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Cities and Views

Streets, bridges, skylines and squares: the city as painters and engravers saw it, often before photography could. Views of Venice, Paris, New York and Edo sit together here, made for travellers, for civic pride and for the plain pleasure of looking at a place.

24 works · hang 6805 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New York, by Otto Boetticher, 1851
    Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New YorkOtto Boetticher, 1851Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. We look slightly down onto a port-side town along a canal, with a church across the water from us in this horizontal landscape painting. A bright blue sky with billowing white, pink, and gray clouds fills the top two-thirds of the painting. Below, a three-masted ship with all but one sail furled is surrounded by a couple dozen black long, low boats, gondolas, and one or two other sailboats. People stand and walk mostly in pairs and trios along the stone walkway under us, which extends into the distance to our right. The women all wear long dresses and most of the men wear suits with knee-length jackets with tails or capes, and hats. The clothing is painted in shades of brick and terracotta red, pine green, royal blue, and gray. The walkway is interrupted by two low walls that partition off an area near us. The angled roofs of stalls line the walkway in the farther distance before it is again interrupted, this time by a two-story, cream-colored building. The walkway continues as a narrower path under an arched arcade on the lower level of that building, alongside the water. On the far side of the canal, to our left and in the distance, a cluster of ivory-white buildings includes a structure with two stone-blue domes. More buildings extend into the deep distance to our left.
    Entrance to the Grand Canal from the Molo, VeniceCanaletto, 1742/1744Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Sawmill, Outskirts of ParisHenri Rousseau, c. 1893/95Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du Midi, by Gustave Courbet, 1877
    Panoramic View of the Alps, Les Dents du MidiGustave Courbet, 1877Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Landscape Near Paris, by Georges Michel, c. 1840
    Landscape Near ParisGeorges Michel, c. 1840Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, by John Vanderlyn, 1818–19
    Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of VersaillesJohn Vanderlyn, 1818–19Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. This painting depicts a square seen from above, surrounded by elegant architectural structures. On the left side, there is a large building with a red-brown facade and arched white windows with columns. On the right, there is an ornate off-white structure with arches and detailed stonework. Both of these long buildings stretch from the sides of the painting towards the center, where they converge at a gray building with tall spires and large blue domes behind it. In the square there are countless people in colorful attire, wearing shades of pink, red, blue, green, yellow, black, and blue. There are men, women, and children, and those with visible faces all appear to have light skin. Some wear white masks with bird-like noses. On the right, there is a long line of people engaging in a procession or gathering. People also line the windows of the two buildings on either side of the square. The painting is incredibly detailed, capturing architectural elements and the bustling crowd. The color palette features earthy tones for the architecture and vibrant colors for the people, all set below a pale blue sky with a few white-and-gray clouds.
    Procession in the Courtyard of the Ducal Palace, VeniceAntonio Joli, 1742 or afterCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 2, north wall

  1. View of Toledo, by El Greco, ca. 1599–1600
    View of ToledoEl Greco, ca. 1599–1600Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Piazza San Marco, by Canaletto, late 1720s
    Piazza San MarcoCanaletto, late 1720sCourtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Untitled (forest scene with bridge, cows in stream in foreground), by Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1897
    Untitled (forest scene with bridge, cows in stream in foreground)Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1897Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The Place du Havre, ParisCamille Pissarro, 1893Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of oil on panel.
    French Street SceneEdouard Béliard, 1873–77Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. View of Florence, by Thomas Cole, 1837
    View of FlorenceThomas Cole, 1837Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 3, south wall

  1. A VILLAGE SQUARE
    A Village SquareWalter Shirlaw, 1875–80Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. Southwest Tower, Amiens Cathedral, by Cass Gilbert, 1880
    Southwest Tower, Amiens CathedralCass Gilbert, 1880Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. A work made of oil on composition board.
    Notre Dame de ParisJean-François Rafaëlli, c. 1890Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago