The farm - I

The Farm — I, painted in 1864 on cardboard, is among the very earliest surviving works of De Nittis, made at eighteen while working in the tradition of the Scuola di Resina. The school's commitment to direct outdoor painting included subjects from the agricultural landscape around Naples — farms, fields, and rural workers — and this farm subject reflects that documentary commitment to honest observation of working life. Cardboard was economical and practical for outdoor work: cheap, portable, and absorbing paint to produce a matte surface suited to country subjects. The designation as the first in a series (I) suggests De Nittis produced multiple treatments of this or similar farm subjects, consistent with the Scuola di Resina's practice of returning to sites from different viewpoints and conditions.

Cardboard gives the paint surface an absorbent, matte quality suited to the textural character of a farm environment — rough stone walls, earthen yards. The composition is likely structured around the farm buildings themselves, with outdoor light defining the spatial organisation.