Convent de St. Benoit pres de Subiaco

Drawing in black pencil, with white lead elevations, mm 305x406, lower left: Couvent de St. Benoit, right Couvent de St. Benoit près de Subiaco.

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.

Preparatory drawing for the lithographic plate Monastère de St. Benoit près de Subiaco (Etats du Pape) included in the final chapter of the volume Rome Moderne, entitled Environs de Rome - Etat Pontifical edited by P. Jeanson; the environs of the Eternal City are decribed by following a circular route that, starting from Ostia, crosses Latium vetus to Circeo, then follows through Cori and the Castelli Romani, crosses the province of Frosinone and the territory formerly inhabited by the Ernici, continues through Sabina, visiting Subiaco, Vicovaro and Tivoli, and finally Etruria (Veio and Viterbo) to return to Rome.

“Subiaco évoque le souvenir de deux hommes bien ditTérents Néron et saint Benoît. Néron possédait en cet endroit une villa d'une grande étendue; avec cet établissement commence l'histoire de Subiaco; histoire bien modeste, du reste, puisqu'elle reste muettejusqu'à l'événement que raconte ainsi le Chronicon Cassinense: « Sanctissimus pater Benedictus, relictis litterarum studiis, clam fugiens ad locum qui Sublacus dicitur, XL ferme ab urbe millibus disparatum devenit. Subiaco est donc le berceau de l'ordre de saint Benoît. Du reste, tout ici se rapporte à cette circonstance et aux traces qu'elle a laissées.La ville est dominée par une espèce de château fort. C'est la résidence officielle de l'abbé du monastère, qui est toujoursun cardinal. A deux milles de la ville, se trouve le couvent de Sainte-Scholastique, un édifice de premierordre. […] C'est dans ce couvent que fut, peut-être, fait usage de l'imprimerie pour la première fois en Italie. En 1465, on y donna la première édition des oeuvres de Lactance. Un mille plus loin, dans un lieu sauvage, parfaitement retracé dans le dessin qui accompagne ces lignes, est un autre établissement de l'ordre de saint Benoît, auquel a été donné le nom de Sacro Speco. Les constructions datent du XIeme siècle; une moitié est souterraine;elles protégent la grotte Speco où s'était retiré et où a vécu saint Benoît” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Moderne, c. V, pp. 15-16).

The last image, which is not for sale, represents the tinted lithograph included in Rome dans sa grandeur. Vues, monument ancient et modernes, and allows us to compare it with the preparatory drawing.