Watercolour, copy after Calling of the Apostoles, Domenico Ghirlandaio in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican (Rome), Eliseo Fattorini, Arundel Society watercolour, 1872

Watercolour of a group of people in a marine landscape. Buildings along the coast. The man in the middle (Christ) speaks to two men kneel in front of him.

Acquired in 1995 from the National Gallery of London.
Watercolour copy made for the Arundel Society in 1872 by Eliseo Fattorini. Not published

Original work
This watercolour is a copy after the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel (Vatican, Rome), painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1481-1482. Ghirlandaio (Florence 1448/9-1494) lived and worked mainly in Florence. In 1480 he travelled to Rome with other Florentine painters to work in the Sistine Chapel. This commission was part of the reconciliation between the Pope Sistus IV (1414-1484) and Lorenzo de Medici (Florence 1449-1492), ruler of Florence, following the Pazzi Conspiracy plot to destroy the power of the Florentine family.

The decoration of the Sistine Chapel walls was planned to show the parallel between the lives of Moses and Christ, and it was painted under the supervision of Perugino (c. 1450-1523). Ghirlandaio, as well painting the Calling of the Apostles, also painted the Resurrection, now extensively damaged. Other important commissions received by Ghirlandaio were the decoration of the Sassetti Chapel in Santa Trinita (see Museum No. E.107-1995) and the Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella (See Museum No. E.110-1995), both in Florence.

Ghirlandaio was one of the most popular artist in the 19th century, and especially favoured by the Arundel Society. The Society copied many of his paintings, especially the cycle in Santa Maria Novella, publishing eight chromolithographs and a monograph, written by Layard (1817-1894), one of the preeminent members of the Society.

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 Copyist
The watercolour after Ghirlandaio’s fresco in Rome was made by an Italian copyist, Eliseo Fattorini (1830-1887). An artist and restorer, he had been trained in Perugia (Umbria, Italy). His first commission was the copy of Signorelli’s frescos in the Sistine Chapel in 1869, and he continued to make copies after works in the Sistine Chapel between 1870 and 1872.

The Arundel Society was always uncertain about the standard of accuracy from its copyists. At the beginning of its activity, the decay of the frescoes was not recorded but after protests at the inaccuracy published by the “Athenaeum” magazine, copyists were instructed to avoid personal interpretation. However, an unusual characteristic of Fattorini’s work was a tendency to alter the colour of the originals, giving them a pinkish tint, as in this watercolour.

This watercolour is a copy made by Eliseo Fattorini (1830-1887) after the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel by Domenico Ghirlandaio (Florence 1448/9-1494). It was painted in 1872 for the Arundel Society, founded in 1848 to promote knowledge of the art through the publication of reproductions of works of art. 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) during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Ghirlandaio was primarily active in Florence, where he had a lively workshop. In 1481, was called by Pope Sistus IV to work in the Sistine Chapel, together with Botticelli (Florence 1444/5-1510), Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507) and Perugino (c. 1450-1523). With the Calling of the Apostles, he painted the Resurrection, as part of the planned decoration of the Chapel.

E.105-1995