I Pifferari (‘The Pipers’) depicts a group of pilgrims worshipping at an Italian wayside shrine accompanied by a band of pipers. Such scenes inspired other artists and composers of Wilkie’s generation, including Turner and Berlioz, and instantly attracted Wilkie. He distilled the essence of Rome with his paintings of the flamboyant appearance and elaborate rituals of priests and pilgrims just as he had articulated national identity through his depictions of costume and custom in Fife and London. Purchased by George IV in 1828