At the Goethe House an exhibition on early 19th century Italy as seen by the artists of the Grand Tour. Unseen exhibits and rarities

From Oct. 6, 2019 to Feb. 9, 2020, the Goethe House in Rome presents a selection of drawings and engravings from its hitherto rarely exhibited collection with the exhibition Glimpses of Italy 1780-1850. Landscapes and urban views by German, Italian, English, and French artists of the 18th and 19th centuries reveal each of their personal views of our beautiful country. A central theme of the exhibition is the work of Christoph Heinrich Kniep (Hildesheim, 1755 - Naples, 1825), in 1787 Goethe ’s traveling companion to Sicily, where he also executed some drawings for the poet. The Goethe House recently acquired two large-format sepia drawings by Kniep, now presented for the first time along with the artist’s other works already in the collection.

Another section is devoted to a series of high-quality drawings and engravings depicting panoramas of Rome, such as by English engraver Samuel Bellin (London, 1799 - 1893). The panorama of the urbe by the celebrated sculptor Eugène-Louis Lequesne (Paris, 1815 - 1887) represents a rarity in his oeuvre. One exceptional sheet: the view of Piazza del Popolo and its surroundings from a hot air balloon, published in about 1850 as a color lithograph by Louis Jules Arnout (Paris, 1814 - 1868).

Also on display are some valuable series of engravings, such as the series by Balthasar Anton Dunker (Saal, 1746 - Bern, 1807) made from drawings by Jakob Philipp Hackert (Prenzlau, 1737 - Florence, 1807) who depicted the surroundings of Horace’s Villa in the Sabine Mountains in 1780. Instead, in 1808 Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin (Badenweiler, 1760 - Rome, 1820) devoted himself to the ancient monuments and landscapes of Tivoli.

Another room of the exhibition chronicles Paestum, Pompeii, the Gulf of Naples and Sicily: the antiquity and scenic beauty of these places have always fascinated artists. Two rare drawings featuring the excavations of Pompeii by the Berlin painter Eduard Magnus (Berlin, 1799 - 1872), one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his time, are presented. The sketches of his trip to Italy preserved in the Goethe House are the only documents proving his activity also as a landscape painter.

Finally, the splendid engravings by Georg Hackert (Prenzlau, 1755 - Florence, 1805, brother of the famous Jakob Philipp Hackert), and Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Mogliano Veneto, 1720 - Rome, 1778) and the latter’s son, Francesco (Rome, 1756 - Paris, 1810).

The exhibition takes the public to numerous places on Goethe’s Grand Tour, and the visitor accompanies the poet on his Italian journey. Works by artists from his circle, but also from later generations, confirm the originality and thematic distinctiveness of the Goethe House art collection.

For all information you can call +39 06 32650412, send an email to info@casadigoethe.it or visit the official website of the Goethe House.

Pictured: Christoph Heinrich Kniep, Colosseum

Source: press release

At the Goethe House an exhibition on early 19th century Italy as seen by the artists of the Grand Tour. Unseen exhibits and rarities

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