Franz Caucig, Franco Caucig or Francesco Caucig,
also known in
Slovene as Franc Kavčič or Frančišek Caucig (4 December 1755, Gorizia – 17 November, 1828, Vienna)
was a
Neoclassical painter and drawer of
Slovene origin.
He is one of the best representatives of the Central European Neoclassicism.
He attained the highest positions and recognitions of all the artists of Slovene descent.
Life
Caucig was born in
Gorizia
Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...
, at the time the capital of the
Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca
The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...
. Count Guido von Cobenzl, who spent the last years of his life in Gorizia, recognised the talent in the young boy, so when he was 20, he sent him to his son
Philipp
Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
"Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews.
Surname
* Adolf Philipp (1864 ...
, who was very influential at the
Austrian court, and who then greatly contributed to Caucig's education and further career.
Caucig studied the first principles of art at
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and went, aided by a grant, in 1779, to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
and to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he remained until 1787.
From 1787 till 1791, he lived in Vienna, and in 1791, he was enabled in the same way to visit
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
, where he particularly copied
Giulio Romano and reliefs on ancient
sarcophagi.
From 1791 to 1797, he resided at
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, where he was in 1796 named a member of the committee of the
Accademia di Belle Arti.
He returned to Vienna in 1797, and in 1799 became the professor of drawing at the
Vienna Academy
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
.
In 1810, Caucig's nestor Cobenzl, who was the protector at the Academy, died and was replaced by
Prince von Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
. In 1815, Caucig was offered the post of the director of the Painting and Sculpture Class, but refused it, and accepted it only in 1820.
He held the office until his death.
He died from pneumonia four days after the death of his wife and was buried in
Gloggnitz
Gloggnitz is a mountain town in the Neunkirchen district of Lower Austria, Austria.
Gloggnitz is situated in the south-western part of the Vienna Basin in Lower Austria. It is surrounded by the highest mountains in Lower Austria, Mount Rax (20 ...
, a town in the mountains of
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
. They had no children.
Work
Caucig was acquainted with the
French Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is a movement in architecture, design and the arts which was dominant in France between about 1760 to 1830. It emerged as a reaction to the frivolity and excessive ornament of the baroque and rococo styles. In architecture it featur ...
(for example, he saw the ''
Oath of the Horatii'' in 1784), but was most influenced by
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
and by the
School of Bologna, and also by the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
in the sense of dramatic diagonals.
He was clever as a draughtsman, and created over 2000 drawings, the themes being the Italian and Austrian vedute, antique works of art and the works of arts of the
Old Masters. He mainly depicted themes from the
Antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
,
the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, and lives of the
Christian saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
, and some of his images were classified as belonging to the
Egyptian Revival.
His works illustrate
secular moralistic beliefs, according to the wishes of his purchasers, such as in contrast to the
Christian moralistic depictions of earlier periods.
However, he also created altar paintings and portraits. He created over 30
oils. In accordance with the ideals of his era, lines are sharp, the composition is transparent and balanced, and the ratios of figures and objects are proportionate, the space is defined with architectural elements, whereas colours are cold and of secondary importance.
Specimens of Caucig's works are kept in Ljubljana, in Vienna, in Hungary, in Italy, in Czech Republic, in Serbia and in the United States.
External links
Retrovizor: Franc Caucig. Television production. The video presents the recordings of Caucig's works and the interviews with the director of the National Gallery of Slovenia and the curator of the exhibition of Caucig's works in 2007. Start time: 6:20. Authors: Doblehar, Andrej. Kočevar, Marko. Papič, Milivoj. Website: MMC RTV Slovenia. Published by: Televizija Slovenija. Date: 2 November 2007. Accessed on: 18 February 2012. (Rich content - may be viewed with
Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player (WMP) is the first media player and media library application that was developed by Microsoft for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on ...
or
RealPlayer
RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...
).
*
rom a Drawing to an Oil Painting Video presentation of Caucig's works, with titles in Slovene. Created for the exhibition in 2007. Author: Hribar, Luka. Music: Schubert, Franz, Impromptu No. 3, Op. 90. Website: YouTube. Publisher: National Gallery of Slovenia. First published in November 2007. Uploaded to YouTube on 24 January 2012. Accessed on 18 February 2012.
Bibliography
•Johannes Röll: Ein Porträt des Malers Franz Caucig in einem Zeichnungsalbum der Bibliotheca Hertziana, Römisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana 40, 2011/12 (2016), 289-309
•Johannes Röll e Ksenija Rozman: Franz Caucig: Die italienischen Landschaftszeichnungen. Cyriacus. Studien zur Rezeption der Antike Band 11, Ruhpolding und Mainz 2018
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caucig, Franz
1755 births
1828 deaths
18th-century Austrian painters
18th-century Austrian male artists
Austrian male painters
19th-century Austrian painters
19th-century Austrian male artists
18th-century Slovenian people
19th-century Slovenian people
Draughtsmen
Neoclassical painters
Slovenian painters
Slovenian male painters
People from Gorizia
Academic staff of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
Ethnic Slovene people
Austrian people of Slovenian descent
People from Austrian Littoral
Deaths from pneumonia in Austria