Frascati vue prise de la Ville Aldobrandini

Black pencil drawing, mm 428x290, lower right: Frascati vue prise de la Villa Aldobrandini; lower center: Frascati vel la campagne de Rome vue prese/das terrasses de la Villa Aldobrandini.

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 a lithographic plate in Rome dans sa Grandeur shows a perspective view of Frascati taken from the terrace of Villa Aldobrandini. The drawing is to be related to the chapter Environs de Rome, in the volume Rome Moderne, in which P. Jeanson describes the environs of the Eternal City by following a circular route that, starting from Ostia, crosses the Latium vetus as far as 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, finally Etruria to then return to Rome.

“Nous sommes à Frascati. Au premier abord, nous n'y voyons qu'une certaine ressemblance avec la banlieue de Paris, moins la propreté. Le mérite de cette petite ville n'est cependant pas tout entier dans la sonorité de son nom. Tournez un peu le dos aux maisons et toute la plaine de Rome s'étend sous vos yeux, baignée par cette lumière d'Italie qui ne laisse échapper au regard aucune beauté, aucun des détails qui animent l'ensemble. On habite Frascati l'été pour les promenades ombragées de ses nombreusesvillas, pour son climat qu'influence peu l'énervant scirocco. Quant à l'intérêt artistique, il faut le chercher plus loin, sur les flancs et le sommet de cette montagne qui abrite la ville contre les vents du Midi. C'est sur cette hauteur qu'était établie Tusculum, ville qui nous rappelle deux des plus grands noms de l'histoire. Caton y était né et Cicéron y avait cette résidence où il a écrit les Tusculanes. La ville ancienne se maintint à travers le moyen-âge et sut, pendantcette période obscure, se conserver une bonne place dans l'histoire. Les chroniques voudraient faire de Tusculum une rivale sérieuse de Rome au cours des IXe et Xe siècles” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Moderne, c. V, p. 7).