton Chapman./ Roma./ 1869."
INSCRIPTIONS
Inscribed on verso: "Via Appia/ painted for Silas C. Herring, Esq. N.Y./ by J. Linton Chapman. Roma. 1869"
COLLECTIONS
American Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
79.87
CREDIT LINE
Gift of The Roebling Society, Carll H. de Silver Fund, Caroline H. Polhemus Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Frederick Loeser Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
John Linton Chapman (American, 1839–1905). The Appian Way, 1869. Oil on canvas, 29 7/16 x 71 9/16 in. (74.8 x 181.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Roebling Society, Carll H. de Silver Fund, Caroline H. Polhemus Fund, A. Augustus Healy Fund, Frederick Loeser Fund, 79.87 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 79.87_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 79.87_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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