The Duomo, Florence

Oskar Kokoschka

1948

Oil on canvas

Minneapolis Institute of Art

After World War II, Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka, traveled across Europe and the United States painting townscapes and portraits. In 1948, Kokoschka traveled to Italy where he painted <I>The Duomo, Florence</I> in September. While the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, known as the <I>Duomo</I>, or cathedral church, has a façade of red, white, and green marble topped by red brick domes, Kokoschka uses an array of colors to capture the light playing off the exterior marble while also conveying the grandeur of this church; it is so large that it does not fit entirely on the canvas. Of this painting, Kokoschka writes, “My personal c