Stefano Donadoni (Somasca, 1844 – Roma, 1911)

Stefano Donadoni (Somasca, BG, 1844 - Rome, 1911)

View of the Capitol from the Forum

Watercolor on paper, cm 27 x 38

With frame, cm 53 x 64

Signed in the lower right

Stefano Donadoni was born in Somasca, a hamlet of Vercurago, in the province of Bergamo, in October 1844 to Giovanni, owner of a paper mill, and Isabella Trezzi. His artistic training took place in Bergamo at the school of Andrea Marenzi, a painter who was an academy follower of Ronzoni. Donadoni’s participation - with some success - to the National Exhibition of fine arts in Milan 1881 with three paintings: Bergamo ancient, Il capraro and Il palazzo della Ragione  (the location of these works is not known, but according to chroniclers of the time they were all characterized by a great realism; cf. catal., Milan 1881, p. 63). With his wife Angelica Colli and their children Alessandro and Elisabetta, Donadoni moved to Rome around 1882. The artist participated in the Roman exhibition of fine arts of 1883 with three paintings that still had glimpses of his homeland: the Church of S. Salvatore, the Church of S. Maria Maggiore and the Chapel of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Bergamo (cf. catal., Rome 1883, pp. 43, 76). The majority of the works belonging to the vast production of Donadoni are kept in Rome at the Municipal Cabinet of Prints of Palazzo Braschi and at the National Institute for Graphics. In the first of the two institutes is kept a background of about 400 watercolors, all reproducing monuments, architectural details or missing corners of the city - except for the View of S. Rocco in Frascati (inv. M. R. 2963) and the House of the archpriest in Bergamo (inv. M. R. 3157) - and built between 1891 and 1911, years in which there were great changes in the structure of the city. It is precisely in the value of testimony that these works are still interesting, as they reproduce with extreme fidelity facades, corners of buildings, portals, edifices, gardens and fountains. The historical-documentary significance emerges above all when situations are reproduced that have subsequently been radically modified or even disappeared, as in the case of the Certosa di Termini (inv. M. R. 3112) or of Villa Spithover (inv. M. R. 2990). The collection of prints kept by the National Printing Office is no less remarkable than that of the municipality: in addition to three small oil paintings on canvas, depicting ruins and ruins, the first one, and two views of the countryside around Ceccano, of a core of about three hundred pencil drawings, in some cases retouched with ink. The subjects are mostly Roman, although other Lazio localities appear, such as Viterbo, Corneto, Sermoneta, Tivoli, or details of consular roads (Fondo nazionale, vol. 2913, from 20.12 to 20.45 and Cartella sec. XIX-XX, from 6831 to 6930). The feature of the Donadoni designer is analytical and essential as that of the Donadoni watercolour: with great speed are fixed urban and architectural details, with accuracy is always indicated the place represented and often, The date of execution appears next to the signature. In many cases, the inscriptions discovered on the facades of buildings, on the markers of ancient Roman streets and on various monuments are noted with a careful philological spirit. After a long career and the achievement of various official awards, Donadoni died in Rome in November 1911. 

In this beautiful watercolour, the artist’s propensity to represent the reality around him in an absolutely analytical way is evident: although it was executed with speed, the painting presents a series of lenticular details related to the architectural elements of some of the most famous buildings of the Roman Forums. 

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