Lot 1081 | Johann Jakob Frey | Rome

FREY, JOHANN JAKOB
1813 Basel - 1865 Frascati

Title: Rome.
The Roman Forum in the evening sun.
Date: 1859.
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Mounting: Relined.
Measurement: 58 x 80cm.
Notation: Signed and dated lower left: "J.J. Frey 1859 / Roma 1859".
Frame: Framed.

Verso:
On the stretcher label with customs declaration.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany;
acquired at Lempertz auction, Cologne, 21st-23rd May 1981, Lot 317;
Collection Dr. Robert Frank and successors, Mexico 1945-81;
Albert Speer Collection.

Rome is as fascinating today as it was 200 years ago. The eventful history of the 'Eternal City' presents itself to visitors at every street corner with a new panorama that opens up a view into the past. The city's buildings have shaped the architecture of Europe and the world for thousands of years. Being aware of the city's significance, it became the destination and highlight of the 'Grand Tour', the obligatory journey of the sons of European nobility, from the Renaissance onwards. By the 19th century at the latest, the wealthy bourgeoisie were also travelling south and were fascinated by the ruins of antiquity that rose in the midst of the bustling life of this metropolis.

The central point of the city, where ancient Roman life was most tangible then and still is today, is the Roman Forum, the centre of political, cultural and religious life during the Roman Empire. It is located at the foot of three of the seven hills on which, according to legend, the city was built. Many of the buildings, monuments and theatres have been preserved - and Johann Jakob Frey spreads them all before us in this atmospheric evening scene: the Palatine Hill, the Temple of Vespasian, the triumphal arches of Septimius Severus and of Titus, the Basilica of Maxentius and, in the background, the Colosseum - all connected by the green of the old market square and bathed in the deep blue of the southern sky.

This combination of precise reproduction of Rome as a universal cultural site and fulfilment of the eternal longing for the south, the light and the life of Italy was the lifelong theme of Swiss painter Johann Jakob Frey. He was a master in this field and was highly regarded by both his contemporaries and today. From the mid-1830s onwards, he lived in Rome and explored the city and its surroundings together with the great painters Johann Anton Koch and Johann Christian Reinhard. He achieved great fame, recognition and appreciation among foreign travellers, the nobility and royal houses from 1845 at the latest, when he returned from a Prussian archaeological expedition to Egypt. The evening atmosphere at the Roman Forum shown here dates from 1859, at the zenith of his success, and displays his full painting perfection.

Until 1945, the painting was owned by Albert Speer, who entrusted his collection of paintings to his friend Robert Frank for safekeeping during the war. Frank took the works to Mexico, from where his descendants consigned the painting by Frey, along with other works, to Lempertz for auction in 1981. After intensive provenance research, there are no indications that this painting was confiscated as a result of persecution.