Watercolour, copy after The marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, Benozzo Gozzoli in the Camposanto of Pisa, Carlo Rancini, Arundel Society watercolour, 1861

Watercolour copy made for the Arundel Society. Not published.

This watercolour is a copy made by Carlo Rancini (engraver, active 1837-1847 in Tuscany) after a fresco in the Camposanto of Pisa (Graveyard) the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli (Florence 1420 – Pistoia 1497).

Original
Benozzo Gozzoli was the apprentice to the famous painter Fra Angelico (1395-1455; for copies after Fra Angelico made for the Arundel Society see Museum nos. E.4 to 18-1995), whom he assisted in the 1440s in painting frescoes cycles in the monastery of San Marco (Florence), in San Brizio chapel in the Duomo of Orvieto and in the Niccoline chapel in the Vatican.

Gozzoli’s independent career as a painter started in 1450 when he moved to Montefalco, a small town in the province of Perugia in Umbria (Italy). During the following three years (1450-52) he worked extensively, first in the church of San Fortunato, then in the Gothic church of San Francesco depicting episodes of the Life of Saint Francis in the apse.

The artist was called on in around 1469 to complethe frescoes in the Camposanto of Pisa, left unfinished the previous century, and one of the most important compissions a painter active in Central Italy could aspire to during the period . Gozzoli worked on the decoration until at least 1484 During which time he completed 26 episodes from the Old and New Testament. Unfortunately the frescoes were severely damaged during a bomb blast in 1944, and this watercolour is an important record of how the original fesco looked in the nineteenth century.

Arundel Society
The Arundel Society was founded in 1848 to promote knowledge of the art through the publication of reproductions of works of art. The Society was named after Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646), important aristocratic patron and collector of the early Stuart period. The Society was intended to reach the largest possible audience through these reproductions. Subjects were chosen because of their instructive meaning rather than their popularity. In addition to copies of famous paintings, the Society published an English translation of Giorgio Vasari’s (1511-1574) Lives of the most excellent painters, made in 1850 by Giovanni Aubrey Bezzi (1785-1789), one of the founding members of the Society.

The Arundel Society popularised Renaissance art, particularly that of the Italian Old Masters, echoing a growing interest for ‘primitives’ (art of Western Europe prior to the Renaissance) in the second half of the nineteenth century. The founding members of the Arundel Society were all acknowledge experts on Italian art. For instance, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793–1865; painter and art administrator), whose house was the meeting point of the Society, was Director of the National Gallery in London from 1855 until 1865 and during his tenure, he began one of the finest collections of Italian art in Britain.

Other preeminent members were John Ruskin (1819-1900, English writer, painter and collector), who supervised projects including the watercolours series of the Upper and Lower Church in Assisi, and Sir Austen H. Layard (1817-1894; English archaeologist, politician, diplomat, collector and writer). Layard lived and travelled in Italy for many years and his knowledge of the country’s art was extensive. It was thanks to Layard’s funding that the Society were able to publish copies of the watercolours made at their direction using chromolithography. Although photography was increasingly popular, as photographs could only be made in black and white, chromolithography was chosen as it was felt to be closer to the principals of the Arundel Society: they were coloured and had the aura of traditional prints. In this way, copies were more like the originals.

The Society reached the height of its popularity in the 1860s. However, by the end of the century, it faced mounting criticism with regards to the accuracy of its watercolour copies. The Society ceased its activities in 1897. At this time the availability of second hand prints had increased and the Society found it difficult to find market for its chromolithographs. Moreover, photographic reproductions were becoming increasingly popular thanks to technical advances. The last display of the Arundel Society’s watercolours took place at the National Gallery and when the Society was dissolved, some watercolours were given to that Institution, while others were acquired by the then South Kensington Museum (now V&A). The outstanding watercolours were transferred from the National Gallery to the V&A in the 1990s.

The Arundel Society commissioned only this copy after the Gozzoli’s decoration in the Camposanto of Pisa, and it was not published as chromolithograph.

The Copyist
The Arundel Society commissioned this watercolour from Carlo Rancini, a Tuscan engraver, possibly from Pisa, student of Carlo Lasinio (Treviso 1759-Pisa 1838) who was the principal restorer and conservator of the Camposanto in Pisa. In 1812, Lasinio published a book with engravings of the Camposanto (Levi 1993, p. 133), which were an important reference for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (Staley 2004, p. 4) and used after the Second World War as a record of the conditions of the frescos before the bombing blasts.

Carlo Rancini possibly worked with Lasinio at the Camposanto and was contracted by the Arundel Society to paint the copy of the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah. Rancini must have learnt the technique of copying from his master, as Lasinio made many engravings after paintings such as those in the Uffizi. Lasinio was also active as a dealer not only in Italy but also in England. Letters and export licenses prove that he shipped works to the Calcotts (Levi 1993, 134), whose house was one of the most important artistic salons of the Victorian era, in competition only with the Eastlakes. Charles Eastlake was one of the founders of the Arundel Society.

This watercolour is a copy made by Carlo Rancini (active 1837-1847 in Tuscany) after the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, one of the frescoes painted by Benozzo Gozzoli (Florence 1420 – Pistoia 1497) in the Camposanto of Pisa. The artist was called on to undertake the completion of the frescoes in the Camposanto, which were left unfinished the previous century.

The watercolour was painted for the Arundel Society, founded in 1848 to promote knowledge of art through the publication of reproductions of works of art. The Arundel Society popularised Renaissance art, particularly that of the Italian Old Masters, echoing the growing interest in ‘primitives’ (art of western Europe prior to the Renaissance) during the second half of the nineteenth century.

266-1895