“Italian Day, May” is a cityscape painting by the American Impressionist Childe Hassam, created in 1918. This artwork is a representation of the Impressionist movement, known for its vibrant color palette and loose brushwork that captures the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere.
The painting depicts an urban street scene, possibly in New York, filled with the colorful, fluttering flags of different nations. American flags take prominence in the composition, but Italian flags are also notably present, along with the Red Cross banner amidst them. The flags hang over a bustling city street, casting their reflections and colors onto the cityscape. The buildings are rendered with quick, impressionistic strokes, their details subsumed into the atmospherics of the color and light, which suggests the lively energy of a festive day. The flags create a sense of verticality that contrasts with the horizontal activity of the street below. The painting captures the patriotic fervor of the World War I era, when such displays were common to encourage national unity and support for the war effort.
