BOSTON, MASS.- The recently acquired Devout Men Taking the Body of Saint Stephen (1776) by Benjamin West is one of the largest paintings in the MFA’s collection—together with its towering frame, it measures more than 18 1/2 feet tall. Over the past two years, the monumental altarpiece was treated in the Conservation in Action studio, where Museum visitors were able to witness the gradual process of cleaning and restoring the work. The painting and its original gilded wood frame, which was also conserved, are now reunited as the dramatic centerpiece of a new installation that explores how 18th-century artworks and artists traveled across both intellectual and geographical borders.

West was the first American-born painter to study abroad, second president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and painter to the English king. Devout Men Taking the Body of Saint Stephen, among the largest works he ever produced, was commissioned for London’s St. Stephen’s Walbrook, a church designed by Christopher Wren, and showcases West’s profound understanding of Italian Renaissance art. Italy likewise held special allure for well-to-do travelers on the Grand Tour, such as the American couple in John Singleton Copley’s portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Izard (1775), painted in Rome. Meanwhile, Italian painters ventured abroad as well—the gallery includes Canaletto’s Bacino di San Marco, Venice (about 1738), a trademark view of his home city, and Capriccio: A Sluice on a River with a Chapel (1754), painted in England, where he spent nine years catering to an enthusiastic clientele. Adding to the rich mix of works by American, English and Italian painters are sculpture and decorative arts by French and German artists.

ARTISTS ON THE MOVE IN 18TH-CENTURY EUROPE
The 18th century was a cosmopolitan age. Nearly every artist and patron represented in this gallery traveled widely: in pursuit of artistic training or opportunity, political service, or social refinement. And as people moved, so too did ideas, styles, and tastes, in art and beyond.

Across Europe (and America), Italy held special allure: artists traveled there to absorb its millennia of artistic traditions, as did well-heeled visitors on the Grand Tour. The fashion for Italian art was especially strong in England, where American-born painter Benjamin West created the towering altarpiece behind you, influenced by his study of Renaissance masters Titian and Raphael. Italian artists, on the other hand, often ventured abroad. Canaletto, famous for his view paintings of his home city of Venice, spent nearly a decade in England, catering to an enthusiastic clientele.

Later in the century, London’s art scene was dominated by the Royal Academy of Arts—founded in 1768 to establish sound training for English artists, and to promote, through exhibition, excellence in contemporary art. Members represented in this gallery include West and Sir Joshua Reynolds, each of whom served as president, Thomas Gainsborough, and Boston-born John Singleton Copley. A notable outlier is George Romney: though he never applied (nor was he invited) to join the RA, he nevertheless became one of the day’s most fashionable painters.