RKD STUDIES

Léopold Robert's 1828 statement quoted above seems to be confirmed by what was common practice among the very first and strongest circle of sociability of Belgian artists in Rome: the fellow-artists from their own country. Tot start with, they even had a kind of ritual that repeated itself each and every time a new artist arrived in Rome. He was welcomed by his fellow compatriots who took him on a trip to discover the city.

‘On our arrival we stayed at the Hôtel d'Allemagne; the same day we saw most of the Belgians who are in Rome; these gentlemen were very kind and took us to see the sites, such as the Colosseum, the churches, the Vatican’.¹

This account of the artist's arrival in the Eternal City is very typical and is to be found in numerous sources such as correspondences or diaries.² It marked the first moment of an active social life in which the national dimension, a community of artists from the same country, played a prominent role.

Another important shared part of their Roman lives concerned their place of work. Belgians sometimes shared studios, like the famous studios of the via dell’Olmo, now the via dell’Olmata, which was occupied by several Belgian and Dutch artists throughout the whole 19th century [6].³ This was not the case of Portaels and Robert who each took their own. However, like other Belgian artists, they never left the city alone. The excursions or prolonged summer stays in the Roman countryside were always a collective venture. It was the same for longer and more distant journeys. When Belgian artists travelled to Naples or Venice, they were usually accompanied by friends and fellow-countrymen.⁴

In Rome, the close connection between Belgian artists was expressed in various communal activities. While work-related past-times such as drawing in established or self-organised academies were common, it was mainly in recreational activities that compatriots gathered.⁵ Belgian artists’ accounts are full of vivid descriptions of memorable parties and festivities, as is typical for other foreign artist communities in Rome at that time as well. Such cheerful gatherings took place in artists’ rooms or workshops, or, more often, in the Roman osterie (taverns).

To conclude the Roman sojourn of one of their fellow-countrymen, Belgian artists even celebrated their departure, as a sort of counterpart to the arrival ceremony. Portaels described this event when he left Rome himself, in 1847, and took an active part himself in marking this moment, by writing a ‘little comedy in three acts’ for the occasion, in which Robert was meant to play the main role.⁶

Close links between artists in Rome can be visualised through the numerous mutual portraits they exchanged. Portaels and Robert painted each other in the Roman countryside in 1844, not as finished portraits but rather as ‘souvenir(s) of true friendship’, as Portaels stated [7-8].⁷ In Rome, Portaels also painted the portrait of the Belgian sculptor Joseph Tuerlinckx (1809-1873) from Mechelen, who stayed in Rome between 1840 and 1844.⁸ Unlike the two examples mentioned above, this is a finished portrait, which Portaels even sent to Belgium to be exhibited at the Salon in Antwerp in 1845 [9].⁹ These examples expressed a natural solidarity which rested on generational bonds, a common language and artistic affinities, as well as having been taught by the same master. Of course, such exchanges of portraits and other artworks did not necessarily exclude artists from other nationalities, as will be explained below.¹⁰

Beyond such initial networks, another factor was relevant for the artist and his career: meeting famous and established artists, first of all those from their own country. One of the first Roman artists the Belgians, especially Navez' pupils, met when arriving in Rome was Martin Verstappen (1773-1852). This landscape painter from Antwerp had settled in Rome in 1804-1805. At that time he was already friends with Navez and they would remain in written contact until Verstappen's death in 1852. Over the years, Navez did not miss the opportunity to send all his pupils to visit his friend. This seemed to be more of a courtesy visit than a real 'professional' asset for the young Belgians. Portaels, Robert and others paid him regular visits but called him ‘le bon papa Verstappen’.¹¹ The painter was indeed already quite old in the 1840s and seemed more interested in growing his wines than in Roman artistic life.

From a professional point of view, the Directors of the French Academy, one of the most prominent artistic institutions in Rome in the 19th century, were certainly more interesting for young Belgian painters.¹² In this case again, the Belgian national circle could help to introduce them. When Portaels and Robert arrived in the Eternal City in 1843, the director of the Villa Medici was Victor Schnetz (1787-1870). As one of Navez’ best friends – they kept in touch for their entire lives – Schnetz welcomed all the Brussels painter’s pupils.¹³ For Portaels, the arrival of Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) at the French Academy in Rome in 1843 (he had previously visited Rome in 1838) seems to have been even more important. Delaroche was one of the most successful European painters of the first half of the century. Portaels had already met him in Paris and painted his portrait (Royal Fine Arts Museum, Antwerp) [10], although we do not know whether it was painted in Rome or elsewhere.¹⁴

6
Romolo Koelman
The artist's studio in the via dell' Olmata, Rome, 1876
Rome, Palazzo Venezia

7
Jean Portaels,
Portrait of Alexandre Robert, 1844,
oil on canvas, private collection,
photo Luc Schrobiltgen

8
Alexandre Robert,
Portrait of Jean Portaels, signed and dated Rome 18[44],
oil on canvas, 60 x 48 cm,
private collection,
photo Pierre Bergé et Associés

9
Jean Portaels,
Portrait of Joseph Tuerlinckx, 1844,
oil on canvas, 98 x 74 cm,
Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, inv. no. S0490

10
Jean Portaels,
The painter Paul Delaroche, signed n.d.
oil on canvas 118,5 × 93,5 cm,
Collection KMSKA - Vlaamse Gemeenschap, inv.no. 1515,
photo Hugo Maertens