{"id":10,"date":"2015-10-09T10:39:59","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T08:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ettorerf.simply-webspace.it\/wp\/?page_id=4"},"modified":"2016-09-27T15:41:57","modified_gmt":"2016-09-27T15:41:57","slug":"biografia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ettoreroeslerfranz.com\/en\/biografia\/","title":{"rendered":"BIOGRAPHY"},"content":{"rendered":"

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– HIS LIFE<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Ettore\u00a0Roesler Franz, painter and watercolorist, son of Luigi and Teresa Biondi, was born in Rome on May 11, 1845 and here died on March 26, 1907.
\nFounder and President of the Society of Watercolor Artists\u00a0in Rome,\u00a0he\u00a0is among the Italian painters of the nineteenth century who most exposed<\/strong> and have established himselves in Italy and abroad<\/strong>. He\u00a0can be considered as one of the most valuable examples of the late nineteenth century of Realism genre and among the best Italian watercolourists<\/strong>\u00a0ever.
\nMaster of the watercolor technique (paper, brushes, colors and its collector, which he personally selected with meticulous care, came\u00a0all\u00a0from\u00a0England) because it was considered the best way to reproduce the countryside scenes and especially the transparency of the heavens and water, he was a cosmopolitan artist with\u00a0European mentality. He saw far and wanted to give a\u00a0proof of his time<\/strong>, exploring the cities that disappeared or were reborn. In that sense, he can be\u00a0considered as a forerunner of modern environmentalists as well.
\nIts Roman family of German origin had founded the famous Hotel d’Allemagne<\/a>\u00a0close to the Spanish Steps, which hosted personalities like Goethe, Stendhal, Wagner, Luciano Bonaparte, de Lesseps, Thackeray and Winckelmann, and was mentioned in a sonnet by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli<\/a>.
\nEttore Roesler Franz, polyglot (he spoke fluently French, English and German), Knight of the Crown of Italy and commander, in his life has got the Honorary Citizenship of Tivoli. But only recently he has been called “the painter of landscape and memory”<\/strong>, being the artist who most contributed to the image of Rome<\/strong>\u00a0and Lazio in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
\nAfter his studies at the\u00a0Christian Schools of Trinit\u00e0 dei Monti, Ettore\u00a0attended the Academy of St. Luke in Rome with his\u00a0close friend\u00a0Ettore Ferrari\u00a0(1845-1929)<\/strong>\u00a0who dedicated to him a pastel portrait when Ettore\u00a0was 18 years old. Ferrari is known for the monument to Giordano Bruno in Campo de’ Fiori in Rome and later to be became deputy in the Italian Parliament and Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy.
\nAnother good friendship\u00a0was with Giacomo Balla (1871-1958)<\/strong>\u00a0who marked his international debut<\/strong>\u00a0right\u00a0with an oil portrait of\u00a0Ettore\u00a0in\u00a0Villa d’Este (Tivoli) in 1902, with which\u00a0he was\u00a0admitted at the Venice Biennale<\/strong> in 1903.
\nSince\u00a0the youthness\u00a0Ettore had a good connection with the Anglo-Saxon environments. In fact, he began his activity\u00a0working at the British Consulate, where he met the consul Joseph Severn (1793-1879)<\/strong>, who was a good watercolorist and a close friend of John Keats<\/strong>. When Severn died, Ettore\u00a0and his brother Alessandro, at that time consul of England in Rome, contributed –\u00a0along with other English intellectuals – to the erection of his funerary plate\u00a0in the Non-Catholic Cemetery at\u00a0the Pyramid, in Rome. His brother Alessandro, after marrying the English lady Julia Teiser went live in\u00a0London, helping\u00a0Ettore to get in into the\u00a0Commonwealth market<\/strong>.
\nAmong his greatest admirers, Ettore Roesler Franz also had\u00a0Ferdinand Gregorovius\u00a0(1821-1891)<\/strong>,\u00a0great German historian and honorary citizen of Rome.
\nEttore Roesler Franz was\u00a0also\u00a0the first painter to reproduce\u00a0the Roman Ghetto<\/strong>\u00a0and, in all the current publications of the Jewish community of Rome, his watercolors are reproduced as a testimony of its links\u00a0with it.
\nThe work that brought\u00a0fame to him worldwide is undoubtedly the “Vanished Rome<\/a>“<\/strong>, or rather, quoting his own words, “Rome picturesque \/ Memories of an era that goes”. They are\u00a0120 watercolors (each of them measuring around\u00a053 \u00d7 75 cm., horizontal or vertical), divided into three series of 40 each. Thanks to this idea it was possible to have an\u00a0unprecedented\u00a0historical record<\/strong>\u00a0of urban and suburban views that were disappearing, to be handed down to posterity.
\nThe artist travelled around\u00a0all\u00a0Europe, as evidenced by the 23 exhibitions abroad<\/strong> (Paris, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Dresden, Stuttgart, Munich, Wien, Belgium and the Netherlands) and the\u00a046 in Italy<\/strong> (Rome, Turin, Milan, Florence, Trieste and Venice). Works by Ettore Roesler Franz ended up both\u00a0in museums and royal collections and even in Alaska, Argentina\u00a0and\u00a0Australia.
\nNineteen works have been purchased by excellent customers<\/strong>: Her\u00a0Majesty the Empress Dagmar\u00a0of Denmark<\/strong>, widow of Tsar Alexander III of Russia,<\/strong>\u00a0his son Grand Duke George Alexandrovich<\/span><\/strong>, three kings of Italy<\/strong> (Victor Emmanuel\u00a0II, Umberto I and Victor Emmanuel III of Italy), Queen Margherita of Savoy<\/strong>, the Grand Duke Louis of Hesse<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0the famous statesman Quintino Sella<\/strong>.
\n“Sincerity makes the artist great ” <\/em>was the inscription which appeared at the entrance of his studio. Another motto was found on the back of one of his paintings<\/a>, in French: “To succeed in life we must learn to be patient, take the hassles, undo and redo, restart and continue,\u00a0avoiding that\u00a0the motion of anger or the imagination impetus\u00a0would be able\u00a0to arrest or divert the daily effort”.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator border_width=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1460581892303{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

