MAXFIELD PARRISH (1870-1966)

View at Val San Zibio, Near Battaglia belongs to a series of landscapes painted by Maxfield Parrish to serve as illustrations for the 1904 publication, Italian Villas and their Gardens. Originally commissioned by Century Magazine as a series of articles, the writings were ultimately compiled into a book, with commentary by Edith Wharton. To prepare for the project, Parrish traveled to Italy in March of 1903, staying for three months, to take photographs and sketch the surrounding landscape. According to Coy Ludwig, "Italian Villas and Their Gardens provided an avenue of expression for Parrish's architectural interests, as well as for his growing desire to paint landscapes. The paintings, as a result, were a sensitive and striking departure from his more fanciful work, to which the public had grown accustomed." (Maxfield Parrish, New York, 1973, p. 32) Another from this series is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota.

The present work depicts the gardens of Villa Barbargio, south of Padua, Italy. The sprawling property was commissioned by the 17th-century nobleman Giovani Francesco Barbargio and his sons to symbolize man's journey toward revelation and perfection.