While on a trip to Florence, Italy, William Merritt Chase rented the Villa Silli, which featured this 30-by-40-foot room with soaring ceilings and an eclectic assortment of antiques. The artist softens the lush and dramatic interior space with delicate brushwork and rich color. Chase epitomizes the “cosmopolitan artist” of the era. When a group of businessmen once offered to finance his studies abroad, he replied, “My God, I’d rather go to Europe than go to heaven.”