Date
1839
Object Type
Painting
Subject
Dawn in the Roman Campagna
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 1927.
About The Work
This work is identifiable as Lo spuntar dell’aurora veduto nella campagna di Roma, originally in the collection of Carlo Galli and debuted at the 1839 annual Brera Exhibition, when it was also reproduced in the exhibition album. For the same patron, Giuseppe Canella would later execute a companion piece, Veduta della campagna romana con temporale, shown at Brera in 1841 (Milano, Accademia di Brera)
The execution of these paintings dates to the artist’s full maturity, following his return to Milan in 1831 after a lengthy stay in Paris. His travels through Spain, the Netherlands, and Northern France had inspired a series of Neo-Flemish style views that achieved great success at the Brera exhibitions. A subsequent itinerary in 1837 through Eastern Europe suggested a new repertoire and an original experimentation with atmospheric nocturnal and dawn effects.
These stylistic explorations are also evident in a series of subjects studied from life during a pivotal sojourn in Rome and Naples between 1838 and 1839. It was during this period that Canella forged a new expressive language, developing a style of landscape painting that remained faithful to nature while being stripped of purely descriptive detail. This approach resulted in highly evocative interpretations of locations captured through their diverse atmospheric shifts. The storm clouds gathering on the horizon of the Roman countryside, much like the light of the breaking dawn, create a play of light and extraordinary radiance that imbues the scene with a profound lyrical quality. As Paola Segramora suggests, the presence of the distinctive ancient tower identifies the landscape as a view of Genzano, a favoured destination for artists and travellers since the late eighteenth century.
The execution of these paintings dates to the artist’s full maturity, following his return to Milan in 1831 after a lengthy stay in Paris. His travels through Spain, the Netherlands, and Northern France had inspired a series of Neo-Flemish style views that achieved great success at the Brera exhibitions. A subsequent itinerary in 1837 through Eastern Europe suggested a new repertoire and an original experimentation with atmospheric nocturnal and dawn effects.
These stylistic explorations are also evident in a series of subjects studied from life during a pivotal sojourn in Rome and Naples between 1838 and 1839. It was during this period that Canella forged a new expressive language, developing a style of landscape painting that remained faithful to nature while being stripped of purely descriptive detail. This approach resulted in highly evocative interpretations of locations captured through their diverse atmospheric shifts. The storm clouds gathering on the horizon of the Roman countryside, much like the light of the breaking dawn, create a play of light and extraordinary radiance that imbues the scene with a profound lyrical quality. As Paola Segramora suggests, the presence of the distinctive ancient tower identifies the landscape as a view of Genzano, a favoured destination for artists and travellers since the late eighteenth century.
Title
Lo spuntar dell'aurora veduta nella campagna romana
Creator
Giuseppe Canella
Subject
Dawn in the Roman Campagna
Object Type
Painting
Original Function
Collection
Date
1839
Technique / Support
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
cm 110 x 160
Acquisition
Bequest Stefano Stampa, 1900
Holding institution
Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. On long-term loan to the Camera dei Deputati, Rome, since 1927.
Inventory number
Reg. 1943, 8
Bibliography
Salvi, Paola. Entry no. 170. In Pinacoteca di Brera. Dipinti dell’Ottocento e del Novecento. Collezioni dell’Accademia e della Pinacoteca, vol. 1, Musei e Gallerie di Milano. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 1993. 167, ill. (with previous bibliography).
Conservation status
Fair
Restoration history
Conservation work carried out in 2007 by S.E.I 1983 S.n.c, Roma
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: S.E.I 1983 S.n.c, Roma
Supervisory Authority: Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan
Internal scientific director: Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Chiara Nenci
Technical director / Qualified restorer: S.E.I 1983 S.n.c, Roma
Unique identifier
0300663525