A Bit of the Roman Aqueduct

George Inness was born in the Hudson River Valley, the region that inspired artist Thomas Cole to create a vision of unspoiled American wilderness. Inness, however, rejected Cole’s ideal of untouched nature in favor of a “civilized landscape” that included evidence of man’s intervention in nature. Through the support of his patron, Inness was able to make his initial trip abroad to Italy in 1851. Like many artists before him, Inness was attracted to the solemn grandeur of the Roman Campagna. A Bit of the Roman Aqueduct is an example of Inness’s application of Old Master traditions of composition and deeply sonorous color to his contemporary interpretation of the Italian landscape.