ID: 700008158 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700008158	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

The Coronation of Charlemagne (drawing (visual work); Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German painter, 1794 - 1872) ...; 1840; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los A...; 2009.5)

Note: Initialed and dated 1840, the proposed drawing served as a preliminary design for the fresco, The Coronation of Charlemagne, painted between 1835 and 1842 in the so-called 'Emperor Rooms' of the Munich Residence and destroyed in World War II. One of these three rooms was dedicated to the life and triumphs of Charlemagne, whose mythic heroism emphasized the strength in leadership of the commission's patron, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria from 1825-1848. The execution of this drawing during the days of Christmas, as the artist indicated in his inscription, evokes the connection to the subject represented, the momentous creation of Charlemagne as First Holy Roman Emperor, an event that is said to have occurred on Christmas day of 800 C.E. The symbolism of papal deference to Charlemagne reinforced Ludwig I's self-identification as the defender of Catholic Germany and the embodiment of Catholic South Germany's strongest power. For Schnorr, the depiction of an iconic northern leader receiving recognition from Roman Pope Leo III signified the bond between Italy and Germany, an idea that was passionately explored by Schnorr as a member of the artistic fraternity the Nazarenes.The proposed drawing would be the first work from the important Nazarene group to enter the Getty collection. Born into a family of artists, Schnorr began his artistic career as a landscape specialist before moving to Rome to join the Nazarenes, a group of German and Austrian artists whose interest in the art of the Renaissance led them to embrace a linear style often punctuated by local color. The Nazarenes especially admired the work of Raphael, echoes of whose elegant figures clearly appear in Schnorr's preparatory drawing for The Coronation of Charlemagne. While in Italy, Schnorr received his first commissions for fresco decorations, a genre of painting to which he would return when, in early 1835, he received the commission for the 'Emperor Rooms' from King Ludwig I. The proposed drawing, therefore, reflects Schnorr's German identity at the same time that it materializes the results of his studies in Italy and his early experimentation with fresco painting.The composition of the proposed drawing is nearly identical to that of Schnorr's full-size cartoon, executed in 1841 and today in the collection of the Kupferstich-Kabinett and Rüstkammer in Dresden. In addition to providing essential documentary information about the decoration of the Munich Residence, the proposed drawing shows Schnorr's thoughtful organization of a multi-figured composition. Passages of underdrawing in pencil reveal Schnorr's measured decisions about the placement of feet, hands, and faces. Schnorr's successful rendering of light and shadow also becomes evident on close inspection. The convincing and subtle description of these effects was achieved through a complex network of evenly placed hatching and cross-hatching.

Titles:

The Coronation of Charlemagne (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

drawing (visual work) [300033973] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

drawings (preferred)

Creation Date: 1840

Creator Display:

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German painter, 1794 - 1872) [preferred,JPGM]

draftsman Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Julius (German painter, 1794-1872) [500002319]

Locations:

Current: Former: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500329598] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 2009.5

Other: Creation: Deutschland [7000084] Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Brown ink over graphite

	graphite (mineral) [300011098]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, mineral)

	ink [300015012]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>)

Dimensions: 33.2 x 59.9 cm (13 1/16 x 23 9/16 in.)

Cultures:

German (preferred)

General Subject:

history and legend (preferred)

events

Specific Subjects:

	Charlemagne, King of the Franks (Holy Roman Emperor, 742-814) [500097003]
	.....(Non-Artists) (ULAN)

	coronation [300069660]
	.....(Activities Facet, Events (hierarchy name), events (activities), cultural events, ceremonies, cultural ceremonies) (AAT)

	Leo III, Pope (Roman pope, saint, died 816) [500321351]
	.....(Non-Artists) (ULAN)

Inscriptions: Inscribed, lower right: in den Weinachtstagen 1840 (In the days of Christmas 1840).

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
The Coronation of Charlemagne	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)

Subject: ....... [JPGM,VP]

Note:
English	..... [JPGM]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)