The sky above Rome
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The sky above Rome

German artists and Italian landscape

“Blue sky, sharp and clear light of Rome” (Raffaele La Capria).
Due to the great interest, the Casa di Goethe is showing its homage to the sky of Rome once again from 8th May to 13th September and is presenting highlights of its collection.

The centrepiece is the painting created around 1785 “View from Monte di Giustizia in the Villa Montalto Negroni in Rome” by the painter from Kassel, Johann August Nahl the Younger. The picture tells of the vast transformations of the city: the hill depicted was removed completely for the construction of the main railway station. The donation from the Ike and Berthold Roland Foundation is a wonderful example for the rendition of the light of Rome that has inspired the artists of this city and their paintings since time immemorial.

The distinctive Roman light also influenced the other depictions of sky and landscapes on exhibit. The museum is presenting a selection of special works from the in-house collection including the large cypresses by Peter Birmann, the views of Tivoli by Jakob Philipp Hackert, the Palatine by Joseph Anton Koch and the Tiber with the Castel S. Angelo by Franz Kaisermann.

Most of the exhibited works originate from Goethe’s friends or contemporaries and vary the theme of real and ideal landscape painting. On exhibit is, for example, the print “Temple of Saturn” by Goethe’s fellow resident on the Corso, Johann Georg Schütz. The painting “View of the Rocca di Sangallo in Civita Castellana”, whose creator Jakob Wilhelm Mechau was only recently identified, provides a further highlight.

The pictures and drawings are accompanied by informative texts which provide an introduction into the theme of landscape painting around 1800. In addition, the artists are presented through their biographies. In this way, the visitor gains an insight into the contributions of the German landscape painters in Rome, the most famous of whom are represented here.