Civitella and Ariccia (Ludwig Richter)
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| Civitella (The Evening) |
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| Ludwig Richter , 1827/28 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 59.5 × 77.5 cm |
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New Masters Gallery in the Albertinum State Art Collections Dresden |
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| Ariccia (The Morning) |
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| Ludwig Richter , 1828 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 59.5 × 77.5 cm |
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New Masters Gallery in the Albertinum State Art Collections Dresden |
The pair of paintings Civitella (The Evening) and Ariccia (The Morning) by the German painter and graphic artist Ludwig Richter is in the Neue Meister gallery in Dresden.
The paintings were created in the years 1827/28 on behalf of the art historian and patron Johann Gottlob von Quandt , who ordered two medium-sized Italian landscapes . The assignment was very welcome for Ludwig Richter, as it secured him an initial income after his return to Germany, with which he could finally marry his wife Auguste. He painted these pictures from his memory of Italy, and he included his wife in the painting Civitella .
Image references from the painter's memory
“I had been plagued by chest pain and a persistent cough throughout the winter, and my appearance was becoming increasingly morbid; Nevertheless, I did not dare to ask any of the Roman doctors, because we Germans did not particularly trust them. I let the matter go and hoped the quiet stay in Civitella would put everything back in order. "
In June 1825, Ludwig Richter decided to go to the Italian mountain town of Civitella (today: Bellegra ) together with his friend Ludwig von Maydell in order to collect studies in peace. The artist said in his memoirs:
“The German painters, the only foreigners who came to the area at that time, rarely climbed up to the town because below it they could have the most splendid view of the mountains and knew that there were no sights or attractions up there gave physical refreshment after the arduous climb; for Civitella did not have an osteria, for the simple reason that an innkeeper would have no guests, and again for the reason that the natives could not serve bajocchi . We were both the first strangers to take up residence here for a long time, and through our billeting at Don Vincenzo we became the discoverers and founders of a foreigner asylum, which was later used by artists and travelers in many ways.
The small village with its little church covers a narrow rocky ridge that drops vertically to the north and descends southwards towards Olevano, now more, now less steeply, until the barren limestone disappears into the green forest floor.
The poverty of the residents looks out of every front door, out of every empty window opening. The people were poor, very poor, but not depraved; their needs were few and they knew how to reach for the blanket; at the same time they were good-natured and extremely cheerful. . .
. . . The view from my window was incomparable. The whole great mountain range was overlooked far away. The bare rocky ridge, on which the mountain descends steeply from the gate, the dark green chestnut and oak forests in the depths, the narrow paths that stretched like light threads over the hills, here disappearing into groups of trees, there on the next mountain slope again to the Apparently, all this offered a magical sight, especially in the evening, when the shadows lay over the depths and the mountains shone in a red gold tone ... .
. . . . Every day I went down the steep rocky path with my portfolio and drew in the valleys and gorges near the quiet monastery of San Francesco or in the forest paths to Rocca Santo Stefano, and during the day I sat in deep solitude at work. When I returned home towards evening, we made the only possible walk together to the southern gate, where the rock ridge forms a small area from which the most splendid view of the mountains and the distant sea opens up. Here, in front of the little picture of Our Lady in a screen, the compatriots returning home from work in their Vignen perform their evening prayers, and colorful groups of men, women, big and small children with their goats and pigs gave us painters wonderful motifs.
Not far from this plateau, on a substructure of Cyclops walls, stood a simple funeral chapel with a view of the wild, rugged gorges of Monte Serone; a steep rocky path leads down the ancient wall blocks to a spring whose sparse flowing water had to supply the whole village. Every evening one saw women and girls there, with the stuffed copper conca on their heads, in the well-known, graceful and noble posture, rising out of the shady depths. We preferred to linger at this chapel towards sunset, and when the charming distant mountains of the Volkersberg and the seashore lay before us in the most wonderful splendor and evening shimmer, those verses of Dante came to mind:'The day went down, and the tan of the ether
called the creatures that are there on earth,
From their toil'etc.
Inferno2nd song. "
Web links
- Civitella (The Evening) in the Online Collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
- Ariccia (Der Morgen) in the Online Collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden