Vienna Secession: Rudolf Bacher
Tomb of Caecilia Metella (Grabmal der Caecilia Metella), 1894
Oil on canvas
89 × 125 cm
Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna

Painted in 1894, Campagna di Roma. Grabmal der Caecilia Metella marks a transitional step toward Viennese modernism. The canvas features a woman, traditionally referred to as Julika, in the foreground with the ancient Roman tomb of Caecilia Metella positioned in the background. Bacher structures the composition by placing the seated figure in deep shade, contrasting her posture against the open horizon of the Roman landscape.

The Connection to Gustav Klimt

Rudolf Bacher (1862–1945) trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, working initially within academic conventions. His travel to Rome in 1890 altered his treatment of space, light, and landscape. Three years after finishing this canvas, Bacher co-founded the Vienna Secession in 1897 alongside Gustav Klimt.

This 1894 painting functions as a stylistic prelude to that movement. Rather than adopting typical academic idealism, Bacher utilizes flat, horizontal color fields. These structural choices mirror the exact decorative techniques that Klimt and the Secessionists later developed to break away from traditional historicism.

Composition, Color and Form

The layout relies on a clear separation between the human figure and the background monument. The woman sits on a stone block with her head resting on her knee. A field of wild, tall grass separates her from the cylindrical ancient mausoleum and the horizon.

Bacher restrains his color palette to earth tones and muted greens, dropping the figure completely into shadow while keeping the sky bright. The airy, light-blue dress of the woman breaks through these neutral, dusty tones of the Campagna. The emphasis remains on the formal geometric relationship between the stone architecture, the flat landscape, and the solitary figure, eliminating traditional narrative detail.

The Roman Tomb and Historical Backdrop

The monument in the background is the prominent 1st-century BC cylindrical mausoleum of Caecilia Metella, located along the ancient Via Appia. Bacher includes the medieval defensive battlements and smaller stone fortifications that were added to the tomb during the 14th century by the Caetani family. By reducing these prominent architectural structures to small, geometric shapes on the horizon under an overcast sky, Bacher integrates the historic Roman backdrop into a modern, surface-oriented landscape.