The Villa d'Este, Tivoli

The Villa d'Este in Tivoli is one of UNESCOs world heritage sites. The famous water gardens are an extraordinary feat of engineering, and much more importantly, an aesthetic achievement which causes the spirit to soar. Tivoli is remarkable enough by virtue of its site. Perched around a series of cliffs and gorges and undermined by caves and watercourses, the place has exuded a sort of spiritualised sophistication since Roman, or perhaps Etruscan, times. Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este believed that the Papacy should be his, but in 1550 after a failed bid he had to make do with the governorship of Tivoli. He made do in magnificent style. His villa, on the cliff's edge, is lavishly decorated with frescoes, but with its modest entrance and narrow line of rooms overlooking the gardens and the view to Rome, it seems to exist only as a series of antechambers, belvederes or garden pavilions. It is the water gardens on their hanging cliffs, originally created by the painter, architect and archaeologist Piero Longhi and the architect Alberto Galvani, that are the point and glory of the place. The Cardinal died in 1572, and further work was carried out for Cardinal Alessandro d'Este from 1605, and again in the 1660s by the great Bernini. The massive Organ Waterfall, just one of many dozens of fountains, would on its own be a wonder. In the 18th Century, when the ownership of the villa was transferred from the Duchy of Modena to the Habsburgs, the garden was slowly abandoned, but in the second half of the 19th Century restoration began. The villa has belonged to the Italian state since the beginning of the First World War, but more restoration work was needed after bombing during the Second World War, and has continued almost without interruption ever since.

It is recorded in Edward Cheney's journals that Robert Henry Cheney travelled extensively in Italy with Thomas Hartley Cromek (1809-1873), whose influence can be seen in his work.

In Edward's journal of 29 February, 1832 he writes 'I went with H[enry] & Cromek to the Cesaro Palace, the day was not a becoming one ... an artist would not quit this one spot ...'.

For a similar version of this work by Cromek (please see Christie's, London, 9 June 2005, lot 43.)