Terme di Caracalla, Roma 1892

Marietta Minnigerode Andrews created "Terme di Caracalla, Roma" in 1892, using watercolor on paper. Andrews, born in Richmond, Virginia, navigated the complexities of being a woman artist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Painted while in Rome, this delicate floral arrangement subtly interrogates the intersections of identity, place, and patriotism. Note the inclusion of the American flag, a small but potent symbol that anchors the work in a specific cultural and national context. Andrews seems to be asking, what does it mean to be an American, a woman, and an artist, all while standing on foreign soil, surrounded by the echoes of ancient civilizations? The flowers, seemingly gathered from the Roman landscape, speak to the artist’s immediate surroundings and personal experiences. Andrews uses the traditional genre of floral painting to explore her own sense of belonging and displacement. She gives us not just a still life, but a quiet meditation on what it means to carry one’s identity across borders.