William Kelley’s monumental landscape Tuscan Soul grew from years of studying the Tuscan countryside and encounters with some of Europe’s most inspiring works of art. Visits to the Hermitage and Russian Museum in St. Petersburg in 2008, followed by the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris in 2009, encouraged Kelley to move beyond the large canvases he had long produced and embrace a more ambitious scale.

It was Monet’s Water Lilies that convinced him to take on the challenge. Returning to Florence, Kelley left his small Ponte Vecchio studio and found a space large enough for a canvas approximately seven by sixteen feet. For his first monumental painting, he combined elements from several Tuscan landscapes to create a view of the Panzano Valley in Chianti.

When Kelley showed the nearly completed work to Massimo, the longtime proprietor of his favorite Florence art-supply store, the native Florentine immediately recognized the countryside he loved. Overwhelmed, he told Kelley, “Not only is it beautiful, but it is my soul.” Kelley knew Massimo had given the painting its title: Tuscan Soul.

About the Exhibition