Via Appia

Black pencil drawing, mm 305x225.

Belongs to a collection of 127 works unearthed from a French antiquarian who, in turn, had acquired them from the heirs of publisher Henri-Désiré Charpentier (La Rochelle 1805 - Vertou 1882); they are all done in black pencil, some have white lead highlighting; they never bear the date and signature of the author, but only a brief caption relating to the subjects depicted. The drawings denote a skilled and expert hand - especially in the delineation of buildings, ruins and architecture - that restores the monuments of Rome from interesting and unusual perspective points. The reference of most of the drawings to some of the tinted lithographs by Felix and Philippe Benoist, published in the three-volume work Rome dans sa grandeur, immediately became clear. The fact that this is a large group of original drawings related to the famous work edited by Henri-Désiré Charpentier is clearly supported by the prestigious provenance; it is a part of Charpentier's heir fund, among which the material of the famous chalcographic workshop had been divided.

Rome dans sa grandeur. Vues, monument ancient et modernes was printed in Paris in 3 volumes, in 1870. The publication, illustrated by 100 lithographs, was preceded by a campaign of preparatory drawings, dating from 1864 until 1869, executed mainly by Félix Benoist and partly by Philippe Benoist. On the eve of the Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano I, on August 11, 1869, Pius IX decreed the creation of a Roman Exhibition of the works of every art executed for Catholic worship, which was inaugurated, on February 17, 1870, in the cloister of the Carthusian monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli. On that occasion, the three folio volumes Rome dans sa grandeur were presented. The lavishly bound volumes, with the coat of arms of Pius IX stamped in the center in gold, are divided into three sections. The first volume deals with ancient Rome, the second, with Christian Rome, and the third, with the monuments and achievements of modern Rome. A valuable view of papal Rome on the eve of Rome's profound transformation into the capital of united Italy. A document that highlights the remarkable imprint left by Pius IX on the Eternal City. The work represents the French artist's masterpiece, so much so that it places Benoist among the ranks of the greatest artists of interiors and views of his time.

The sheets used for the preliminary studies vary in size (from 170 mm x 240 to 490 x 300 mm), weight and even color gradation (from beige to green).  Many of the drawings undeniably represent different preparatory stages - more or less complete - of some of the dyed lithographs illustrating the magnificent work, others of the silographic vignettes included in the text, while other sketches do not find translation in print. Belonging to this second group are both sketches relating to monuments and views of Rome and its surroundings: ancient Ostia, Grottaferrata, Olevano Romano, Anzio, Nettuno, Velletri and Vicovaro. Far beyond from Rome are drawings relating to Naples and Loreto. The suite was to form part of the entire fund, later dispersed, of preparatory studies from which the hundred intended for lithographic printing were selected.

This drawing, not translated into one of the lithographic plates that accompany Rome dans sa grandeur, is to be related to the plate Aqueducts of water Claudia and Felice (by Sixtus V) in the Agro Romano, near the Porta Furba-published in the volume Rome Antique, II chapter Ètat actuel des monuments anciens, edited by Egene de la Gournerie-inasmuch as the drawing shows the arches abutting the Porta Furba as the meeting point of the two lines of ancient aqueducts: it is from Porta Furba that they entered along the Via del Mandrione.

“Deux lignes d'Aqueducs traversent aujourd'hui encore la campagne romaine, et leurs longues suites d'imposants arceaux, parfois brisés, le plus souvent intacts et colorés de la teinte des siècles, y produisent les plus beaux effets. L'une de ces lignes est celle des eaux Julia, Tepula et Marcia, réunies à sept milles de Rome, et dont on aperçoit les trois conduits étagés près de la porte Majeure. Cet aqueduc forme, au passage de la voie Tiburtine, aujourd'hui Saint-Laurent, un de ces monuments qui rappellent les arcs de triomphe. On y lit des inscriptions d'Auguste, de Titus et de Caracalla. La seconde ligne est celle des eaux Claudia et Anio Novus, réunies également à sept milles de Rome. Elle s'annonce, à son entrée dans la ville, par la célèbre porte Majeure. Cette porte occupe deux des arceaux de l'aqueduc et est surmontée d'un triple entablement sur lequel sont trois inscriptions à l'honneur de Claude, de Vespasien et de 'fitus, le premier, fondateur, et les deux autres, restaurateurs de cette magnifique conduite d'eaux. Trois petits arcs, couronnés par. des frontons et accompagnés de colonnes à bossages, d'ordre ionique, ornent les pieds-droits. On ne peut hien admirer ce monument, l'un des mieux conservés et des plus beaux de l'ancienne Rome, que depuis le pontificat de Grégoire XVI, auquel on doit la demolition des maisons qui l'obstruaient” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Antique, c. II, p. 65).