Another Chapter in “The Von Wagner Code”

There has been another discovery since last we wrote about “The Von Wagner Code” and posed the question of whether a masterwork had been discovered in a storage closet at Florida Southern College.

Although the discovery doesn’t officially confirm that the work upon which “The Von Wagner Code” exhibition is centered is a verifiable work of Alexander von Wagner, it adds another piece of evidence to suggest that this could be true. 

In August, Diane Baires – who is the curator of Florida Southern’s Melvin Gallery and works as the Art and Art History Department assistant at the college – located an inventory and an article from 1951 about the college’s art collection that listed a painting in the student lounge called “Claudius Triumph” by “Alexander Wagner.”

“Upon its rediscovery in 2016, it was initially believed that the painting was gifted to the college in 1953 as a 17th century Italian Baroque painting by Domenico Fetti, based on a letter that was believed to relate to the painting,” said Dr. Alex Rich, the Polk Museum of Art’s curator and director of galleries and exhibitions. Rich also is an art history professor at Florida Southern. 

Instead, research confirmed it to be a variant of von Wagner’s 19th century “The Chariot Race.” 

Based on this inventory and newspaper article discovery, however, “we now know the college knew it was by von Wagner way back when after all and that it was on campus as early as 1951, nearly two years before the questionable ‘Fetti’ gift of 1953,” Rich said. “But the college was not aware that the von Wagner was a masterwork, obviously, given what happened to it.”

Sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s, the painting was cut out of its frame, replaced by a mirror, and rolled up in a closet. 

And over the 60 years it was stowed away, what it actually was — a von Wagner — was forgotten. 

“No evidence suggested its provenance, apart from our knowledge of who gifted it,” Rich said. “Upon its rediscovery, it was thus mistaken as the ‘Fetti’ gifted by the same donor in 1953. The confusion stemmed from the fact that both gifts — the von Wagner and the Fetti — were from the same donor but for two entirely different paintings.”

The 1953 letter that offered the gift of the Fetti work and that was thought to concern the rediscovered “Chariot Race” painting was written by Emile E. Watson. But as it turns out, Watson gifted the von Wagner before 1951, and the Fetti in 1953. Excitingly, we know the college once believed it had both a von Wagner and a Fetti.  We have the presumed von Wagner on display at the Museum, but now there’s another thrilling mystery: Where is the Fetti painting?

Learn More

Want to hear more about this exhibition? Watch the Aug. 16 episode of WEDU’s “Arts Plus.”

Exhibition Focuses on Mystery of Possible Masterwork Discovery

A large-scale painting of a Roman chariot race found in a closet on the Florida Southern College campus unearthed a mystery and became the impetus for a home-grown exhibition opening June 23 at the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College.  

“The Von Wagner Code” is a curated exhibition centered on the rediscovered painting that appears to be an early, lost version of Hungarian artist Alexander von Wagner’s acclaimed masterpiece, “The Chariot Race” of 1882, now in the Manchester Art Gallery.  Several early versions are known to have been painted originally in the 1870s but have vanished. 

This exhibition is also believed to be the first-ever museum show focused on von Wagner and his work, said Dr. Alex Rich, PMA curator and director of galleries and exhibitions.

The fragile but newly-conserved painting measures 52 inches by 72 inches and was gifted to Florida Southern in 1953 as a 17thcentury Italian Baroque painting by Domenico Fetti. In 2016, it was discovered in a storage closet, along with paperwork that documented it as a Fetti painting of the 1600s. Rich had his doubts.

A bit of research confirmed it to be instead a variant of von Wagner’s 19thcentury “The Chariot Race,” which was wildly popular in its day and is a staple of art history textbooks. His painting heavily influenced Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel, “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” which went on to be adapted to the stage and screen.

Von Wagner’s painting was commercially reproduced within years of its first U.S. exhibition in the 1870s, and it was common for American families to have a print of the painting in their homes.

Works that speak to the painting’s popularity that are part of this exhibition include:

·      From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s collection, an 1875 copperplate etching made after the painting, which was heralded as the largest in the U.S. at the time. 

·      From the Library of Congress, the 1896 original sheet music of John Philip Sousa’s battle piece “The Chariot Race,” which von Wagner’s painting inspired.

·      Also from the Library of Congress, original posters from a 1901 “Ben-Hur” stage play and the 1925 film of the same name. Von Wagner’s painting inspired the imagery and cinematography for these productions.

·      From the collection of a Paris art gallery, the only locatable original study for the painting. It was purchased at auction in 2013 by a private buyer in Denmark.

“The Chariot Race” was so popular that the San Francisco Weekly Examiner placed advertisements in many Mid-western newspapers — including the Kansas Agitator as early as 1892 — offering a print of “The Chariot Race” as an enticement to those who subscribed to it. 

