6711 - Athanasius Count Raczynski

Athanasius Count Raczynski View of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Black pen over a light pencil sketch and watercolor. 18.5 x 24.8 cm. Signed and dated “A. Raczynski Xbre 1828”; on the backing sheet, likely by another hand, inscribed “Cte. Raczinski Florence 1829.” Count Athanasius Raczynski, a diplomat descended from the Polish high nobility, was a prominent figure in the intellectual and cultural life of Berlin, the Prussian capital. During his extensive diplomatic travels through the major cities of Europe, Raczynski used a large portion of his considerable fortune to build his art collection. Having resided in Paris for an extended period beginning in 1814, the count subsequently traveled through France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. In 1834, Raczynski finally settled permanently in Berlin and acquired the city palace at Unter den Linden 21, where he opened a gallery open to the public to display his art collection. Just ten years later, larger premises were needed to house the collection. For this purpose, King Frederick William IV granted the patron a plot of land on Königsplatz, where Heinrich Strack, a student of Schinkel and an architect, built the “Palais Raczynski” between 1842 and 1844. As early as 1874, the year of the count’s death, the striking Neoclassical building had to make way for the new Reichstag building. Raczynski’s collection of German Late Romantic paintings subsequently formed the foundation of the National Museum in Poznań, while other works were transferred to the collection of the newly founded Berlin National Gallery and the painting collection, including, for example, Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece *Madonna with Eight Singing Angels*.Like many prominent figures in the intellectual life of his time, Raczynski was not only a respected diplomat but also a distinguished art writer and a talented draftsman. This depiction of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence captivates with the originality of its conception. From an oblique perspective, the amateur artist has captured in meticulous detail the conglomeration of buildings that has evolved over centuries. No people populate this microcosm; all anecdotal elements have been omitted. - Please ask for condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.