Martinus Rørbye (b. Drammen 1803, d. Copenhagen 1848)
Purchased by the Danish National Gallery of Art in November 2018.
“Parti af torvet i Amalfi”. View of the square in Amalfi. Unsigned. Dated Amalfi 1835. Oil on paper laid on canvas. 44×63 cm.
Kursiv: Thorvaldsens Museum, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Martinus Rørbye no. 120.
Exhibited: Charlottenborg 1838 no. 58. Kunstforeningen, “Fortegnelse over M. Rørbyes arbejder”, 1905 no. 222. Charlottenborg, “Udstilling af dansk Kunst fra Italien”, 1909 no. 320. Thorvaldsens Museum, “Martinus Rørbye 1803–1848”, 1981 no. 77. Mentioned and reproduced p. 115.
During Rørbye's Grand Tour from 1834 to 1837, he travelled to both Italy, Greece and Turkey, and on 31 July 1835, he arrived in the town of Amalfi. On 18 August, he commences the present study and finishes it on 31 August. He paints under the open sky, sitting in front of the motif on the square. In his travel journal, he vividly describes all the funny incidents and shenanigans that were part of sitting and painting out in the open air surrounded by Amalfi's curious citizens:
18 August: Today, I began painting my study at the square, which will be a hard nut to crack, but I'm remaining calm since I have hired André, the cicerone’s son, and he keeps the boys and other gawkers at bay. It is incredible how one can treat the Neapolitans. I'm almost sitting like a king here.
19 August: I painted again this the morning at the square. The piece will, as I see it, take a while if it's going to be done right. Nor is it possible for my little police officer to keep everyone at a distance. The local notabilities are just as big layabouts as the rest of the townspeople and are keen to see the work progress since they are certainly not stingy with their praise.
20 August: When I painted at the square today, I did not have André to keep the peace, since he had to show some strangers around. Sian, the woman at whose boutique I am sitting, took André’s place with her son the tailor, but the peace was not kept as well today.
21 August: I have a thousand distractions to contend with while I’m painting in the morning at the square. It happens sometimes, for instance, that the boys will not listen, when André asks them to leave, and then Sian immediately comes with a big stick and the tailor with his scissors to help André drive everyone to flight. I am under their special protection and am praised immensely to their acquaintances.
22 August: Judging by my spectator's praise, I think my work during the mornings fairs well. What especially arouses their astonishment is that you can see the prisoners behind the bars in the jail and the Aqua Fresca boutique. This is clearly to their liking. Otherwise, the work certainly keeps me occupied.
23 August: It has been a very fun day: first, I drew figures for my painting at the square surrounded by an enormous crowd whose astonishment over my ability to draw so many people so quickly peaked even further.
24 August: People are almost impossible to keep away in the morning while I paint. I should probably see it as a sign of flattery, as they tell me that no one has yet depicted it so beautifully. I hear St. Andreas and the Boutique with Aqua Fresca mentioned a thousand times.
25 August: Today, it did not go well with the ‘police’, since Mother Sian and the tailor were in Salerno to buy salt. Her remedy from yesterday, where she kept people from sitting beside me on the beams by chasing them away with a broom, could therefore not be used today.
27 August: While the weather was far from good, I painted at the square this morning to finish my study as soon as possible, since I am almost broke, and Bindesbøll, of whom I have borrowed money, is now in Pompeii.
28 August: The weather was bad, I painted a little in the morning, albeit more and more bothered by people, but they are all incredibly polite. Take for instance the pharmacist, today he had his booth closed when I was all set to paint it. I sent André to fetch him, and he immediately opened it.
(29 and 30 August: Martinus Rørbye was ill and did not paint on the work).
31 August: Today, I finally finished my study of the square. I am also not sure whether I had been able to handle the overcrowded atmosphere much longer, and since I do not now have the opportunity to commence a new work, with letters waiting for me in Naples, I prefer to leave for this destination in haste. (The painter Martinus Rørbye’s travel journals 1834–1837, transcript of the original manuscript by Georg Nygaard).
Literature: Kunstbladet, Kunstforeningen, December 1837 no. 24 and February 1838 no. 1.
In 1837, Rørbye has just returned to Copenhagen after his Grand Tour. He has brought home a lot of studies, drawings, sketches, etc. from all the places he has been and several of these are immediately exhibited upon his return and several works are enthusiastically reviewed in Kunstforeningen’s magazine Kunstbladet.
About this painting Kunstbladet among other things writes: “The perspective is excellent and allows the church with its large staircase to take a grand step into the background. The, to the viewer, more closely situated houses with their boutiques and a building facade with the title “VILREFII” [Viva Il Re Ferdinando Secondo (Long Live King Ferdinand II - King of the Two Sicilies 1830–59] are very picturesque, and the simple eateries on the street with the surrounding customers are reproduced naturally and truthfully. Around the great fountain [with a sculpture of Andreas], the wives are gathered to fill jars and bowls with cold water. The carelessly placed tomatoes, apples, pumpkins, melons, etc. in the foreground, verify that you are witnessing a land of plenty. The powerful, blue sky and the strong sunshine are exquisitely reproduced, one almost feels the warmth of the South. However, if we allow ourselves to add one comment to this painting it would be that a couple of the figures placed as vivid décor seem to be a bit too long.” (Kunstbladet, February 1838, No. 1, p. 3).
Knud Voss, “Guldalderens Malerkunst. Dansk Arkitekturmaleri 100–1850”, Cph. 1968, mentioned pp. 186–188 and reproduced p. 187.
“Among the results of this trip in Southern Italy belongs an immensely beautiful architectural painting, depicting the square of Amalfi [...] The main feature of the painting is the medieval church of San Andrea with its 60 steps up to the entrance hall. Despite large differences in style, from the Medieval-Norman style of the bottom to the Baroque style above, the facade of the building appears as a solid whole through the red-yellow clay colour used in both sections. To the left is the Campanile, which according to our Baedeker [popular guidebook] dates from 1276.... (se dansk tekst)” (p. 186).
Provenance: The estate auction of Martinus Rørbye's widow (Rose Frederikke Schiøtt 1810–1859), 1860 no. 3. Here purchased by tax collector Lund. Bruun Rasmussen auction 86, 1957 no. 133, reproduced p. 86, sold for 7100DKK. Here purchased by the present owner's family, and it has therefore not been on the market since.
Condition report on request. Contact fine-art@bruun-rasmussen.dk
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.
Paintings, 27 November 2018