Rome Representative of the Arts

Elihu Vedder

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

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).

Caption

Elihu Vedder American, 1836–1923. Rome Representative of the Arts, 1894. Oil on canvas, 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). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 12.919. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 12.919_SL1.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

Rome Representative of the Arts

Date

1894

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

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)

Signatures

Signed lower right: "ELIHU VEDDER--ROMA--1894"

Credit Line

Gift of William T. Evans

Accession Number

12.919

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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