Italia und Germania
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Italia und Germania (English: Italy and Germany) is an allegorical painting of the painter Friedrich Overbeck, finished in 1828. The painting shows two women inclining to each other, symbolizing the friendship between the two countries or cultures they represent: Italia and Germania. At that time, both Italy and Germany were cultural regions but not unified national states.
Overbeck painted it in the style of the Nazarenes. The original is displayed in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.[1]
The two women on the painting sit on a bench in front of a landscape. The left woman (Italia) has dark hair and wears a laurel wreath. The background shows a typically Italian landscape with rocky coast. On the right side the background contains a German city in gothic style, Germania is blond with a wreath of flowers. Both women sit close to each other, in amical inclination, holding hands.
