Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary-1933, Rome)

Study for the central panel ("Solitary Rome"/"The Goddess Roma") of the five-panel polyptych "Sic Transit..." of 1912

oil on canvas

circa 1912

46 x 36 cm

The Daulton Collection

This oil study has sometimes been called "Apparition," and also known as "Nächtliche Erscheinung" ("Night Appearance").

"Born in Hungary, Hirschl grew up in Vienna and attended the Academy of Fine Arts there from 1874 to 1882. After completing his studies, he visited Rome, the Eternal City, for the first time in 1882. Back in Vienna, Hirschl began an affair with a married woman and was thus snubbed by Viennese society. The woman, Isabella Henriette Victoria Ruston, finally gets a divorce and marries Hirschl, but the scandal remains. Driven by the malice that hits him, Hirschl leaves for Rome with his wife and daughter. From now on he calls himself Hirémy-Hirschl. For the artist, Rome was a place of refuge, where, surrounded by ancient mythology and history, he also found inspiration for his symbolistically-charged history pictures."  B 

The present painting is a study for the central panel of Hirschl's masterpiece, the polyptych “Sic Transit” (1912), now preserved in the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.  In the central part of the large composition, the "Goddess Rome" appears among the ruins of the monuments and surrounded by wolves (symbolic heirs of the Capitoline she-wolf) observing the decadence and destruction of the Great Imperial City. 

In the known preparatory studies, the figure of the young woman (the goddess) appears sometimes sinister, sometimes not; sometimes with her arms at rest, and sometimes with a shield and spear or with an olive branch in her hand.

The Daulton Collection owns several other studies for the central panel of "Sic Transit."

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary-1933, Rome)

Study for the central panel ("Solitary Rome" / "Goddess Roma") of the five-panel polyptych "Sic Transit..."

oil on board

circa 1912

60 x 34 cm

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary-1933, Rome)

Study of a Female Figure for the central panel ("Solitary Rome" / "Goddess Roma") of the five-panel polyptych "Sic Transit..."

pastel on paper

circa 1912

47,5 x 33 cm

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary-1933, Rome)

Study for the central panel ("Solitary Rome"/"The Goddess Roma) of the five-panel polyptych "Sic Transit..." of 1912

graphite and pastel on gray paper

circa 1910

42 x 21 cm

The Daulton Collection

IN 2024, THE DAULTON COLLECTION GIFTED THE ABOVE DRAWING TO THE INSTITUTO CENTRALE PER LA GRAFICA, MINISTERIO DELLA CULTURA, ROME.

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary - 1933, Rome)

The Plague Sweeps Through Rome

a study for the left panel of the polyptych painting "Sic Transit..." of 1912

oil on canvas, relined

circa 1912

48,4 x 72,3 cm

The Daulton Collection

Provenance:

the artist's estate (with the estate stamp on verso)

Galleria Carlo Virgilio, Rome

Matthiesen Fine Art Ltd., London

Since then in private ownership.

Exhibition History (of this study):

Adolf Hiremy Hirschl, 1860-1933.  Matthiesen Fine Art, London, 11 June - 31 July, 1987.

Adolf Hiremy Hirschl, 1860-1933.  Caylus Anticuario, Madrid, 10 May - 2 June, 1989.

Publication History (of this study):

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, 1860-1933.  London: Mathiessen Fine Art Ltd., 1987.  Cat. no. 29 (illustrated).

Adolf Hiremy Hirschl, 1860-1933.   Madrid: Caylus Anticuario S.A., 1989. Cat. no. 16; pgs. 8 (illustration) and 18.

Discussion:

"The present painting is a preliminary study for the left panel of the allegorically complex late masterpiece 'Sic Transit' by Hirémy-Hirschl. The polyptichon, completed in 1912, is now in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna [Municipal Gallery of Modern Art] in Rome and, like many of Hirémy-Hirschl's works, is determined by eschatological tragedy. In it the artist deals with the fall of the ancient world and the rise and victory of Christianity, with the theme of the left panel ("Plague Visions") being the destruction of Roman civilization. The central element of the depiction is the plague, which takes shape as a glowing fog with implied apocalyptic spirits of death and moves through the street. The preliminary study has essentially the same composition structure and color mood as the final version; the artist made changes mainly with regard to the architectural backdrop and the dynamics of the angry fog figures."  B

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary - 1933, Rome)

The Plague Sweeps Through Rome

a preliminary study for the left panel of the polyptych painting "Sic Transit..." of 1912

pastels on grey vellum by P.M. Fabriano

circa 1912

43,5 x 57,7 cm

The Daulton Collection

"Early, color-intensive preliminary study for the left panel of the allegorically complex late masterpiece 'Sic Transit.' The polyptych, completed in 1912, is now in the Galleria d'Arte Moderna [Municipal Gallery of Modern Art] in Rome and, like many of Hirémy-Hirschl's works, is characterized by apocalyptic tragedy. In it, the artist deals with the downfall of the ancient world and the rise and victory of Christianity, with the theme of the left panel ('Plague Visions') being the destruction of Roman civilization. The central element of the depiction is the plague, which takes the form of a glowing mist with implied apocalyptic spirits of death and moves through the street."  B

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl (1860, Temesvar, Austria-Hungary-1933, Rome)

Personification of Pestilence, a study for the far-right panel of the five-panel polyptych "Sic Transit..." of 1912

chalk on blue paper

47.5 x 30.5 cm

circa 1912

The Daulton Collection

Exhibition History (of this drawing):

Adolf Hiremy Hirschl, 1860-1933.  Matthiesen Fine Art, London, 11 June - 31 July, 1987.

Publication History (of this drawing):

Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, 1860-1933.  London: Mathiessen Fine Art Ltd., 1987.  Cat. no. 34 (illustrated).