– EXPLANATIONS ON\u00a0ETTORE ROESLER FRANZ’S WORK<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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The Artist, therefore, has been a forerunner\u00a0of modern\u00a0environmentalists.\u00a0He\u00a0was\u00a0a\u00a0cosmopolitan and\u00a0European-minded\u00a0artist,\u00a0who wanted to\u00a0give proof\u00a0of his time,\u00a0realizing that\u00a0the\u00a0cities\u00a0he\u00a0was\u00a0portraying\u00a0were disappearing\u00a0or\u00a0regenerating.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Regarding his Roman activity, paintings \u00a0of Ettore Roesler Franz are the only evidence \u00a0of\u00a0 that historical change , allowing us today to easily\u00a0imagine<\/strong>\u00a0how \u00a0Rome\u00a0was before the disembowelments. The affected areas were several, beginning with the demolition of\u00a0 all the houses on the left bank of the Tiber, and on the right \u00a0bank\u00a0in Trastevere area, continuing with Villa Ludovisi, considered the most beautiful garden of Europe, and< the destruction of the Roman Ghetto, to end up\u00a0with the great losses of Porto di Ripetta and Ripa Grande. The subsequent disembowelments of the city during Fascist period then led to further destruction of other parts of Rome as the “Spina of Borgo” in front of St. Peter’s Basilica and the whole area between piazza Venezia and T heatre of Marcellus, on one side, and via Alessandrina\u00a0with the demolition of the house of Giulio Romano, on the other side.<\/p>\n

In an essay in English (a sort of \u201cspiritual will\u201d) of 1894, Ettore Roesler Franz\u00a0hoped that, in\u00a0the future, his collection Vanished Rome<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cshould be placed in a special room with a large topographical map of Rome where I would give indications of where the pictures were taken, and this would facilitate the scholars of next\u00a0generations to understand how\u00a0Rome was before these changes”.\u00a0<\/em>Here you can find the original.<\/a><\/p>\n

