Morse's Paintings

Before Samuel Morse revolutionized communication with the telegraph, he was a highly accomplished painter, and his artistic legacy is surprisingly rich. Here are some highlights of his work:

Portraits of Prominent Figures

• Morse painted John Adams, James Monroe, and Eli Whitney, capturing the likenesses of key American figures.

• His 1820 portrait of President Monroe is still held in the White House collection.

🖼️ Historical and Allegorical Paintings

• The House of Representatives (1822): A dramatic nighttime scene of Congress in session, emphasizing American democracy.

• Judgment of Jupiter: A mythological scene interpreted as a moral allegory, reflecting Morse’s Calvinist upbringing.

The Gallery of the Louvre (1831–33)

• Perhaps his most ambitious work, this massive canvas features dozens of European masterpieces reproduced in one imagined gallery scene.

• Morse painted it while living in Paris, hoping to bring the grandeur of European art to American audiences.

Though it flopped commercially at the time, it’s now considered a masterwork of American academic painting 

Samuel Morse’s European Tour

Morse was in Paris as part of a larger European tour to study the Old Masters and improve his skills as a painter. Though he is best known as the inventor of the telegraph and Morse code, he was initially a well-trained and ambitious artist.

When Samuel F. B. Morse was in Paris (primarily during his stay from 1830 to 1832), he created several notable paintings, the most famous of which is:

Gallery of the Louvre (1831–1833) 

• Description: This is Morse’s most ambitious painting from his time in Paris. It depicts an imagined interior of the Louvre’s Salon Carré, filled with miniature reproductions of many of the museum’s most famous works.

• Purpose: Morse intended this as a "teaching canvas" for American audiences, showcasing European masterpieces to people who might never travel abroad.

• Artists Represented in the Painting: The painting includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Murillo, Claude Lorrain, and others.

• Figures Depicted: Morse included himself in the scene, along with his friend James Fenimore Cooper, the American novelist, and Cooper’s daughter.

Masterpieces Reproduced in Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre:

The following are some of the most prominent paintings Morse included:

Leonardo da Vinci

• La Joconde (Mona Lisa) The iconic portrait is included, though small in scale, placed prominently to signal its importance.

Titian

• The Entombment - A powerful religious scene representing the death of Christ.

Raphael

• Madonna of the Baldacchino (incorrectly attributed to Raphael at the time)

• St. Michael Overcoming Satan

Rubens

• The Descent from the Cross

• The Raising of the Cross - Large triptychs originally created for Antwerp Cathedral.

Claude Lorrain

• Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba - A classic example of Lorrain’s majestic seascapes.

Nicolas Poussin

• The Arcadian Shepherds (Et in Arcadia Ego) - A philosophical work exploring death and the pastoral ideal.

Murillo

• The Immaculate Conception - A popular Marian image during the Baroque period.

Rembrandt

• Bathsheba at Her Bath

• Possibly also included smaller works or studies attributed to Rembrandt.

Caravaggio

• The Death of the Virgin - A controversial painting due to its realistic depiction of death.

 People Featured in the Painting:

• Samuel Morse – shown working on a canvas.

• James Fenimore Cooper – the famous American author.

• Susan Augusta Fenimore Cooper – Cooper’s daughter.

• A few other figures, such as students and museum visitors, populate the gallery.

Why This Matters

Morse spent about 14 months in Paris (1831–32), building scaffolds to copy the works directly from the Louvre walls, then composing the final large-scale painting between Paris and New York Crystal Bridges Museum.

• The painting served as an educational tool, aiming to expose Americans—most of whom couldn't travel to Europe—to the greatest art of the Old World Smithsonian Magazine.

• Although exhibited in New York and New Haven, it was a modest commercial success—but had a lasting legacy as a milestone of early American art.