5.3 International artists’ bubble
Upon their arrival in Rome, the two Dutchmen quickly found their way to the Caffè Greco in the Via Condotti. Ehnle described to his mother their happiness at the beauty of the city and the realisation that they had become part of an international community of artists:
'Strangers from all nations, especially artists, are united here; the latter are most affable, and in their midst one could forget one’s homeland, and the manifold beauty of all kinds richly compensates for the loss of the latter.'1
For the first few nights, the two took up residence at the Caffè delle Nocchie at no. 106 in Via Felice (or Sistina).2 After a short stay in a freezing cold room at Via Margutta 5,3 in early January 1841 they settled on Via Sistina, where Koelman had ‘a very nice little room’ at number 68, ‘high and dry with a balcony, also very cheap’.4 Ehnle was his neighbour across the street and would continue to live here until his departure from Rome on 29 May 1841.5
Three letters by Koelman give us an impression of his experiences at these early stages of his Roman life: two to his friend in The Hague, the painter Johannes Bosboom (1817-1891),6 and one to his former travelling companion Ehnle.7 The letters show that his initial enthusiasm for the Roman art world had given way to a more critical attitude and a strong awareness of his own position. Koelman admits that he initially had difficulty making contacts and friends ‘who are devoted to their work with heart and soul’. The many hundreds of artists who were in Rome were primarily ‘the most excellent flâneurs and did not excel in their enthusiasm for work. This was especially true of the Italians, who on their days off preferred to walk up and down the Corso in their Sunday best, with large beards ‘allà Michelangelo’, rather than join a group to draw models. ‘Dead losses’, Koelman concluded.8
Nevertheless, after a somewhat difficult start, he eventually thrived in the international artists’ bubble. In his letter to Ehnle, he mentions some of the mixed company he found himself in every day: the Dutch Abraham van de Velde (1807-1854), Jan Antonie van der Ven (1799-1866) [3] and John de Koningh (1808-1845), the Belgians Pieter van Thienen (years unknown), Alfred de Poorter (years unknown) and Peter Houvenaghel (1811-1843), the French painter Dominique Auguste Papety (1815-1849), the Italian architect and painter Giovanni Brocca (1803-1876) and ‘a Croat’, possibly Vjekoslav Karas (1821-1858).9 He lived in a house ‘where Germans, French, English and Spaniards lived all together’.10 With such companions, Koelman had lunch out every day, in accordance with good Italian custom, and enjoyed white wine from Orvieto in the trattorias.
3
Anonymous c. 1845
Portrait of a sculptor, probably Jan Antonie van der Ven (1799-1866), c. 1845
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-4193
Notes
1 ‘Vreemdelingen aller naties, vooral kunstenaars, zijn hier verenigd; de omgang met de laatsten is allerminzaamst, en in hun midden zou men zijn vaderland kunnen vergeten, en de menigvuldige schoonheid van allerlei aard vergoedt het gemis van dat laatste rijkelijk’, Ehnle, ‘Verhaal van de Italiaansche reis', p. 20.
2 A ‘Liste des Néerlandais actuellement à Rome, 1840’ can be found in the archive of the Dutch Legation to the Holy See, preserved at the Istituto per la Storia del Risorgimento Italiano (Rome), there Fondo della Legazione dei Paesi Bassi a Torino e Roma, 1816-1874 – hereafter refered to as ISRI/FLPB – there Ms. 287, fasc. 7. The legation archive will be digitally accessible in 2026 via https://delegato.org. On the Caffè delle Nocchie: Rufini 1855, p. 43. Although the name 'Strada' or 'Via Felice' was used until 1878 for the straight road stretching almost 3 km from Trinità dei Monti to S. Croce in Gerusalemme, some parts of it had already been given names that would be officially adopted only later. For example, the name 'Via Sistina' was commonly used for the part of the street connecting Trinità dei Monti with Piazza Baberini.
3 Address is mentioned by Le Grice 1841, vol. 1, p. 281.
4 ‘een heel lief kamertje hoog en droog met een balkon, ook zeer goedkoop‘, Ehnle, ‘Verhaal van de Italiaansche reis', p. 21. Koelman’s address is listed in Il Mercurio 1843, p. 301; Donovan 1843, vol. 3, p. 1008. See also Noack 1927, vol. 2, pp. 324-325.
5 Ehnle, ‘Verhaal van de Italiaansche reis', p. 30.
6 Two letters by J.H. Koelman to J. Bosboom, one with illegible date (in response to Bosboom’s letter of 28 December 1840), the other dated 1 oktober 1841. Both documents in Haags Gemeentearchief, accession no. 8001-01, Overige Verzamelingen 2 – Schildersbrieven (hereafter HG/SB), inv. no. 663.
7 J.H. Koelman to J.A. Ehnle, dated 3-4 January 1842, RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Archive Adriaan van der Willigen (NL-HaRKD.0392), ‘Brieven Koelman’. The document was mistakenly interpreted as a letter to the sender’s younger brother Johan Daniël Koelman (1831-1857). For this, see the reference in RKD, Fichescollectie Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (NL-HaRKD-0351), box 327, fiche no. 1697137.
8 Quotes respectively ‘die met lijf en ziel aan hun werk hangen’; ‘de uitstekendste flaneursch’; ‘allà Michelangelo’ and ‘Lamme zakken’. All from Koelman to Bosboom, illegible date (but early 1841), HG/SB, inv. no. 663.
9 On Van Thienen, see Koelman 2023, p. 626; on Papety, Tamisier 2013; on Brocca, Caramel 1972; on Karas, Bulat-Simic 1968.
10 ‘waar moffen, franschen, Engels [sic] en Spanjaarden alles door elkander woont’, Koelman to Bosboom, illegible date (but early 1841), HG/SB, inv. no. 663.