Ars Adriatica (Jan 2016)
The Travelogue Lacroma, Work of Stephanie, Crown Princess of Austria, and Anton Perko, Seascape Painter at the Court
Abstract
Among the numerous travelogues describing southern Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, and its surroundings, the booklet called Lacroma merits special attention. Its author was the widowed Crown Princess Stephanie (1864-1945) and the illustrations were provided by Anton Perko, seascape painter at the court and the former governor of Lokrum. The first edition was published in 1892 in German, followed by an Italian one five years later. This article focuses on the first, German edition. Painter Anton Perko (1833-1905) stayed on the island of Lokrum from January 1879 until the beginning of 1881, with minor absences. The following year, he spent the entire winter on the island, and when the princely couple moved to Vienna, he also moved there in 1883. After the Mayerling drama, when Rudolf and his young mistress Marie Vetsera were found dead under mysterious circumstances, Perko’s life changed as well, yet he remained in the service of the widowed princess until 1896, when he retired. Anton Perko did not write an autobiography, but his important position in the royal household is evident from the fact that Stephanie and her daughter took care of his widow after his death in 1905. In 1892, a volume on Dalmatia was published as part of the complex work Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild, initiated by Prince Rudolf and continued by his widow Stephanie, which must have also inspired her to write a separate book on Lokrum with its rich historical, cultural, and natural heritage. Her description of Lokrum is intended for future tourists, potential visitors from the north, and introduces the reader to this insular Arcadia with descriptions of its position in southern Dalmatia and Dubrovnik, after which she turns to the history of Lokrum and its monuments, with reference to two written sources: the Apendius chronicle and the Memorie storiche sull’isola Lacroma, published in Vienna in 1861. Illustrations by Anton Perko are completely subjected to the text, eternalizing scenes described by Princess Stephanie and faithfully presenting the details that intrigued the author. The German version of Lacroma was published shortly before the end of Perko’s active life, spent largely next to the Crown Prince and his wife. It may thus be understood as a sort of sublimation for his work as the court secretary and painter. Sketches for the nineteen illustrations in the Lokrum booklet were probably made in the previous decades, while Perko was still the governor of the island. Among his works donated to the libraries of Dubrovnik, there are three drawing folders of small dimensions titled Lacroma and dated to 1879 and 1880 respectively, as well as a number of drawings and watercolours showing Lokrum’s landscapes. As a passionate sketcher, Perko must have made a far larger number of drawings on the island, but they must have been acquired by Stephanie after his death, which is why the Dubrovnik collection possesses only a small segment of his oeuvre. With its historical overview, descriptions of architecture and vegetation, and especially the contemporary details, this travelogue offers a precious insight into the appearance and life of the island in the 19th century. Especially valuable details include those referring to the interior of the summerhouse, inscriptions on the walls of the monastery, and Maximilian’s poetry, which Stephanie recorded preserving it from oblivion and making it available for a wider audience. Perko’s illustrations carefully follow the text, completely subjecting themselves to the author’s tone and introducing us to the solitude of island vistas and their hidden beauty in the conservative artistic tradition of the late 19th century. The painter has drawn with utter precision the architecture and the vistas of the island, the imperial residence, and the coastline, including the rare inhabitants in the serene solitude of their isolation, in the spirit of AustroHungarian Orientalism that he adhered to, yet he also gave us an image of the island that is nowadays almost unrecognizable owing to the rich vegetation. This paper analysis the textual and visual segments of the travelogue and their contribution to our knowledge of the island’s recent history, including the imperial residence and the natural resources.
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