592 - François-Auguste RAVIER (1814–1895)

François-Auguste RAVIER (1814–1895) The Tiber at Acqua Acetosa, circa 1843 Watercolor over graphite, with dry areas, on white paper within an oval outlined in pencil by the artist H. 35 cm W. 57 cm Signed in pencil lower right (late signature, with Félix Thiollier’s initials lower left: Aqua Acetosa) CBT Bibliography: - Félix Thiollier, 1888, *Drawings by F. A. Ravier*, heliogravure prints edited by Félix Thiollier, 60 plates. - Félix Thiollier, 1899, Sketches, Drawings, and Watercolors by François Auguste Ravier (1814–1895); (plate 56). - Paul Jamot, 1921, reproduced on p. 7 - Galerie Jonas, Paris, 1975, cat. no. 18. - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, François Auguste Ravier (1814–1895) Exhibition, 1995, RMN, cat. p. 141 no. 24, ill. p. 87. Exhibitions: - Galerie Jonas, Paris, 1975 - Lyon Museum of Fine Arts, François Auguste Ravier Exhibition (1814–1895), 1995 An exceptional watercolor by Ravier due to its date (early Roman period), its quality, its size, and its highly accomplished drawing. The scene depicts the famous and beautiful Acqua Acetosa Fountain on the Tiber River in the Latium plain north of Rome, with a view of Mount Socrates in the background. It was built by Bernini’s father, and its acrid water was renowned for its healing properties! This fountain was painted by many artists staying in Rome, so Ravier’s view can be compared to those by: Camille Corot (Louvre Museum, RF1941 *L’Acqua Acetosa; Banks of the Tiber, at a place called “Poussin’s Promenade,” donated by Paul Jamot), Caruelle d’Aligny (Valenciennes Museum), Auguste Anastasi (Senate Museum), Guillame Bodinier (Angers Museum), Charnay (Charlieu Museum), Félix Hippolyte Lanque (Louvre Museum, RF 99; RF 386), and later Ernest Hebert (MNEH1978.2.1508), among others. François Auguste Ravier’s Roman watercolors are rare enough to warrant mention, and this view of the Tiber at Acqua Acetosa remains unique in the painter’s body of work. Ravier, who greatly admired his friend and senior colleague Camille Corot, drew deeply on the painter’s lessons in this magnificent work, successfully capturing the site’s poetic beauty and the softness of the light. Note the prominent place given to the luminous blue sky, which blends into the horizon line, where the contours stand out with precision—the mountains below Mount Socrates: the yellow ochre of the Tiber’s banks brings out the blues of the sky, lightened by a few pale clouds. The silhouette of a figure provides a sense of scale within the romantic vastness of the scene and the verticality of this peaceful vision.