The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Albano, Italy

c. 1872

George Inness

(American, 1825–1894)
America
watercolor with gouache over graphite
Sheet: 32.6 x 24.2 cm (12 13/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
Bequest of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection 1938.62
Location: Not on view

Description

This lyrical drawing on brilliant blue paper was done on a trip to Italy, where George Inness made a series of watercolor sketches of the Italian countryside in the vicinity of Albano. In contrast to the precision of his earlier Hudson River school paintings, in the early 1870s his work achieved a new freedom. This drawing is reminiscent of a classical Italian landscape, illustrating a broad expanse with a road winding through an Italian village, complete with framing trees in the foreground and ancient fortifications in the background. Inness made this drawing by applying wet washes one on top of another, intentionally creating a blurred effect, like that of a memory from the distant past.
  • ?–1937
    Mrs. Henry A. Everett [1866-1937], New York, NY
    1937–38
    Estate of Mrs. Henry A. Everett to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    June 3, 1938–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Francis, Henry S. “The Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 25, no. 6 (1938). p. 124–31 www.jstor.org
    Lemonedes, Heather, "Visible Spirit", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 07, September 2004 archive.org
  • Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).
    American Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 19-July 12, 1998).
    America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985).
    Paintings by George Inness. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (organizer) (December 12, 1965-January 30, 1966).
  • {{cite web|title=Albano, Italy|url=false|author=George Inness|year=c. 1872|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1938.62