Draft:Robert du Parc

Robert du Parc, also referred to as Count Robert du Parc-Locmaria, born April 27, 1889 in Klagenfurt and died September 22, 1979 in Mérano, was a French and Italian painter. Painter from South Tyrol, draftsman, graphic designer and sculptor, he belongs to the movement of symbolism. As a self-taught, he is considered one of the most important South Tyrolean visual artists of the 20th century.

Biography
Du Parc was the son of Count Camille du Parc-Locmaria and Countess Anna born von Bocholtz-Asseburg, widowed Wolff-Metternich and grew up at Rubein Castle in Merano, today in Italy. The Parc-Locmaria family is one of the oldest Breton-French noble families. Robert du Parc became interested in painting and drawing as well as art and music very early on. He is closely associated with the Meraner Künstlerbund founded in 1906, where Leo Putz, Eduard Thöny, Franz Defregger, Thomas Riss and Orazio Gaigher brought together the influences they collected during their study trips on European art of 20th century.

In 1927, du Parc went on a study trip to France, where he was very impressed by the works of Paul Cézanne. Other trips took him to Italy, where he trained as a violinist in Florence. From then on, du Parc painted in his studio in the castle tower of Rubein, where artists such as the painter Hans Weber-Tyrol, the conductor Gilbert Graf Gravina and the narrator Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando visited him. During a concert in Merano du Parc met the pianist Lilo Martin. In 1944, du Parc married Lilo Martin (1908-1986), model for several of his paintings. The couple had a daughter, Éliane du Parc, who later became the chatelaine of the castle Gymnich and later castle Rubein.

Work
Du Parc is one of the representatives of the late symbolists and South Tyrolean landscape painting, which broke with the dominant academic painting and naturalism. He was introduced into the Saur general lexicon of artists in 2021. The eight variants of the White Peacocks are among the most important works of the artist. The motif of the painting is probably not only the artist's best known, but also has a very diverse and lasting impact, whose deep symbolic mysticism is analyzed by different authors. Du Parc is fascinated by the mythological significance of peacocks, symbol of the goddess of the Moon Hera, protector of women and the family. Du Parc is also known for his paintings of mystical landscapes such as the painting ''Rubin's Castle in the Misr'. Some of his early landscape paintings were destroyed by the artist himself during a depressive phase of his life.

In 1926, du Parc participated in the third Tridentine Venice Art Biennale. In 2006, one of the largest painting exhibitions in Merano dedicated to the works of Robert du Parc took place at the Kurhaus. The exhibition “White Peacocks in the Moonlight” is planned for 2025 at Rubein Castle. The second wife of Wilhelm II, the last emperor of Germany, Hermine, Princess Reuss posessed several paintings by du Parc in her living room at Saabor Castle in Lower Silesia. However, these paintings are considered lost since the princess fled Russian troops and the looting of the castle. In 2023, the first provenance research was carried out at Saabor Castle, in present-day Poland, but has not yet yielded information on the current location of the paintings.

Links

 * The Painter Count Robert du Parc at Castle Rubein: https://vimeo.com/40950324
 * The Painter Robert du Parc: https://vimeo.com/41446350