RKD STUDIES

5.1 Introduction

... ows how Koelman found his way in Rome in the area of tension between his Dutch origins and Italian and cosmopolitan perspectives, and how this was valued by his (Dutch) contemporaries. In this mirror game of intercultural imagery, art, politics and society appear to be inextricably connected....

7.2 Belgian artists and Italy, a brief state of the art

... , the importance of the young Italian nation in matters of modern art was waning. From a foreign perspective, the country was increasingly associated with academic practice and the official Prix de Rome. In the 1890s a group of young Belgian artists turned against this trend and praised Italy’s glorious past, which inspired them to make new idealist paintings. Furthermore, at the same time, during the so-called era giolittiana, the Italian government started an exhibition campaign in line with the period’s nationalistic tendencies [2]. In these events, starting from the first edition of the Venice Biennale in 1895, Belgian artists and organizers would have an important part [3].5 ...

6.5 The Roman School of Photography

... ention: to complement his sketching and painting with the camera.It is against this background that Kleyn’s Roman years must be understood. There is no proof that he worked directly with the leading members of the Roman School, but his notes and correspondence make frequent mention of them. Caneva appears regularly, as does the bookseller Joseph Spithöver (1813-1892), one of the main dealers in photographs. Spithöver’s shop on the Piazza di Spagna sold views of ruins, monuments [13], and artworks [14], often in the form of cartes de visite.33 These photographs became popular souvenirs for the many tourists in Rome and gradually replaced the sixteenth-century prints that had long filled that role. Photography, in short, was everywhere in the city.Kleyn’s awareness of these figures, together with the fact that he had letters delivered to the Caffè Greco, suggests that he was well aware of this photographic milieu, even if he did not stand at its centre. For him, the Roman School was less important for its technical innovations than for its atmosphere of openness. The free exchange of knowledge that Thomas described meant that even painters with no ambition to become photographers could learn and experiment. Kleyn, trained as a history painter, clearly absorbed this spirit. His later lists of “places for photography” and his surviving negatives of sitters in Roman gardens echo the ethos of the Roman School: a readiness to test the camera as an artistic tool alongside the traditional practice of sketching and painting....

6.4 Royal Patron in Rome

... hed in 1878, the volume listed thirty-five paintings and five sculptures, each accompanied by detailed descriptions and twenty photographic plates of key works [9], along with a view of the museum’s interior [10]. These photographs, attributed to Kleyn, represent an early and systematic use of photography in a museological context. They served a double purpose: they documented Marianne’s collection, and they helped to publicise her museum among a wider audience.Some of the photographs even found a second life as postcards, sold to visitors at Reinhartshausen. In this way the collection reached far beyond the castle walls, circulating both as a museum display and as a souvenir. These photographs were not exercises in study, as Kleyn’s earlier copies in Florence had been, but instruments with a clear purpose: to record, to promote and, in part, to commercialise the collection. They reflect a broader nineteenth-century development in which photography extended the reach of art and made it accessible to wider audiences....

6.3 In Rome

... his career.18Photographs taken in his Roman studio provide a visual echo of this moment in his career, capturing the spaces where these commissions were made. Attributed to Giorgio Sommer (1834-1914) and Edmondo Behles (1841-1924), these images show Kleyn’s studio from different angles. One photograph [4] depicts a large studio with a high ceiling in which Kleyn stands at the left, posing with a model; a second man is also present, possibly Stöver or Philippeau. Another shot [5] leaves out the people but reveals the walls lined with paintings of Italiennes, a popular genre among foreign buyers.19 A third photograph [6] of the studio makes it possible to roughly date these photographs – assuming that the four of them were taken at the same time. The Portrait of Princess Marianne appears on one of the negatives. Kleyn completed this commission for the princess in 1863.20 There is also a study for his painting Hagar Grieving in the Wilderness beside the Dying Ishmael [7]. This work is dated to 1862 and was likewise commissioned by the princess. The photographs thus served a double purpose. They documented the works in Kleyn’s studio, but they also functioned as a form of promotion, showing his paintings, his working space, and the commissions he had secured. In doing so they illustrate how photography and painting could complement one another in Rome at the time....

