A former student of the École Normale Supérieure (the best French school for literary studies), Dominique Fernandez is a writer, academic, literary critic and a member of the French Academy (L’Académie française). His entire life and career have been influenced by Italy: he wrote a thesis about Pavese, a novel about Pasolini (Dans la main de l’ange – In the Angel’s Hand, for which he was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1982, the highest literary distinction in France), and very recently, a book about the Villa Medici. Dominique Fernandez is a pre-eminent scholar of Italian culture and language, and Rome has a special place in his heart.
Born in Blois, France, in 1962, Fabrice Moireau is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art in Paris. A great lover of architecture and Roman history, he strives in his watercolours, which are always painted in situ, to convey the subtle play of light and the atmosphere of a city or landscape. He has illustrated many publications in the Sketchbook series, including Paris Sketchbook, Rooftops of Paris, Gardens of Paris, Loire Valley Sketchbook, Provence Sketchbook, Venice Sketchbook and New York Sketchbook, also published by Editions Didier Millet.
In Rome there is no guide, only one’s curiosity about places, monuments and sculptures, as unveiled in this collection of watercolours by Fabrice Moireau. According to Dominique Fernandez, “one must leave it to chance and wander aimlessly”, because pleasure “is found where least expected”. With only their quill and brush, the author and illustrator capture the different faces of Rome – Ancient Rome, Imperial Rome, Rome of the Baroque, as well as modern Rome – and invite us to discover the masterpieces of this “eternal city”.
Other titles in this series
Amsterdam Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Hinke Wiggers Bali Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Diana Darling Mauritius Sketchbook: Sophie Ladame and Yvan Martial Gardens of Paris Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jean-Pierre Le Dantec London Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Marcus Binney New York Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jerome Charyn Paris Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Mary A. Kelly Provence Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and John Burdett Thailand Sketchbook: Taveepong Limapornvanich and William Warren Rooftops of Paris: Fabrice Moireau and Carl Norac Loire Valley Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jean-Paul Pigeat Venice Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Stéphane Denis
U.S. $30.00
View the whole series at www.edmbooks.com
Rome Sketch Book _Jkt
Text Black_Eng Ed
EDM
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OK
CN274076 GP11 21.02.11 175#
LCH/B/w M Y
C K
3
DALIM
CN
DVD: CN414
While every effort has been taken to carry out instruction to customers satisfaction NO RESPONSIBILITY liablilty will be accepted for errors CUSTOMERS ARE THEREFORE URGED TO CHECK THOROUGHLY BEFORE AUTHORISING PRINT RUNS
Rome is a palimpsest, a city made of layers of different
linear symbol of Christ’s early disciples. Fellini tells in his film
civilisations piled one on another and intermingled. Put
Roma (the best introduction to the city’s magic) how, when the
simply, one can count seven distinct civilisations, just as there
authorities tried to excavate the tunnels of the underground
are seven hills. Starting with ancient Rome, itself subdivided
railway, frescos hidden since ancient times suddenly appeared
into Republican Rome (the Capitol, the Mamertine Prison, the
from the depths.
Forum, the Giulia Basilica, the Temple of Castor and Pollux,
One could give endless examples of this interconnectedness
the House of the Vestals etc.) and Imperial Rome (the Palatine,
of the centuries, be it unintentional or actively sought, so much
the Pantheon, Hadrian’s Tomb), then on to Christian Rome
more convincing when it is unintentional than when it is willed.
(early and Romanesque churches), then Renaissance Rome
Thus, Mussolini, as is known, never let up in his efforts to
(St Peter’s, the paintings in the Vatican, the Villa Medici) and
restore its ancient “grandeur” to the city, constructing buildings
then to the Rome of the Baroque (the Piazza Navona, Bernini,
of questionable majesty and committing the crime of driving
Borromini) and on to Fascist Rome (EUR) and finally on to
the pompously named avenue, Via dell’Impero, from the Piazza
modern Rome (Fellini, Pasolini). These seven Romes can only
Venezia to the Colosseum between Trajan’s Forum and the
be seen as an ensemble after several visits, certainly not the first
Roman Forum, separating them, and thus disfiguring, thanks to
time, and even then much depends on one’s age, experience and
its sheer monumentality, one of Rome’s finest and most evocative
tastes. When I say “then” and “on to” it’s only for chronological
townscapes. Not everything is deplorable in Mussolini’s taste,
convenience as there’s no real time sequencing in Rome. Each
however, and although one will be frowned on for saying so, the
century is the contemporary of all the other centuries, before
stadium built for the 1932 Olympics is decorated with statues
and after, because, uniquely, the eras refuse to stay separate,
of naked athletes whose beauty would in no way disgrace a
classified and compartmentalised.
museum of antiquities.
