Hermann Corrodi (Roma 1844-1905)

Hermann Corrodi (Rome 1844-1905), “Sunset on the Nile”, second half of the 19th century. Oil on canvas, 67x127 cm. Signed “H. Corrodi” lower left. Hermann Corrodi's Sunset on the Nile is a large canvas depicting a splendid Egyptian landscape. The painting shows the sunset on one of the river's indentations, creating a lagoon, overlooked by a small white stone harbor; in the very foreground, two veiled women rinse their wicker baskets in the water. Sitting next to the steps, a group of men and women converse, while a little further on, with his torso turned towards the sea, a man with a white turban is caught in prayer, kneeling on a carpet. In the distance, next to the typical cubic houses, we find a gendarme on horseback who is escorting a sedan chair supported by three servants, with a mysterious character inside. Dominating the background of the scene is lush nature, made up of holm oaks, olive trees and date palms, typical of the Mediterranean scrub, from which the imposing tower of a mosque in the nearby city stands out. On the left, instead, a sailboat, rocked by the calm river waters, heads towards the horizon where the sun dies. The sky is set ablaze with shades of orange and pink, which contrast with the earthy greens of the flora and the alabaster of the port's surfaces; the sunset reflects on the placid surface of the river as if it were a mirror, offering a exquisitely poetic work overall. Sunset on the Nile, like other landscapes by the artist, reflects the unique vision of a cosmopolitan painter by choice. BIOGRAPHY Hermann Corrodi was born in 1844 to the Zurich painter Salomon Corrodi. Corrodi's father was of Italian origin and despite his Swiss origins and studies, he had moved first to Milan and then to Florence, where he met and married a wealthy compatriot; finally he goes to Rome, a city in which he settles permanently. Hermann Corrodi was born in the province of Rome, in the municipality of Frascati, in the summer house where the family used to spend their holidays. Together with his younger brother Arnold, Hermann was initially taught painting by his father in a naturalism rich in luminous and chromatic effects; the two brothers are subsequently sent to Geneva, where they study under the guidance of the painter and engraver Alexandre Calame, before returning to Rome, concluding their studies at the Academy of San Luca. In 1866 he became part of an association of German painters in the city, the Deutsches Künstlerverein. The two Corrodis then set off for Europe, coming into contact with established artists and wealthy clients; in Paris, where they went in 1872, they met the painters of historical and neoclassical scenes Ernst Meissonier and Jean-Léon Gérôme, before staying briefly in London as guests of the Dutch painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema. At the end of the year they visit the international exhibition in Munich; at the beginning of 1873 they stay a few weeks in Capri before going to the annual exhibition in Vienna, where Hermann Corrodi was awarded a gold medal for his painting entitled Pine Forest. In 1874 his brother Arnold, with whom he shared a studio in Rome, died prematurely and Hermann fell into a deep depression which interrupted his artistic activity. After overcoming his grief two years later, he resumes his painting career; following his marriage to an English woman, he manages to obtain recognition and commissions also from England. He then resumes the travels that characterized his youth, this time however moving to the East, from which the artist was fascinated as the cradle of the most important monotheistic religions. Corrodi visits Constantinople, then Syria and Egypt; among his most important clients we remember the German emperor Wilhelm II, who buys the canvas The sacred fountain in front of the Omar mosque in Jerusalem for his private collection, while the English royals buy views of Cyprus. During the summer months he moves to Germany, where he holds painting ateliers in Baden-Baden and Homburg for the nobility and the imperial court. In 1892 another tragedy struck Corrodi: his Roman studio house, where the painter kept all his works, as well as the collection of oriental objects and the paintings of his deceased brother, caught fire; the fire is devastating. At the beginning of the 1900s he commissioned a palace for his new studio house, with an annexed space to be dedicated to his exhibitions; unfortunately Corrodi died prematurely in 1905, without ever seeing his home completed. Even following the destructive fire of 1892, the painter's works are rare and difficult to find, mainly kept by private collectors; two of his watercolors are present in the Galleria comunale di Palazzo Braschi, while the landscape The tower of Napoleon in Corsica is exhibited in the rooms of Palazzo Montecitorio. Other paintings of his are kept in Zurich, including engravings of river landscapes and the oil on canvas The tower of Charles V near La Spezia. In the English royal picture gallery are deposited the works purchased by Queen Victoria, including Roman views, Queen Victoria on the terrace of Villa Palmieri and Sirens in a cave in Capri.