Tivoli Rose

"ROSE OF TIVOLI"; PHILIPP PETER ROOS (Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1657 - Rome, 1706).
"Pastoral Scene."
Oil on canvas.
Frame of the nineteenth century.
Provenance: Lázaro Galdiano Collection.
Measurements: 95 x 132 cm.

A shepherd of advanced age approaches his face to the muzzle of his dog, which seems to be claiming caresses to him. Next to them the sheep graze. They are in a landscape inspired by the Roman countryside, combining the tradition of the Baroque landscape with a detailed study of the rural fauna. The daring mastery of light is highlighted by the contrast between the clear sky and the shadowy corners that define the rocks. The woolly fur of the goats and sheep has been worked with great naturalistic eagerness, as has the good-natured expression of the shepherd. The conjugation of the realistic intention and an idealized touch that transmits an authentic connection with nature was characteristic of Rosa De Tivoli's plastic work. It is worth comparing this painting, for example, with "Flock of rams with their shepherd" by the same author, preserved in the Prado Museum. Rosa de Tivoli was part of the Roman landscape school influenced by artists such as Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. However, his main interest was not so much the grandeur of the landscape, but to achieve a balance between the environment and the animals. In this painting, his ability to capture the texture of the coats, the relaxed posture of the rams and the interaction of the flock with the shepherd and his dog is evident, evoking a scene of everyday life in the countryside. The warm, golden light, along with the balanced composition, reinforces the sense of serenity.

Belonging to a family of painters and engravers specialized in animal and landscape painting, Roos left in 1677 for Italy, thanks to a grant from the Landgrave of Hesse. In Rome he studied with Giacinto Brandi, and in 1684 he moved to Tivoli, the place to which he owes his Italianate nickname "Rosa of Tivoli". In 1691 he settled permanently in Rome, becoming part of the group of Dutch painters led by Pieter Laer, "Bamboccio". He places them, as here, in the Roman countryside. Roos was a member of the Schildersbent, where he earned the nickname "Mercury" due to the speed with which he painted. Although a self-portrait of him (ca. 1695-1700, Florence, Uffizi) survives, he painted almost exclusively domestic animals with their shepherds in the Roman countryside. The animals often dominate the foreground in his work, leaving only small glimpses of the landscape under a dark sky. He used a impasto painting, and an effective light treatment that gives the animals a greater corporeality, which seem to emerge from the background in semi-darkness. In the 1680s Roos often depicted small groups of animals, often headed by a billy goat with twisted horns. The shepherds appear in these works lying on one side, in coarse clothing, closely linked to the animals. In the distance, valleys with very steep cliffs alternate under different shades of golden light, typically Italian, radiating on the distant mountains of light blue tones. Works by Roos are currently held in the Prado Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of Granada, Boston and San Francisco, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Getty in Los Angeles, the Vatican Museum, the Staatliche Museum in Berlin, the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich Museum in Brunswick, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Courtauld Institute in London and the Ingres Museum in Montauban (France), among others.