How\u00a0was\u00a0big\u00a0the\u00a0love<\/strong>\u00a0of the artist\u00a0for\u00a0watercolors is\u00a0also\u00a0proved\u00a0by this\u00a0letter<\/a>, sent by Ettore Roesler Franz to Luigi Bellinzoni and published\u00a0in the spring of\u00a01880\u00a0on\u00a0“Il Popolo Romano”, magazine\u00a0in which\u00a0Bellinzoni was art critic.\u00a0We can\u00a0read:\u00a0“my dear\u00a0Bellinzoni,\u00a0I read with\u00a0pleasure in your\u00a0art\u00a0Journal\u00a0this morning\u00a0the right\u00a0comments for\u00a0little or\u00a0no\u00a0consideration\u00a0which\u00a0holds\u00a0the watercolor\u00a0in the\u00a0piazza del Popolo exhibition.\u00a0It is\u00a0truly\u00a0regrettable that,\u00a0after the development\u00a0which\u00a0this branch of\u00a0painting\u00a0took in\u00a0Rome, you\u00a0should\u00a0still\u00a0treat it as\u00a0a trinket\u00a0of art\u00a0and\u00a0give to it\u00a0the last seat in\u00a0all the exhibits.\u00a0As to the one\u00a0of\u00a0piazza del Popolo is\u00a0then\u00a0doubly\u00a0painful that\u00a0to meet the\u00a0thoughtfulness\u00a0of the\u00a0worthy\u00a0President\u00a0we\u00a0induce\u00a0to send\u00a0their work\u00a0to see them\u00a0then\u00a0exposed\u00a0in a light that\u00a0is not light\u00a0and\u00a0in an environment where\u00a0the\u00a0best\u00a0thing I could\u00a0do is\u00a0to\u00a0flee\u00a0away\u00a0for not taking\u00a0a\u00a0rheumatism\u00a0or other\u00a0illness\u00a0and lack\u00a0of those\u00a0enticements\u00a0you\u00a0already\u00a0mention\u00a0that resolve\u00a0then also\u00a0in\u00a0sacrifices\u00a0more\u00a0for\u00a0the exponents\u00a0which are seen\u00a0sales\u00a0likely\u00a0vanished.\u00a0In your\u00a0magazine\u00a0you found\u00a0very little\u00a0appreciable\u00a0among\u00a0the watercolors.\u00a0Your\u00a0task was\u00a0difficult!\u00a0As\u00a0if\u00a0those jobs\u00a0rather than\u00a0attacked\u00a0were\u00a0exposed,\u00a0who knows\u00a0that\u00a0you’d find\u00a0others\u00a0worthy\u00a0of your\u00a0observations?\u00a0You know how\u00a0I did\u00a0and do\u00a0take\u00a0a\u00a0considerable\u00a0place\u00a0among us\u00a0for the\u00a0watercolor,\u00a0as it\u00a0has\u00a0already elsewhere.\u00a0I shall\u00a0therefore\u00a0increasingly\u00a0grateful\u00a0whenever\u00a0you\u00a0will employ\u00a0to remove\u00a0certain prejudices, which\u00a0alas\u00a0still dominate\u00a0the field.\u00a0<\/em>You\u00a0shake hands\u00a0your friend\u00a0Ettore Roesler\u00a0Franz. “<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator border_width=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1460581892303{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

– SOME RENOWNED\u00a0BUYERS DURING HIS LIFE<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Among the buyers\u00a0of the artist’s works\u00a0during his life\u00a0we have\u00a0well-known\u00a0personalities\u00a0of the House of Savoy:\u00a0King<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Victor Emmanuel\u00a0II<\/strong>\u00a0(1820-1878),\u00a0Queen Margherita\u00a0<\/strong>(1851-1926),\u00a0her husband\u00a0King<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Umberto I<\/strong>\u00a0(1844-1900),\u00a0their son\u00a0King<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Victor Emmanuel III<\/strong>\u00a0of Italy\u00a0(1869-1947)\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Grand Duke Louis of Hesse,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>in fact,\u00a0acquired\u00a0five\u00a0watercolors and\u00a0six\u00a0pastels.\u00a0Six other\u00a0watercolors\u00a0were\u00a0purchased\u00a0by the italian\u00a0Minister of Finance and\u00a0statesman\u00a0Quintino Sella<\/strong>\u00a0(1827-1884).\u00a0Among his\u00a0“excellent” clients\u00a0“excellent”,\u00a0finally, there are\u00a0Her Majesty<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>the Empress<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Maria Feodorovna\u00a0of<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Denmark<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(1847-1928), widow\u00a0of\u00a0Tsar<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Alexander III<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>of<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Russia<\/strong>\u00a0(1845-1894),\u00a0and his son\u00a0Grand Duke\u00a0George Alexandrovich of<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Russia<\/strong>\u00a0(1871-1899)\u00a0who purchased\u00a0two\u00a0watercolors.<\/p>\n

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– HIS\u00a0HONORARY CITIZENSHIP OF<\/span> <\/span>TIVOLI<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

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On February 6th,\u00a01903,\u00a0the painter received the\u00a0honorary citizenship of\u00a0Tivoli.\u00a0By clicking on the picture\u00a0you can\u00a0see the enlargement\u00a0of the beautiful\u00a0illuminated\u00a0parchment\u00a0by Giuseppe\u00a0Cellini (12\/9\/1855-4\/29\/1940).<\/p>\n

– HIS PORTRAITS AND PHOTOS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Here we can see his\u00a0main portraits:<\/p>\n

To counter\u00a0the City Council\u00a0of Tivoli\u00a0after\u00a0having received\u00a0this\u00a0honorary citizenship\u00a0unanimously,\u00a0Ettore Roesler Franz\u00a0donated\u00a0to the Municipality of\u00a0Tivoli\u00a0a watercolor\u00a0depicting\u00a0“Ponte Lupo-Poli”<\/a>\u00a0(66\u00a0x\u00a0102\u00a0cm,\u00a01898),\u00a0today\u00a0located\u00a0in the Mayor’s Office.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”2542″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator border_width=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1457907370942{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n