House of Giulio Romano, Mantua, Lombardy, Italy
[painting by Ettore Roesler Franz]
The unused postcard, featuring a painting of the house of Giulio Romano (c. 1499-1546), is identified as a product of Casa Bestettie e Tumminelli, Milano-Roma along the left margin on the reverse. At the top center on the reverse is “Roma Sparita, Acquarelli di F. Roesler.” At the bottom of the center line on the reverse is E.V.R., Serie II – N. 34. At the lower left is “Casa di Giulio Romano.
The watercolor painting is by the Italian painter and photographer, (Ettore) Roesler Franz (1848-1915). It was part of a series consisting of 120 pictures titled “Roma Sparita” or Vanished Rome, that featured watercolor paintings depicting parts of Rome that were in danger of disappearing. Today many of these places have vanished or changed making the pictures a valuable historical record. The paintings were completed between 1878 and 1896. In 1875 Franz along with Nazzareno Cipriani developed a plan and created what became the Association of Watercolorists and included 8 other artists as founding members. Among his clients were the Empress Maria Feodorovna, Kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umbert I, and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
Giulio Romano was born around 1499 and died in 1546. He was an Italian painter and architect. He started out as one of Raphael’s assistants, and became an important member of Raphael’s studio. His drawings are said to be a significant contribution to the spread of 16th century Italian style art and are treasured by collectors. However, it is his architectural work that has had more influence. He designed his own house in 1540 and completed it in 1541-42. The exterior of the original building was described as having a fantastic façade all worked in colorful stucco. At the time of the Franz painting on the card in the late 1800s the building had already been remodeled and expanded from six bays to 8 and would have been quite different than it was in the 1500s. The central hall with its original fireplace and frescoes have been preserved. The ground floor has shops with the main floor contains what was Romano’s home.
For additional information, see:
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_di_Giulio_Romano
[Note: there is a translation option]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Romano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Roesler_Franz
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