CHILDE HAROLD'S PILGRIMAGE
Cascata delle Marmore (I), 2016
The Cascate delle Marmore near Terni in Umbria, are artificial waterfalls which were created 271 B.C., when Roman engineers dried the plateau of Rieti by diverting the Velino River to a canyon. With a drop of 165 metres they are the highest man-made waterfalls in the world and they became a popular destination for artists and writers who traveled through Italy on the Grand Tour from the 17th to 19th centuries. Since the mid-20th century, the waterfalls have also been harnessed for power production. When the water is diverted to the electricity plant, the waterfalls decrease to a minimum. Today, as a tourist attraction, they are switched on several times a day and the trickle is transformed into the renowned and thunderous "spectacle of nature".
Video:
26 th August 1824 & 2015
20:00 min
(C) Robert Gschwantner
Video: 26th August 1824 / 2015
Video: 26th August 1824 / 2015
Cascate delle Marmore, etching, 1847
Cascate delle Marmore, french newspaper article, 1848
Lord Byron - Childe Harold's pilgrimage, George Routledge and sons, London and New York, 1813
Johann Gottfried Seume - Spaziergang nach Syrakus, Gustav Kemper, Berlin, 1803
Installation view SPAZIO22, Milano (I), 2017
Installation view museum Casa di Goethe, Rome (I), 2018
Installation view Artmark Galerie, Vienna, 2016
The works in this series are covered with a woven net of PVC tubes filled with water collected from the Cascate delle Marmore. Behind this net, a pane of glass is partly masked with abstract, geometric motifs and then a mirror is mounted at the back. When the viewer moves, the mirror can be seen to reflect idyllic scenes painted by the classical landscape artist Johann Christian Reinhart (1761-1847). This effect is the result of Reinhart's pictures being mounted on the rear of the abstract forms on the glass pane. Front and background surfaces, abstraction and landscape painting, all merge into a complex, shifting image.
Exhibition view Kunstverein KunstHaus Potsdam, (D), 2017, Foto: B. Hiepe
The song of the wayfarer in a storm, 2016, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
The song of the wayfarer in a storm, 2016, detail
Highland waterfall, 2017, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Highland waterfall, 2017, detail
Exhibition view Kunstverein KunstHaus Potsdam, (D), 2017, Foto: B. Hiepe
Night landscape with storm II, 2017, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Night landscape with storm II, 2017, detail
Exhibition view, church Saint Wolfgang, Kanning (A), 2019
Landscape with Mercury and Io II, 2017, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Landscape with Mercury and Io II, 2017, detail
Exhibition view Kunstverein KunstHaus Potsdam, (D), 2017, Foto: B. Hiepe
Idealized landscape with ancient figures, 2015 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Knight in a stormy landscape, 2015, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Knight in a stormy landscape, 2015, detail
Landscape with Mercury and Io, 2015 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Landscape with Mercury and Io, 2015 detail
Night landscape with storm, 2017 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Landscape with a bridge, 2015 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Exhibition view SPAZIO22, Milan (I), 2017
Landscape at the serpentara with farmer and cattle, 2017 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Landscape at the serpentara with farmer and cattle, 2017 detail
Rocky landscape with waterfall, 2015, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Exhibition view SPAZIO22, Milan (I), 2017
The mill at the waterfall, 2017, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
The mill at the waterfall, 2017, detail
View over the valley, 2016 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Exhibition view SPAZIO22, Milan (I), 2017
Idealized landscape with shepherd and goats, 2016, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
The Terni waterfall, 2016, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
The Terni waterfall, 2016, detail
Idealized landscape with shepherd and goats, 2016, detail
Exhibition view MUSEUM CASA DI GOETHE, ROME (I), 2018
At the fountain of Acqua Acetosa, 2017 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Mountain landscape with waterfall, 2016, PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm
Exhibition view ARTMARK GALERIE, VIENNA (A), 2016
The temple of Vesta and waterfall, 2016 PVC-tubes, water from the Cascata delle Marmore, mixed media, 50x40x9cm