Name of Object:

The Prayer in the Desert

Name in original language:

La preghiera nel deserto

Location:

Rome, Italy

Holding Institution:

National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)

 About MIBACT | National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM), Rome

Holding Institution (original language):

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM)

Date of Object:

1876

Author:

Stefano Ussi (1822, Florence-1901, Florence)

Inventory Number:

inv. 215

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

Height 207 cm, width 141 cm

Provenance:

Italy

Description:

Stefano Ussi lived between Florence and Rome and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence before enrolling as a volunteer in the first Italian War of Independence, during which he was taken prisoner by the Austrian troops. He developed a model of history painting characterised by a quick application of layers (almost a rough draft) and by a sharp chiaroscuro. In 1875, along with the painter Cesare Biseo, and Edmondo De Amicis, he accompanied an Italian diplomatic delegation to Morocco. At the opening of the Suez Canal the artist went to Egypt and created his first version of The Prayer in the Desert which is exhibited at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. From that moment on, Ussi made both history and oriental-themed paintings.

Additional Copyright Information:

Copyright image: Soprintendenza alla Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea.

Citation of this web page:

Marina Minozzi "The Prayer in the Desert" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;it;150;en

Prepared by: Marina Minozzi
Copyedited by: Anne Dowell

MWNF Working Number: IT2 008