Oil on canvas (lined), signed at lower right, presented in a period gilt frame with incised acorn and oak leaf design.

Stretcher size 57 3/4 x 40 1/2 in.; Frame dimensions 68 x 51 in.

From the Collection of Professor Roberto Severino, Washington, D.C.

Constantino Brumidi was born in Rome and studied at the Academy of St. Luke. As a young artist, he received commissions to paint murals for the wealthy Torlonia family, as well as working extensively for the Vatican.

In 1852, Brumidi was pardoned by the pope for his role in the revolution and rise of the Roman Republic, with the expectation that he would leave for the United States. He arrived in New York in September of 1852 and was granted citzenship in 1857.

Brumidi is best known for his work at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Between 1860 and his death in 1878, he completed the monumental canopy and frieze of the Capitol Dome, in the Rotunda he painted The Apotheosis of Washington, and many murals along the corridors of the Capitol. While he completed the design and began the painting of the Frieze of American History, his untimely death delayed the completion until 1953, when Allyn Cox added the final three scenes.

Lined and on newer stretchers; stable craquelure and drying cracks; scattered retouch visible under UV light; minor rubbing and chipping to frame.