Found in the Catacombs of San Sebastiano is the famous
The first time I went to Rome, as a classics student, I only had
graffiti of the fish and the IKTHUS acrostic (the Greek word for
eyes for ancient Rome, known to the world as Urbs. I strode
fish and the Greek initials for “Jesus Christ Son of God”), the
through the forums, identified temples, picked out basilicas,
secret sign of the first Christians – but also in the basilica of
climbed the Palatine hill, clambered up the terraces of the
the same name, built in the same catacombs, is an insolently
Colosseum, walked the Appian Way, whose cobblestones had
baroque statue, Antonio Giorgetti’s St Sebastian, a naked,
survived intact since the time of Cicero and I sat before the tomb
curly-haired young man, leaning back, whose swooning pose
of Cecilia Metella in a drunken orgy of classical culture that
evokes ideas that are quite different from those of the severe
blinded me to the city’s other epochs.
Alexander VII give an idea of the pomp Bernini loved to display and the means at his disposal. Such gigantism was, happily, but one route, albeit extreme, explored by Bernini’s genius. He knew, too, how to distance himself from ostentation and pomp. There is nothing more graceful than the angels sculpted for the Ponte Sant’Angelo or more sensual than the two saints carved in ecstasy, Santa Theresa and the happy Ludovica Albertoni, in Santa Maria della Vittoria and San Francesco a Ripa respectively. Seeing these mouths twisted by celestial visions, this ferment of rumpled cloth, this overflow of emotion, more pagan than Christian, this rampant eroticism, it must be said that Bernini did well to be the official papal artist. He remained enough of The case of Bernini is quite different. He too is omnipresent in Rome, but he was protected, financed and feted by popes.
an Italian to keep his freedom and the impudence of a style utterly at loggerheads with biblical precept.
In the 17 century he was instrumental in changing the look
The various fountains, already mentioned, of the rivers,
of the city. He led a long and glorious life, the opposite of the
the Triton and the bees have left their mark on Rome forever
violent and half-secret life of Caravaggio. And since his works
through their fantasy and their humour – take for example
are those of an architect, a decorator and a sculptor, they are
the elephant placed by Bernini as a pedestal to the obelisk in
more immediately visible than those of a painter and are a real
the Piazza della Minerva, a crazy but enchanting invention.
part of Rome’s townscape.
In the façade of the Palazzo Montecitorio, which serves today
th
Let us start with St Peter’s and the famous colonnade raised
as Italy’s Parliament, great blocks of unhewn stone have been
in front of the basilica and running around the square, an
inserted, which is yet another typically baroque innovation by
immense Doric portico divided into two semicircles of four
Bernini – this manner of integrating nature with architecture,
rows of columns, which form three galleries. He had to evoke
as if the latter were an extension of the former, a notion that
the universality of the Church and its desire to open its arms
would have horrified Michelangelo.
to the whole world. Inside the basilica is the no less renowned
The Bernini tour ends in the Borghese Gallery where his four
canopy, made with bronze taken from the Pantheon, St Peter’s
masterpieces of sculpture are exhibited. It is not for us to analyse
pulpit built at the end of the apse in a glory of clouds, sunbeams
them here but simply to underline how they sum up what makes
and angels. And finally the spectacular tombs of Urban VIII and
for the originality of Rome. In The Rape of Proserpine, Pluto’s
hand digging into the victim’s thigh shows the same greedy
wander aimlessly, without fear of missing out the conventional
sensuality to be seen in the faces of the youths that wander
sights. Pleasure is found where least expected: in a secret corner
the Pincio gardens or stroll the long avenue of the Corso. As
between two shady lanes; under an umbrella pine sprung from
for his David, it allows us to define clearly in which way the
between two paving stones, by railings behind which lies a hint
spirit of Rome differs from the spirit of Florence. In Florence,
of mystery, in the darkness of a chapel where a candle-end
of course, Michelangelo raised his monumental, haughty and
flickers, before a stele that evokes a far distant past.
timeless David, standing firm, ready to defy the powers of evil,
What is more poetic, for example than the Aventine Hill,
an allegory of strength and courage. Bernini’s David, shown
where few visitors venture, for there is no famous monument to
twisting his body in vigorous movement, an unsettled hero,
be found there? It is a silent, secluded neighbourhood of villas,
tense and anxious, is nothing like that. To Florence, pure and
monasteries and gardens. One feels very far from that other
confident of its rights, is opposed a doubtful self-questioning
hectic, clamorous Rome on these roads resembling country
Rome. This is what modifies our impression of a city subjected
lanes, bordered by walls abundantly overhung with olive trees,
to the authority of the Papacy and dominated by its power. It is
cypresses and pines. In Santa Sabina, a vast 5th-century basilica,
true that the popes put vine leaves on ancient statues, bronze
one can savour another well-ordered assortment since the tall
loincloths on the too-daring statues of Renaissance artists and
Corinthian columns come from a pagan temple.
