Floor plan

South wing: ThemesCities and Views

Cities and Views

View of Florence, by Thomas Cole, 1837
A work made of oil on canvas.
Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square, New York, by Otto Boetticher, 1851
Life-size painting of an urban scene in Paris. A man in a top hat holding an umbrella and a woman in a long fashionable dark dress walk arm in arm toward the viewer as other city dwellers with umbrellas walk in various directions across cobblestone roads and sidewalks.
Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, Italy, by Cass Gilbert, 1898
A work made of oil on canvas.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

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.

Section 1, north wall

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

Section 1, south wall

  1. Life-size painting of an urban scene in Paris. A man in a top hat holding an umbrella and a woman in a long fashionable dark dress walk arm in arm toward the viewer as other city dwellers with umbrellas walk in various directions across cobblestone roads and sidewalks.
    Paris Street; Rainy DayGustave Caillebotte, 1877Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, Italy, by Cass Gilbert, 1898
    Cathedral Tower, Pistoia, ItalyCass Gilbert, 1898Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Sawmill, Outskirts of ParisHenri Rousseau, c. 1893/95Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. Landscape Near Paris, by Georges Michel, c. 1840
    Landscape Near ParisGeorges Michel, c. 1840Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on composition board.
    Notre Dame de ParisJean-François Rafaëlli, c. 1890Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A VILLAGE SQUARE
    A Village SquareWalter Shirlaw, 1875–80Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Section 2, north wall

  1. 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
  2. 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. The painting depicts many large and small ships on blue-green water. Gondolas in shades of gold, black, red, and blue drift across the water, small people on them pushing long poles through the water. There are also large sailboats and long boats with several rowers. They create a colorful mix. On the left, a large brown building with columns is visible. Some of the boats pull up to it, and many people in colorful clothing are visible on the shore. Behind the water are more large buildings in shades of brown, cream, and tan, with even more people visible on the streets below them. There is a large tower in the center of the painting, and several blue domes are visible in the distance. The sky is light blue, with white and gray clouds drifting across it.
    Procession of Gondolas in the Bacino di San Marco, VeniceAntonio Joli, 1742 or afterCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. View of Toledo, by El Greco, ca. 1599–1600
    View of ToledoEl Greco, ca. 1599–1600Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, 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. 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 panel.
    French Street SceneEdouard Béliard, 1873–77Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago