Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

Florence exerted a special attraction for British and American artists and writers in the late nineteenth century; the city--and its expatriate and tourist community--figures prominently in the novels of Henry James and E. M. Forster. The city also hosted a large population of English-speaking artists. Like Charles Herbert Moore, Harold Broadfield Warren was inspired by John Ruskin's admiration for clearly delineated, highly detailed, realistic painting.

Many artists were drawn to the architecture of Florence's historic quarter with its picturesque streets. The pushcart vendors selling their wares provide a colorful contrast to the fortress-like architecture towering over the narrow, almost sunless street. A similar scene can be seen in another watercolor by Warren in the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art's collection (2003.12).