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Lot Essay
HERMANN CORRODI AND HIS BROTHER ARNALDO WERE BROUGHT UP IN A VERY INTERNATIONAL ARTISTIC MILIEU. AFTER RECEIVING THEIR FIRST EDUCATION IN GENEVA, THEY CONTINUED THEIR TRAINING IN ROME IN THEIR FATHER'S STUDIO AND AT THE ACCADEMIA DI SAN LUCA. WHILE ARNALDO BECAME A FERVENT ADMIROR OF MARIANO FORTUNY MARSAL (SEE LOT 9) AND NEVER REALLY DEVELOPED HIS OWN ORIGINAL STYLE, HERMANN HAD A BRILLIANT CAREER AS A GENRE PAINTER AND ORIENTALIST, GAINING INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM THROUGH HIS COMMISSIONS FROM THE BRITISH AND AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ROYAL FAMILIES. HE TRAVELLED THROUGH EUROPE, NORTHERN AFRICA AND THE NEAR EAST, SPECIALISING IN VERY REFINED LANDSCAPES OF THE DESERT, THE BANKS OF THE NILE AND EGYPTIAN VILLAGES.
IN 1876, CORRODI MARRIED A WOMAN FROM THE ITALIAN ARISTOCRACY, AND MOVED ON TO AN EVEN MORE COSMOPOLITAN TRAIN DE VIE. THE COUPLE SPENT THEIR WINTERS IN ROME AND THEIR SUMMERS IN BADEN-BADEN AND HAMBURG, WHERE THE PAINTER RECEIVED MANY COMMISSIONS FROM THE GERMAN UPPER CLASS. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1880S, CORRODI LEFT FOR A LONG TRIP TO EGYPT, SYRIA, CYPRUS AND CONSTANTINOPLE, BRINGING BACK A WEALTH OF PRECIOUS OBJECTS WHICH WERE DESTROYED IN THE DRAMATIC FIRE OF HIS ROMAN STUDIO IN 1892. AS A RESULT OF THIS JOURNEY HE PAINTED ONE OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES, A STORM IN THE DESERT - EGYPT, WHICH WAS EXHIBITED AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN 1881.
ALTHOUGH CORRODI'S CAREER BELONGS TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE CENTURY, HIS STYLE IS CLOSER TO THE ACADEMIC TRADITION OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE OTTOCENTO. HIS REFINED BRUSHSTROKE 'EST REMARQUABLE PAS SES DéGRADéS RAFFINéS DE COULEUR, SES JEUX D'OMBRE ET DE LUMIèRE, SES SUJETS D'INSPIRATION AUSSI BIEN ABSTRAITS QUE NARRATIFS' (C. JULER, LES ORIENTALISTES DE L'ECOLE ITALIENNE, PARIS, 1994, P. 66).
IN 1876, CORRODI MARRIED A WOMAN FROM THE ITALIAN ARISTOCRACY, AND MOVED ON TO AN EVEN MORE COSMOPOLITAN TRAIN DE VIE. THE COUPLE SPENT THEIR WINTERS IN ROME AND THEIR SUMMERS IN BADEN-BADEN AND HAMBURG, WHERE THE PAINTER RECEIVED MANY COMMISSIONS FROM THE GERMAN UPPER CLASS. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1880S, CORRODI LEFT FOR A LONG TRIP TO EGYPT, SYRIA, CYPRUS AND CONSTANTINOPLE, BRINGING BACK A WEALTH OF PRECIOUS OBJECTS WHICH WERE DESTROYED IN THE DRAMATIC FIRE OF HIS ROMAN STUDIO IN 1892. AS A RESULT OF THIS JOURNEY HE PAINTED ONE OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES, A STORM IN THE DESERT - EGYPT, WHICH WAS EXHIBITED AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN 1881.
ALTHOUGH CORRODI'S CAREER BELONGS TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE CENTURY, HIS STYLE IS CLOSER TO THE ACADEMIC TRADITION OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE OTTOCENTO. HIS REFINED BRUSHSTROKE 'EST REMARQUABLE PAS SES DéGRADéS RAFFINéS DE COULEUR, SES JEUX D'OMBRE ET DE LUMIèRE, SES SUJETS D'INSPIRATION AUSSI BIEN ABSTRAITS QUE NARRATIFS' (C. JULER, LES ORIENTALISTES DE L'ECOLE ITALIENNE, PARIS, 1994, P. 66).