(Atzgersdorf 1832–1889 Vienna)
Cattle Herder in the Campagna by the “Sedia del Diavolo”, signed, dated and inscribed, A. Romako, Roma 1863, 45.5 x 73.5 cm, framed (Rei)

Provenance:
Anonymous collector’s stamp R. E. W. (Lugt 4269);
Heinrich Fuchs Collection;
Viennese private property.

See litterature:
Cornelia Reiter, Anton Romako (1832-1889) Pionier und Außenseiter der Malerei des 19. Jahrhunderts, Monographie mit Werkverzeichnis, Verlag Bibliothek der Provinz, Belvedere, Wien 2010, p. 125, no. 99 (with erroneously mixed up provenance information)

A controversial figure during his lifetime, this artist’s oeuvre frequently includes the motif of cattle herders in the Campagna and the Sedia del Diavolo, a ruin dating back to the reign of Hadrian, the tomb of Elio Callisto. The present version, however, stands out with the intensity of the drama and its luminosity, embedded in an attractive panorama of the Roman Campagna. Brought up in difficult family circumstances in Vienna, the artist began his studies at the Vienna Academy in 1847. This was followed by a period at the Munich Academy under Wilhelm Kaulbach and the historical painter Carl Rahl. Following disputes with his teacher, Romako moved to Italy, first to Venice and then, from 1857, to Rome. Initially much in demand, the artist disturbed his public with unreal colouring and by juxtaposing contrasting styles of painting. The artist died in Vienna in 1889 both privately and financially a broken man.

We are grateful to Dr. Cornelia Reiter for confirming the authenticity of this work on the basis of the original.