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Franz Xavier Kosler (Vienna, 1864 – Siracusa, 1905)

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Franz Xavier Kosler (Vienna, 1864 – Siracusa, 1905) Franz Xavier Kosler (Vienna, 1864 – Siracusa, 1905) Portrait of a man, as Giacomo Orlandi di Subiaco c. 1885-95 Oil on canvas, laid on panel; signed lower right ‘F. Kosler’ 61 x 49 cm. Franz Kosler is one of the most celebrated Orientalist painters of his time, renowned for the remarkable human sensitivity with which he was able to capture the character and intimate dignity of his often anonymous sitters (Figs. 1, 2). This quality emerges all the more clearly when one compares his intense portraits with those of many of his contemporaries, who were used to the superficial interpretation of so-called ‘Orientalist’ subjects. Kosler studied under the renowned Austrian painter Leopold Carl Müller at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Highly influenced by his master’s work, in 1886 Kosler started travelling extensively, visiting Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, Egypt and Italy, and specialising in tender close-up portraits of sitters dressed in traditional clothing, such as the one here presented. There are portraits that, beyond depicting the face of a particular sitter, embody the ideal beauty of a time and a place, as perceived by the artists’ sensitivity. This is the case, for example, of the portraits of Rosina Ferrara (1861 - 1934), a girl from Capri who became the most popular model for foreign artists present on the island in the 1870s, including John Singer Sargent, who portrayed her numerous times (Fig. 3). Similarly, the marked features of the protagonist of this intense portrait, immediately recall those of a man called Giacomo Orlandi who lived in Subiaco in the second half of the 19th century. Subiaco is a town in the Roman countryside that became a place of pilgrimage for artists from all over Europe who, in the 19th century, visited Italy to complete their formation. The name of the sitter is only known to us thanks to a drawing by the German painter Johannes Niessen (1821 - 1910), who in 1847 inscribed a portrait of the same man ‘Giacomo Orlandi di Subiaco’ (Fig. 4). Although we know very little about Orlandi’s life, his face is well known and iconic: he was one of the most popular models for foreign artists in Rome, often portrayed as a brigand or as a peasant. Orlandi was portrayed in numerous occasions between 1840s and 1860s, by artists such as Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824 - 1904) (Fig. 5), Anselm Feuerbach (1829 - 1880) (Fig. 6), Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) (Fig. 7-8) and many others (Fig. 9). The characteristic features of the sitter leave little doubt that Kosler was aware of some of Giacomo Orlandi’s portraits, although the circumstances and the date of the present portrait remain somehow mysterious. The canvas is most likely dating after 1885, when Orlandi must have been older than he appears to be here. Nevertheless, the striking similarities with the portraits associated with Orlandi dating to the 1860s, such as Feuerbach’s and Degas’, as well as the sensitive depiction of the sitter’s attitude and personality, clearly suggest that Kosler depicted the sitter from life. Therefore this may be the last portrait known of the popular Roman sitter, or another man whose defined physical characteristics enabled Kosler to revive the legendary figure of the Roman brigand who inspired many of his older colleagues. Kosler’s fame and success, cut short by an untimely death, included a personal exhibition in Cairo in 1894, and exhibitions at the Glass Palace in Munich in 1899 and at the Royal Academy in London in 1903. From 1895 he also regularly exhibited in the Viennese salons, becoming a member of the Society of Artist Painters in 1901. In Egypt he was commissioned portraits by wealthy and powerful clients, including Prince Said Halim Pasha, the grandson of Mehemet Ali Pasha, future Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. In Europe he was commissioned to paint Archduke Ferdinand Karl in Vienna, as well as other wealthy individuals such as Countess Palfy- Schilippenback, who sat for the artist in 1896. Despite these high-profile commissions, Kosler’s ability to capture the intimate personality and state of being of his sitters is particularly evident in his portraits of common people. In this canvas one can sense the dreamy tedium of the sitter, depicted while he tilts his head lost in his own thought. 1. F. X. Kosler, Portrait of a young Egyptian girl, 1900. Christie’s New York, 25 October 2006, lot 1. 2. F. X. Kosler, Portrait of an Egyptian girl, 1895. Sotheby’s London, 24 April 2018, lot 52. 3. J. S. Sargent, Portrait of Rosina Ferrara, Head of a Capri girl, c. 1878. Denver Art Museum. 4. J. Niessen, Study of the Head of a Young Roman (Giacomo Orlandi di Subiaco), 1847 Private collection. 5. J. L. Jerome, Head of a peasant (Giacomo Orlandi), 1843-4. Musée Magnin, Dijon 6. E. Degas, Tête d’homme (Giacomo Orlandi), c. 1860. Sotheby’s New York, 17 May 2017, lot 393. 7. E. Degas, Portrait of an Italian (Giacomo Orlandi), c. 1856. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. 8. A. Feuerbach, Kopf eines Römers (Giacomo Orlandi), c. 1857 Private collection, New York. 9. French School, Portrait of Orlando di Subiaco, c. 1850? Presented at TEFAF Maastricht by Galerie Fabienne Fiacre, Paris, in 2018. .
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