“All of these cultural artifacts are evidence of this painting’s impact,” Rich said. “Part of the story we wish to convey in the exhibition is the popularity and legacy of this painting and of von Wagner, and the fact that we may have uncovered an important missing piece of this complex history.” 

An opening reception for “The Von Wagner Code” is scheduled for June 29, 6-8:30 p.m., and the exhibition runs through Sept. 16. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. The Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College is located at 800 E. Palmetto St. Visit www.polkmuseumofart.orgfor more information, and to RSVP for the reception. 

Exhibition Invites Guests to Crack the von Wagner Code

A painting of a chariot race found tucked away on the Florida Southern College campus unearthed a mystery and sent Dr. Alex Rich, PMA curator and director of galleries and exhibitions, on a quest to discover the story behind the work. 

The painting in question appears to be an early version of Hungarian artist Alexander von Wagner’s “The Chariot Race,” which is believed to have been painted originally in the 1870s. For all of the answers Rich has unearthed in his search for information on the painting, many questions remain. 

“The Von Wagner Code” is a curated exhibition that poses those questions about the mysteries of the painting’s history to the public. It is believed to be the only exhibition of von Wagner’s work ever held in the United States, Rich said.

In the Closet

The work in question measures 52 inches by 72 inches and was gifted to Florida Southern in 1953 as a 17thcentury Italian Baroque painting by Domenico Fetti. At some point, the work was admired more for its frame than the painting itself, so the canvas was removed, rolled up and replaced with a mirror.

In 2016, the tattered painting was discovered in a storage closet, along with paperwork that documented it as a Fetti painting. Rich had his doubts. The painting of horses and a chariot in a Roman forum arena simply didn’t look like an Italian Baroque painting, he said.

After performing initial conservation work to the damaged canvas in February 2017, art conservationist Rustin Levinson confirmed Rich and other PMA staffers’ suspicions when she determined the painting couldn’t be older than a 19thcentury work, based on the materials used. 

Rich researched further and confirmed that it appeared to be a variant of von Wagner’s famous “The Chariot Race.” Although von Wagner was known to have painted several versions on the theme, Rich located the only presumably extant version of the work in the Manchester Art Gallery in England dated 1882. 

Commercial Popularity

In its various early versions, “The Chariot Race” was wildly popular in its day. It was commercially reproduced, and it was common for American families to have a print of the painting in their homes.

In 1875, the largest copperplate etching in the U.S. at that time was made after this painting. It is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. The Smithsonian has loaned the work to PMA as part of the upcoming exhibition. That black and white image measures 18 1/8 inches by 28 1/8 inches. 

Proof of the painting’s popularity is seen in various art forms. Von Wagner’s painting inspired John Philip Sousa to write the battle piece “The Chariot Race” in 1888. The Museum has secured the original sheet music from the Library of Congress to be part of the PMA’s exhibition, and an orchestral recording of the march will play alongside it.

Von Wagner’s painting also inspired many of the literary and film depictions we associate today with Roman chariot racing, including the cinematography for “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” in 1925. The movie was based on Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel of the same name, which was influenced heavily by von Wagner’s paintings on the theme from the previous decade. Prior to the movie, a theatrical adaptation of Wallace’s novel was produced first in 1899, and the commercial advertising for the play replicates von Wagner’s painting.

The Museum has secured from the Library of Congress original posters from a 1901 “Ben-Hur” stage play and from the 1925 film for “The Von Wagner Code” exhibition. Rich also discovered 1916 silent movie playing cards with images of von Wagner’s painting on the cards. A deck of the cards is among the several dozen objects that illustrate the widespread popularity of the painting as part of the exhibition.

“The Chariot Race” was so popular that the San Francisco Weekly Examiner placed advertisements in many Mid-western newspapers — including the Kansas Agitator as early as 1892 — offering a print of “The Chariot Race” as an enticement to those who subscribed to it.  

“All of these cultural artifacts are evidence of this painting’s impact,” Rich said. “Part of the story we wish to convey in the exhibition is the popularity and legacy of this painting and of von Wagner, and the fact that we may have uncovered an important missing piece of this complex history.” 

Clues in the Painting

The reason behind the exhibition’s name is because the Museum is looking for evidence that the featured painting is definitively by von Wagner, Rich said.  

As part of the search for answers, Rich located the original study for the painting, discovering that it had been sold at auction to a private buyer in Denmark in 2013. Now held in the collection of a Paris gallery, the original study is on its way to Lakeland, on loan to the PMA exhibition. The Museum hopes it could yield a host of answers.

The painting upon which “The Von Wagner Code” exhibition is built is only the left half of the scene in von Wagner’s finalized and best-known Manchester version. Guests will be invited to examine elements of the painting for clues to its authenticity. For example, the lower left corner of the painting features a chariot wheel that has spun off. On the wheel is a symbol. Does it read “VW” for Von Wagner, or something else?

Come see for yourself when the exhibition opens June 23. It runs through Sept. 16. Admission to the Museum is free daily.