Commissioned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand
BRIOSCHI, Othmar; Christian HÜLSEN (introduction). Villa d’Este in Tivoli … Die Originalzeichnungen befinden sich im Besitz Sr. K.u.K. Hoheit des Erzherzogs Franz Ferdinand. Rome: [Buchdruckerei des Senats (Forzani & Co.)]. 1899.
Folio. Original vellum portfolio boards signed by C. Glingler, Rome, upper board lettered in red, six vellum ties with vellum tassels, patterned paper pastedowns; pp. [4], with 17 collotype prints after drawings by Othmar Brioschi mounted on blue card; boards lightly soiled, ties stiffened; internally very clean; a very good copy.
First edition, very rare, of this portfolio reproducing Othmar Brioschi’s seventeen drawings of Tivoli, originally commissioned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the last private owner of the Villa d’Este.
Born into an Austrian family of theatre painters of Italian origin, Othmar Brioschi (1854–1912) settled permanently in Rome after winning the Grand Austrian State Prize in 1882. Working within the city’s German-speaking artistic community, he became known for his atmospheric landscapes characterised by subtle effects of light, mood, and perspective. His 1898 commission from Archduke Franz Ferdinand for a cycle of seventeen views of the sixteenth-century Villa d’Este at Tivoli established him as the leading Austrian landscape painter active in Italy.
In 1905 he was appointed professor at the Accademia di San Luca. Commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este (1509–1572), the Villa d’Este passed into Habsburg ownership in 1796. After a prolonged period of neglect, it was restored to its former glory by Cardinal Gustav von Hohenlohe (1823–1896), who transformed it into a hub for German artists, musicians, and writers in Italy. Among its most celebrated visitors was Franz Liszt (1811–1886), who drew inspiration there for his works Aux cyprès de la Villa d’Este and Les jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este. Franz Ferdinand was the last private owner of the villa before it passed to the Italian State after the First World War. The portfolio is introduced by an essay on the history of the Villa d’Este by the German classical archaeologist and epigrapher Christian Hülsen (1858–1935).
Outside continental Europe, OCLC finds two copies in the US (Berkeley and Emory). Not on Library Hub.
SKU: 2125740