Fearnley’s self-portrait Fearnley in his Studio was prob-ably made in 1826 when he was a 24-year-old student in Stockholm (Fig. 5). Fearnley depicted himself working on a large painting on a sunny but cold day. He gives us a glimpse into his artistic environment, including the equipment and materials he used to create his works of art. On the sideboard
to the left are some plaster cast models, symbols of aca-demic drawing. Behind the oven, his trunk lies on the floor.
Fearnley’s coat, knapsack, pipes and trekking pole hang on the wall: necessary implements for the study tours he con-ducted through Norway and Sweden.5 His watercolour paint Fig. 2 Thomas Fearnley, St. Sebastian, Ramsau, probably September 1832, pencil on paper, 267 × 295 mm, The National Museum, Oslo, NG.K&H.A.03480. (Photo: Birgit Reissland, RCE.)
Fig. 3 Thomas Fearnley, Tree, Ramsau, 14 September 1832, pen and pencil on paper, 343 × 248 mm, The National Museum, Oslo, NG.K&H.A.03393. (Photo: Birgit Reissland, RCE.)
BIRGIT REISSLAND, TINA GRETTE POULSSON, HENK VAN KEULEN AND INEKE JOOSTEN
box rests on a chair to the right. The inserted paper label has a peculiar shape, suggesting that it might be a box made by the famous British manufacturer and ‘Inventor of Superfine Water Colours in Cakes’ William Reeves, or his successors Reeves & Inwood.6 On the trunk rests a wooden board with a sheet of paper attached to it, already prepared for water-colouring. Leaning against the wall are two portfolios, one full of paper, and more portfolios lie on the bookshelf to the right. A map of Europe is prominently displayed on top of the bookshelf in anticipation of Fearnley’s future travels.
The concept of the grand tour originated in the 17th cen-tury for aristocratic young men. It was still popular in the romantic period, especially among young artists, provided they could find a travel scholarship. ‘All roads lead to Rome’:
those of the Scandinavian artists, notably the Danish artists of the Danish Golden Age, led to Rome via the states of the German Confederation. Lengthy stops at picturesque areas
were common, and visits to Dresden, Berlin and other artis-tic centres allowed the travellers to reunite with artist friends, exchange or acquire new artistic concepts and replenish their supplies.7 Munich, with its famous artists’ community, was the common starting point for the journey to Italy. The south tempted artists with its sites of classical antiquity, southern light and climate, an authentic culture and beautiful land-scapes.8 Hiking in small groups across the Alps to Rome became very popular, a kind of pilgrimage for 19th-century artists. The choice to hike was a conscious one: it allowed the artists to experience nature intimately, was affordable, and gave them freedom to choose their timing and their route.
Fearnley also travelled via Dresden to Munich, where he arrived in October 1830. In common with many other artists, he felt the draw of Italy. On 6September 1832, at 6 am, he left Munich with two fellow artists, the Danish artist Wilhelm Bendz (1804–1832), with whom he studied at the art academy Fig. 4 Overview of Fearnley’s journeys through Europe: ‘Thomas Fearnley’s Europe, 1802–42.’ Image: Helen Swansbourne. (Originally published in Sumner and Smith 2012 (cited in note 14), p. 13.) (Image © The Barber Institute and D. Giles Ltd.)
THOMAS FEARNLEY EN ROUTE: A 19TH-CENTURY ARTIST’S CHOICE OF DRAWING AND FIXING MATERIALS
in Copenhagen, and Joseph Petzl (1803–1871) from Munich, whom he first met in Dresden. They must have been a popular and sociable trio, as about 50 painters gathered for a fare-well party the evening before they departed.9 The artists were more or less the same age: in September 1832, Fearnley was the oldest at 29 years; Pretzl and Bendz were both 28 years old. The young artists’ destination on leaving Munich was of course Italy.
About a week later they arrived in the Bavarian alpine village of Ramsau. Their suitcases had been sent directly to Rome, but they each still had almost 20 kg on their backs to carry across the mountains.10 Their route differed from that normally taken by German artists.11 They walked through Ramsau, Gosausee, Villach and Trieste, from where they reached Venice by boat.12 A drawing by Joseph Petzl, show-ing Bendz in his travel outfit, reveals how the artists were equipped on their journey (Fig. 6). The three artists wore a costume typical for artists crossing the Alps in that period: a so-called Altdeutscher Rock, sign of a progressive attitude,13 and under it ‘a dark blue overcoat with many pockets and in addition a pair of trousers of white and blue striped ticking’.14 They also had a cleverly contrived knapsack, equipped with a device for fixing the painter’s box, pockets for paint bladders, a foldable stool and an umbrella. On top of Bendz’s knapsack
is a cylindrical box which would have been made of tin and used to keep the drawing papers clean and dry.
The artists had clement weather in Ramsau and spent every minute sketching from nature. In letters to his fiancée Marie, Bendz described the mornings and evenings as bitterly cold.15 The end of September was rather late for such a trip, with a cold winter approaching. They moved onto Salzburg and Gosausee, where Fearnley is known to have made several sketches. At this point, the weather became cold and wet. The artists walked up to 14 hours a day and the trek on foot over the Alps became very strenuous, especially for the somewhat corpulent Fearnley.16 It should therefore come as no surprise that there are no known surviving sketches by Fearnley from the last part of their mountain crossing.
In late October 1832, the three companions reached Venice, at that time part of the Habsburg empire, where the three travellers said goodbye to go their separate ways:
Fearnley was determined to carry on until he reached Rome, whereas Bendz wanted to stay in Venice. Bendz became ill, but moved on to Vicenza, where he died most likely from typhus just three weeks after he had parted from his friends. Fearnley finally arrived in Rome late November 1832 where he settled for a while, living amongst the Danish and German artistic community before turning further south.
Fig. 5 Thomas Fearnley, Fearnley in his Studio, probably 1826, oil on board, 48 × 62 cm, private collection. (Image: O. Væring Eftf. AS.)
BIRGIT REISSLAND, TINA GRETTE POULSSON, HENK VAN KEULEN AND INEKE JOOSTEN