Loreto

Black pencil drawing, mm 486x311, lower right: Lorette.

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.

The drawing, not translated into one of the lithographic plates in Rome dans sa Grandeur sho

The drawing, not translated into one of the lithographic plates in Rome dans sa Grandeur, shows a perspective view of the town of Loreto taken from the southwest. In the background on the right, the Shrine of the Holy House can be clearly distinguished.

The drawing does not apparently have a close relationship with Rome dans sa Grandeur, since Loreto is not a described destination. However, the references are numerous, especially in the second volume, Rome Chrétienne, where it is mentioned that the church of San Salvatore in Lauro from 1669 was dedicated to the Holy House of Loreto and that one of the few seventeenth-century copies of the statue of Our Lady that was venerated in the Sanctuary of Loreto (unfortunately destroyed during a devastating fire in 1921) is displayed on the high altar.

“Plus tard, en 1669, les chanoines de Saint-Georges ayant été supprimés, Saint-Sauveur in Lauro fut donné par Clément IX aux habitants des Marches, représentés par leur confrérie. Ladite confrérie,qui datait du pontificatd'UrbainVIII et que Clément XI érigea plus tard en archiconfrérie, plaça l'église sous l'invocation de la Santa Casa de Lorette, et acheva sa reconstruction que les chanoines avaient commencée. L'ensemble de l'édifice est d'Octave Mascherino; la coupole et l'ornementation intérieure de Jean-Baptiste Sassi. Saint-Sauveur in Lauro resta d'ailleurs sans façade jusqu'à ces années dernières où les Marquésans résolurent, à la fois, dcompléter leur église et de la restaurer. Ils l'ont fait avec luxe, avec goût, et, on peut ajouter, avec patriotisme. Ainsi les pieux souvenirs des Marches s'y trouvent particulièrement reproduits et honorés. La statue du maître-autelest une imitation de celle de Lorette” (Rome Chrètienne, p. 153)

Furthermore, in the church of S. Maria in Cosmedin there is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto (Rome Chrètienne, c.I p. 166); mention should also be made of the church of St. Mary of Loreto at the Foro Traiano and the adjoining hospital for infirm bakers:

“Sainte- Marie de Lorett fut bâtie de l'an 1507 à l'an 1580, par la confrérie des boulangers. L'architecte, Antoine de San-Gallo,sut tirer un habile parti du peu d'espace que les rues voisines laissaient libres, et fit une gracieuse église, de forme octangulaire et avec double coupole. La façade est décorée de pilastres corinthiens. C'est dans cette église qu'est la célèbre statue de sainte Suzanne par Duquesnoy. On y remarque aussi deux anges d'Étienne Maderne. La fête patronale est la Nativité de la Vierge, jour où la confrérie distribue trente dots à de pauvres filles de boulangers” (Rome Chrètienne, C. I p. 193).

And, lastly, the Rifugio della Lauretana, on Via di San Giovanni in Laterano, established by Leo XII at the initiative of Princess Teresa Orsini Doria Pamphjli: a shelter for women, married, widows or single mothers, poor or without families, disused from the Hospital of St. James. The Shelter was named after the church, attached to the premises, of S. Maria delle Lauretane, which no longer exists (Rome Chrètienne, C. III, p. 193).

After all, Loreto was, and still is, a place of special devotion, the destination of many pilgrimages and a reference point for Christians, both Italian and foreign. It is not surprising, therefore, that, Edmond Lafond (Rome Moderne, c. I, p. 37) when describing Porta del Popolo as an obligatory gateway for those arriving from the north, to indicate two significant places of departure proposes Loreto next to the more universally known Florence.