there was even one who put underpants all over Michelangelo’s
Another unexpected pleasure to be found in Rome is the non-
Last Judgement – but it’s precisely this authoritarian mania to
Catholic cemetery where some Englishmen are buried, including
control that encouraged artists to rebel, to assess just how
Keats and Shelley, and Goethe’s son, some orthodox Greeks
far their creative freedom would stretch. Pluto’s hand on
and Russians and communists such as Antonio Gramsci. It’s
Proserpine’s flesh, the bare thigh and swaying pose of the
a delightful garden, itself a witness to the fabulous patchwork
angel with a scroll on the Ponte Sant’Angelo, the emotional
that is Rome. On the left stands the white marble tomb, in
turmoil of Ludovica Albertoni, the fevered amorousness of
the form of a pyramid, that Caius Cestius, a distinguished
Santa Theresa: these are all attacks against orthodoxy, all
citizen of Augustus’s Empire, had built for himself, at a time
good reasons to love Rome (Roma, anagram of Amor.)
when Egypt was the height of fashion; and on the right, an
The best advice is to read nothing about this city before
absolutely magical place, the Testaccio, a mound made from
gathering one’s own impressions. From Montaigne to Goethe,
piles of broken, ancient amphorae, a rendez-vous today for
Chateaubriand to Stendhal, Michelet to Zola, Taine to Henry
boys grazing horses and hoodlums that seem to have escaped
James – so many magnificent and interesting words, so many
from a Pasolini film: yet again, a crossroads where different
obstacles between Rome and the personal vision that each one
cultures meet, a space where the most distant past merges with
of us should have of the city. One must leave it to chance and
the most immediate present.
A former student of the École Normale Supérieure (the best French school for literary studies), Dominique Fernandez is a writer, academic, literary critic and a member of the French Academy (L’Académie française). His entire life and career have been influenced by Italy: he wrote a thesis about Pavese, a novel about Pasolini (Dans la main de l’ange – In the Angel’s Hand, for which he was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1982, the highest literary distinction in France), and very recently, a book about the Villa Medici. Dominique Fernandez is a pre-eminent scholar of Italian culture and language, and Rome has a special place in his heart.
Born in Blois, France, in 1962, Fabrice Moireau is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art in Paris. A great lover of architecture and Roman history, he strives in his watercolours, which are always painted in situ, to convey the subtle play of light and the atmosphere of a city or landscape. He has illustrated many publications in the Sketchbook series, including Paris Sketchbook, Rooftops of Paris, Gardens of Paris, Loire Valley Sketchbook, Provence Sketchbook, Venice Sketchbook and New York Sketchbook, also published by Editions Didier Millet.
In Rome there is no guide, only one’s curiosity about places, monuments and sculptures, as unveiled in this collection of watercolours by Fabrice Moireau. According to Dominique Fernandez, “one must leave it to chance and wander aimlessly”, because pleasure “is found where least expected”. With only their quill and brush, the author and illustrator capture the different faces of Rome – Ancient Rome, Imperial Rome, Rome of the Baroque, as well as modern Rome – and invite us to discover the masterpieces of this “eternal city”.
Other titles in this series
Amsterdam Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Hinke Wiggers Bali Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Diana Darling Mauritius Sketchbook: Sophie Ladame and Yvan Martial Gardens of Paris Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jean-Pierre Le Dantec London Sketchbook: Graham Byfield and Marcus Binney New York Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jerome Charyn Paris Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Mary A. Kelly Provence Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and John Burdett Thailand Sketchbook: Taveepong Limapornvanich and William Warren Rooftops of Paris: Fabrice Moireau and Carl Norac Loire Valley Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Jean-Paul Pigeat Venice Sketchbook: Fabrice Moireau and Stéphane Denis
U.S. $30.00
View the whole series at www.edmbooks.com
Rome Sketch Book _Jkt
Text Black_Eng Ed
EDM
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OK
CN274076 GP11 21.02.11 175#
LCH/B/w M Y
C K
3
DALIM
CN
DVD: CN414
While every effort has been taken to carry out instruction to customers satisfaction NO RESPONSIBILITY liablilty will be accepted for errors CUSTOMERS ARE THEREFORE URGED TO CHECK THOROUGHLY BEFORE AUTHORISING PRINT RUNS