Artwork
Italian Garden
Italian Garden is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Friedrich August von Kaulbach. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting titled Italian Garden depicts a cultivated garden scene featuring trees and cypress (Cupressus). As indicated by its title and the documented depictions, the work presents an idealized Italian landscape that conveys a tranquil, serene atmosphere through its representation of garden foliage.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil paint, it employs a naturalistic plein‑air technique that renders foliage and garden architecture, including a prominent Cupressus tree.
Italian Garden is an oil painting on canvas created in 1894 by Friedrich August von Kaulbach. The work measures about 49.2 × 64.5 cm, as documented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Executed in oil paint, it employs a naturalistic plein‑air technique that renders foliage and garden architecture, including a prominent Cupressus tree.
The canvas is stretched in the customary late‑19th‑century manner, and the paint layer shows no recorded structural damage. Stylistically, the composition juxtaposes dense vegetation with open garden space, embodying the academic realism characteristic of the period.
History & Provenance
Italian Garden is an oil painting by Friedrich August von Kaulbach, dated 1894. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains held, with its medium recorded as oil paint on canvas. No further details regarding commission, prior ownership, or chain of custody are documented in the available sources.
The painting Italian Garden by Friedrich August von Kaulbach is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created in 1894, the work is executed in oil on canvas and depicts a garden scene featuring trees, specifically Cupressus. While the artwork's current location and collection status are documented, the provided sources do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers, nor do they list any past or current exhibition history for the piece.
Overview
Friedrich August von Kaulbach, a prominent German painter of portraits and historical subjects, created Italian Garden in 1898. This oil painting captures a serene outdoor scene, characteristic of its title. The work is held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a facet of Kaulbach's diverse output, which also earned him recognition as one of the "Malerfürsten" or "painter princes" of his era.
Context
Friedrich August von Kaulbach was a highly successful artist during his lifetime, known for his portraiture and historical works, and was among the highest-paid painters in both Germany and America. His association with the "Malerfürsten" group underscores his significant standing. While primarily recognized for more traditional subjects, Italian Garden demonstrates his engagement with contemporary artistic trends, such as Impressionism, in his landscape painting.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Friedrich August von Kaulbach (2 June 1850 – 26 July 1920) was a German portraitist and historical painter.
- In the Garden
Port Cochere at 39 Elm Street, Worcester, Mass.
Garden in a Monastery
În grădina artistului
Souvenir of the Banks of the Saône
A House seen through Trees
Old Manor of Criqueboeuf
Villa Borghese in Rome
The Garden of San Miniato near Florence
Parti fra knivfabrikken ved Råvaddam
Open Landscape with Low Hills. Summer
Village Road
