Florence from Bellosguardo
- Artist: John Brett
- Date: 1863
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 600 x 1013 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Florence from Bellosguardo” by John Brett, painted in 1863. In that year Brett was on a winter sojourn in Florence, after his studies at the Royal Academy and the influence of the Pre‑Raphaelites and John Ruskin. The canvas measures about 60 × 101 cm and is a striking oil painting that shows the city from the south‑west, looking toward Fiesole and the Apennine foothills. Brett captured every detail as truth‑to‑nature demanded, turning a bustling townscape into a meticulously rendered tableau—a rare Pre‑Raphaelite example of urban scenery. The work was probably done from the terrace of the Villa Brichieri at Bellosguardo, a hub for the English community in Florence. It was sent to the Royal Academy in 1863 but was rejected, leading Brett to focus more on landscapes and seascapes where he could still show his crystalline precision without enumerating such a dense detail. Today the painting is housed in Tate Britain, presented by Thomas Stainton in memory of Charles and Lavinia Handley‑Read.
See it in person
Florence from Bellosguardo is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
