Harvest on the Campagna (Primary Title)
John Gadsby Chapman, American, 1808 - 1890 (Artist)
Born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia, John Gadsby Chapman worked in Italy during most of his career. This rustic landscape was the first in a series of at least nine similar harvest scenes that the artist produced over the thirty-five years he lived in Rome. The small-scale paintings were favorite purchases of many American tourists visiting Europe.
Chapman was fascinated by the traditions and lifestyles of the Italian migratory farm workers. He viewed the processes of harvesting wheat—unchanged for centuries—as a distinct link with the past in an age of rapid industrialization.
Southern Sampler: American Paintings in Southern Museums, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN, September 21 – October 31, 1975
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