Claustre de la Chartreuse des Thermes

Black pencil drawing, mm 467x305, lower right Cloitre de la Chartreuse des Thermes.

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.

Drawing not translated into lithograph; shows the cloister of the Charterhouse of Santa Maria degli Angeli, also known as the Michelangelo Cloister, who designed it. As is recorded by the date inscribed on the first corner pillar, the construction of the cloister, probably based on designs by Michelangelo, began in 1565, one year after the death of the artist. However, the upper floor was only completed in 1676.

In a bull of 27 July 1561, Pope Pius IV ordered the transformation of the Baths of Diocletian into the Church and Charterhouse of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The work was entrusted to Michelangelo, then 86 years old, who completed the Church, and probably suggested the general layout of the Charterhouse and the design of the large cloister. The construction was interrupted several times because of shortages of funds and continued throughout the 17th century and beyond. The Charterhouse was designed in accordance with monastic rules, and contained an area intended for communal living, with the small cloister, refectory and chapterhouse, and an area for seclusion, with the monks’ cells around the large cloister and with the central section left green.

We would like to emphasize that it was in the Charterhouse of Santa Maria degli Angeli, on February 17, 1870, during L'Esposizione romana delle opere d'ogni arte eseguite per il culto cattolico, that the three folio volumes of Rome dans sa grandeur were presented.

“Le cloître des religieux, ce cloître ample et somptueux, comme disait Piazza, est, ainsi que l'église, une des dernières oeuvres de Michel-Ange. Il forme un quadri-portique soutenu par cent colonnes de travertin. Les cellules des Pères s'ouvrent toutes sur ce cloître; mais, au lieu des pieuses figures de Le Sueur, comme dans la Chartreuse de Paris, ce que l'on remarque ici, ce sont les feuillets détachés d'un vieux livre qui sont peints sur les portes. Le moindre souffle devrait, ce semble, les faire envoler, tant l'illusion est complète; mais un clou, un pain à cacheter les retiennent. N'est—ce là qu'un jeu du pinceau ou plutôt ne faut—il pas y voir ces feuilles de notre vie, toutes pleines de nos oeuvres, que le moindre souffle menace et emportera, un jour ou l'autre, jusque dans l'éternité?” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Chrétienne, c. I, p. 149).