3.5 Mastering the social circles

... ation.Some examples may suffice to illustrate this. Both Victor Schnetz (1787-1870), an old study companion of the studio of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), and the Belgian landscape painter Martin Verstappen (1773-1852), also a former study companion of Navez, received his letters via his pupils [21-22]. Verstappen, also known as ‘Bon Papa’ by the students, expressed his pleasure upon receiving one of these letters.'On the very day your [Navez] letter arrived, we had the pleasure of delivering to Mr. Verstappen [Martin Verstappen (1773-1852)] the one you had addressed to him, together with our own, as per your request. He is now most comfortably settled, residing in a small villa from which he enjoys some of the finest views over the Roman countryside. I thank you once again for the letter that enabled us to make the acquaintance of this most obliging man.'35'I [Verstappen] received another letter through your three students, who are in excellent health and make good use of their time discovering everything of interest in this capital. Mr. Van Brée assured me that Mr. Van Eycken will become one of the foremost artists. It is a pity that their stay in Rome will not be of long duration.'36The importance of the figures of Schnetz and Verstappen in the students' daily lives is evident when Navez introduces other students like Charles Coumont (1822-1889) and Joseph Stallaert (1825-1903) to them in anticipation of their arrival in Rome, thus ensuring his pupils would be welcomed in a familiar environment.37 Every Sunday evening, Schnetz, in his capacity of director of the French Academy in Rome (1841-1846 and again from 1853-1866), would welcome the students in gatherings with other artists. Their participation in such meetings provided an ideal opportunity for the students' to boost their confidence and expand their artistic network....

2.2 The ‘Belgians’ in Rome

... , a neoclassical sculptor, was born in Maastricht but worked mainly in Rome. Soon after his arrival in Rome in 1818, he managed to draw the attention of Canova by taking part in a competition organised by the latter, and by winning it with the contribution of a sculpture of Saint Sebastian.60 Moreover, he started working in the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, a collaboration that would last for four years.61 The Dane’s reputation was widespread at that time. While Kessels assisted him in the workshop, Thorvaldsen added several sculptures to his portfolio, which would only reinforce his fame. Cupid and the Graces and the Dying Lion (also known as The Lucerne Lion) were created in 1819, Hebe took shape between 1819 and 1823 and Mercury About to Kill Argus was modelled in 1822.62...

... 4 The young Eugène Simonis (1810–1882), another Liège-born artist who received a Darchis grant, also became an apprentice of Kessels as soon as he reached Rome in 1830. Additionally, Simonis attended the drawing sessions organised by the Scuola del Nudo of the Accademia di San Luca, and from the autumn of 1834 onwards, he joined the ones held at the Villa Medici.65 This was a privilege that he shared with his compatriots Jean-Antoine Verschaeren (1803-1863), Antoine Wiertz (1806-1865) and Gustave De Man (1805-1887).66 ...

... Cupid with a Butterfly, and had been a student and close associate of Canova in his younger days.68 A cursory examination suffices to convince the observer that Simonis’ Girl with a Skipping Rope (1838–1839) [9], for instance, is a tribute to Finelli’s The Three Graces (1824) also known as Three Dancing Horae (hours) [10]....

4.3 Beyond the national circle

... d a part. Whereas Portaels, who was from Vilvoorde near Brussels, spoke Flemish (what he himself called the ‘patois flamand’), Robert only spoke French. Compared to French-speaking Belgian artists in Rome, it was much easier and ‘natural’ for their Flemish counterparts to establish and maintain strong bonds with their Dutch confrères. An example of that is for instance the poem published in 1840 by the Antwerp sculptor and winner of the Prix de Rome Jozef Geefs (1808-1885), entitled Aan de Hoog- en Nederduitsche Kunstvrienden te Roma (to the High- and Low-Dutch art fiends in Rome). One of the verses testifies how sweet it was, when arriving in Rome as a stranger, to be greeted in Flemish (‘Zich 't hooren in het Vlaemsch begroeten’). Although in this specific case, Geefs’ words might have had political connotations as well,31 generally speaking we can say connections between Belgians and Dutch in Rome were indeed important, and probably more so between Flemish/Dutch-speaking artists.32 The publication at issue here is a good starting point for further research to explore these relationships in more depth....

3.3 Step-by-step Guide for Using the Database Tool for Individual Research Projects

... ication with Django will find extensive resources beyond the project documentation. The official Django documentation offers a comprehensive guide, and numerous online tutorials provide step-by-step introductions to the framework. Combined with the DttG repository as a working example, these resources can help researchers with limited programming experience begin experimenting with their own adaptations. It is worth noting that the DttG codebase was developed by a technical art historian (Paul van Laar) who had only limited experience with Python at the outset, and learned the necessary skills over the course of two months using freely available tutorials and the Django documentation. This points to the relative accessibility of the framework and the speed with which it can yield working results....