Oil on canvas laid on board, unsigned, inscribed and with later hand-written stickers to verso, framed.

Board 8 3/4 x 17 1/4 in.; Frame dimensions 11 1/4 x 19 3/4 in.

Constantino Brumidi was born in Rome and studied at the Academy of St. Luke. As a young artist, he received commissions to paint murals for the wealthy Torlonia family, and worked extensively for the Vatican.

In 1852, Brumidi was pardoned by the pope for his role in the revolution and rise of the Roman Republic, with the expectation that he would leave for the United States. He arrived in New York in September of 1852 and was granted citizenship in 1857.

Brumidi is best known for his work at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Between 1860 and his death in 1878, he completed the monumental canopy and frieze of the Capitol dome, he painted The Apotheosis of Washington in the Rotunda, and he painted many murals along the corridors of the Capitol. While he completed the design and began the painting of the Frieze of American History, his untimely death delayed the completion until 1953, when Allyn Cox added the final three scenes.

Several air pockets between canvas and board; obscuring varnish visible under UV light; some bitumen to dark color near center of canvas.