Fontaine Pauline

Drawing in black pencil, with white lead, mm 452x290. Bottom right bears the inscription Fontaine Pauline.

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 study for the plate Fontaine Pauline sur le Mont Janicule included in the third volume of the work - Rome Moderne.

Designed and built to mark the terminus of the Trajan Aqueduct, between 1610 and 1614, by architects Giovanni Fontana (1540-1614) and Flaminio Ponzio (1560-1613) and Ippolito Buzio (1562-1634), sculptor, the fountain was commonly known as the Janiculum Fountain because it dominates the large terrace there that overlooks the city.  It was commissioned by Pope Paul V of the Borghese family and it is their emblems – dragons and eagles – that can be seen in several places around the fountain itself. It comprises five archways flanked by columns and topped with a large pediment complete with dedicatory inscription.

White and multi-coloured marble stripped from the Roman Forum and the Temple of Minerva in the Forum of Nerva was used for the decorative elements of the fountains, whilst its red and grey columns used to be part of the St. Peter’s Basilica dating to the Constantine era.

Towards the end of the 17th century, the architect Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) altered the fountain’s facade into what it is today and a monumental semi-circular marble basin was added, substituting the five original basins located between the arches.

The Janiculum at the end of the nineteenth century presented itself as a rather isolated hill, to the point that Ernest de Toytot - curator of the chapter - considered the architecture of this fountain inutile (useless) because it was in an isolated location. However, this uselessness is considered a distinctive and peculiar element of Rome that contributes to its beauty:

“La fontaine Pauline, qui alimente Saint-Pierre et le Vatican, est située sur le Janicule, tout isolée dans un désert. On est en admiration devant la noble architecture de cette fontaine, l'énorme volume de ses eaux, le vaste bassin de marbre qui les reçoit, les six colonnes en granit oriental qui supportent l'attique; et tonte cette magnificence est inutile, dans ce sens que ce monument est perdu là dans son isolement, sur cette colline solitaire. Mais, selon nous, c'est une des grandeurs de Rome que ces inutilités et ces prodigalités monumentales. L'eau Paoline arrive à Rome du lac de Bracciano, après trente-cinq milles de route. Auguste et 'frajan la firent venir. Le pape Paul V (Borghèse) rétablit cet aqueduc, et les matériaux furent fournis par le Forum de Nerva. Monuments sur monuments, telle est toujours l'histoire de Rome” (Rome dans sa Grandeur, Rome Moderne, c. I, p. 59).

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.