Interior Of The Basilica Of San Vitale, In Ravenna, Italy - 1877 - Emmanuel Ritter Von Stockler

AN OFFICIAL PAINTER IN THE COURTS OF EUROPE AND RUSSIA Destined by a pharmacist father for a career as a doctor, Emanuel Ritter von Stöckler decided to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna where he found landscape painter Thomas Ender as his master and Joseph Mossmer. In 1838, he received the Gundel Prize which rewards the excellence of his work. He began to participate in Academy exhibitions, and enjoyed growing success. In the mid-1840s, he undertook a long journey which took him notably to Switzerland, Italy and Istanbul. On the way back, he stayed in Bucharest, where he received orders from Gheorghe Bibescu, the prince of Wallachia. In 1859, he had a workshop in Venice. From 1875 to 1880, he was court painter of Saint Petersburg, at the request of Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna. It is precisely from this period that our work dates. Stöckler became a member of the Künstlerhaus in Vienna in 1876. Shortly afterwards he received the title and the knight's cross of the Order of Franz Joseph. During his lifetime, Stöckler was best known as a landscape painter, creating views of Eastern and Southern Europe. At the time, travel to the Middle East was rare, so his orientalist genre scenes were very popular. An accomplished watercolorist, he received numerous imperial, royal and princely commissions to represent the interiors of palaces and churches. (Versailles, Saint Petersburg, Vienna, Florence, Karlsruhe) SAN VITALE OF RAVENNA The Basilica of Saint Vital is located in Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna. The most representative monument of Byzantine architecture and art in Western Europe, the building is erected on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Vital. Its construction was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 526, and completed twenty-one years later by Maximian, bishop during the period of the Exarchate (period during which Ravenna depended on the Eastern Roman Empire). The building combines Roman elements: such as the dome, the shape of the portals, the towers... with Byzantine elements: the polygonal apse, the capitals, the briquette construction and obviously the mosaics San Vitale is known throughout the world for being the most perfect manifestation of the art of the 6th century and the Justinian period. The most important influence is to be found in Constantinople, in the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, built in the same years, and which has a very similar plan, elevation and roofing system. SanVitale is still living testimony to the influence of Constantinopolitan art in Italy, even before the capture of Ravenna by the Byzantines (540). Part of the church has retained its original decor: the apsidal chapel which is represented in our watercolor. This part of the monument is world-famous and draws most of its fame from its sumptuous mosaics, primitive Byzantine workmanship from the Justinian period. The sumptuousness of this decoration is perfectly rendered by Stöckler's brush which restores all the brilliance and richness decor. The introduction of the full-length silhouette, probably the artist himself, allows us to imagine the immensity of the basilica, and the prowess of the Byzantine craftsmen.