Celebratory Frieze Of The History Of Rome. Cartoon From The Eroli Studio, 1930s Italy

Italy, Rome, circa 1935-1940.

Mixed media on paper laid down on a wooden panel, retaining its original hanging eyelets.

Dimensions: 162 × 44 cm.

Large preparatory cartoon executed in Rome during the 1930s and attributable to the workshop of Pio and Silvio Eroli, one of the leading Roman studios specializing in mosaics, tapestries, stained glass and monumental decorative schemes. Several cartoons from the same group bear the signature of the Studio Eroli, allowing this example to be attributed to the same production with a high degree of confidence. Founded by Erulo Eroli and based on Via del Babuino, the workshop was active for decades on many of the capital's most important decorative commissions.

The work belongs to the cultural climate of Rome in the 1930s, when the revival of Roman heritage inspired numerous monumental decorative projects. The celebrations of the Bimillennium of Augustus' birth (1937-1938), the project for the Museum of the Roman Empire, and the construction of the E42, today's EUR district, encouraged the creation of large decorative cycles celebrating the history and identity of Rome. Although this cartoon cannot be linked to a specific commission, its subject, format and visual language clearly place it within that context.

The frieze presents a rich sequence of monuments, allegories and symbols tracing the history of Rome, from the ancient world through the Christian tradition to the Humanist Renaissance. At its centre appears the monumental inscription: "Roman Law – Faith – The Humanist Renaissance – Three Inextinguishable Lights of the History of Rome."

Beside the word LEX are the Vittoriano with one of its quadriga sculptures, a rostral column, and a classical sculptural group. The rostral column, an ancient Roman honorary monument decorated with the prows of captured enemy ships, is the traditional symbol of naval victories and the power of the Roman State. Its presence emphasizes the role of Roman law and authority as the foundation of Roman civilisation.

At the centre of the composition stands the Capitoline Wolf with Romulus and Remus before the ancient walls of Rome, from which emerge the figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Along the walls runs a sequence of shields inspired by the coats of arms of Rome's historic districts, including Colonna, Pigna, and Monti, alternating with civic banners and emblems. A broad watercourse, identifiable as the River Tiber, flows across the composition, symbolically linking the different periods of the city's history.

The section devoted to FIDES introduces Christian Rome, while the Humanist Renaissance is represented through symbols of the arts and learning: a harp, a violin, a painter's palette, a large quill pen, books, an armillary sphere and allegorical figures. In the foreground appears a plough, a clear reference to the origins of Rome and to the traditional ritual of its foundation. All inscriptions are executed in elegant Roman capitals, inspired by ancient Roman monumental inscriptions.

The work is in good overall condition and retains its original wooden support with the original hanging eyelets.