Staircase in the Park of Villa Chigi di Ariccia

Alexandre Calame · 1844–1845

Medium

Oil on paper, laid on canvas

Original size

39.4 × 33 cm (15 1/2 × 13 in.); Framed: 93.1 × 5.1 cm (36 5/8 × 2 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Romanticism

Dappled light filtering through overgrown foliage onto ancient stone steps — this intimate study captures a quiet corner of the Villa Chigi at Ariccia with a directness that feels almost private. Alexandre Calame was best known for his sweeping Alpine landscapes, but this small oil on paper reveals a different register of his talent: close observation, unhurried and precise. Working in the tradition of plein air study during his Italian travels in the mid-1840s, Calame demonstrates here the same sensitivity to atmosphere and natural texture that defined his larger canvases — the mossy stone, the loose tangle of branches, the way shadow pools at the base of the stairs. The choice to work on paper laid on canvas was common among painters working outdoors on location, allowing for portability without sacrificing the richness of oil paint. Calame trained under François Diday in Geneva, and his early grounding in careful draftsmanship is visible in the structural confidence beneath this work's seemingly loose surface. Our hand-painted oil reproduction renders every gradation of tone and every rough surface of this tranquil scene with the same fidelity and care the original demands, giving you a piece that holds up to close inspection.