Carlo Adolfo Schlatter: A Theosophical Painter in Florence

The artist devoted several years to “present the essence of Theosophy in a concise, simple but conclusive form.”

By Massimo Introvigne

May 3, 2025

A self-portrait of Carlo Adolfo Schlatter (1903, credits) and his house-museum in Florence.

Among the Italian painters who were Theosophists, Carlo Adolfo Schlatter (1873–1958) was rediscovered only recently. Most archives of the Italian Theosophical Society were lost during the Fascist persecution. Thus, it is impossible to confirm that Schlatter was a card-carrying member of the Theosophical Society. However, the conclusion is supported by the fact that Schlatter wrote several books on Theosophy from the point of view of a Theosophist and corresponded with leading Theosophists of his time, one of whom, Bernardino Del Boca (1919–2001), explicitly addressed him as a fellow Theosophist.

Carlo Adolfo Schlatter was born in Rome on October 14, 1873. His father, Louis Georges Schlatter (1826–1877), had been Switzerland’s consul general to the Papal States until they were annexed to Italy in 1870. Louis Georges had also founded a bank, which went bankrupt due to the fall of Papal Rome, which also caused the loss of properties he had acquired in the Pontifical State. In 1876, he moved to Florence with his wife and his three-year-old son Carlo Adolfo, hoping his brother George-Louis Schlatter (1835–1906), who resided there and had married his wife’s sister Mathilde Delamorte (1844–1917), would help him. Louis Georges, however, died in Florence in 1877. His widow, Filippina Émilia Delamorte (1848–1925), who descended from a family with important commercial interests in Livorno, married a Protestant notary public called Ugolino Golini (1854–1928).

Thanks to the support of his influential stepfather, after he completed secondary studies at the commercial school “Leon Battista Alberti” in 1891, the young Schlatter was introduced to Florence’s artistic milieu. In 1897, he was admitted to the prestigious Free School of Nude Art at Florence’s Academy of Fine Arts. There, he met students who were or would become art celebrities, such as Symbolist painter and fellow Swiss Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901), who had enrolled in the School in 1894 at age 67; Italian Art Nouveau’s leading light Galileo Chini (1873–1956); avant-garde painter Ardengo Soffici (1879–1964), who was also probably a member of the Theosophical Society; and Raoul Dal Molin Ferenzona (1879–1946), a painter with significant Theosophical and esoteric interests with whom Schlatter started a lifelong friendship. In these years, Schlatter met Emma Moni (1879–1923) and married her in 1899, despite her family’s opposition.

Schlatter in his studio. Credits.

Neither Emma’s nor his family agreed with his decision to devote his entire life to the arts. He had a part of his inheritance liquidated to build a house in Florence’s Campo di Marte, which was, at that time, part of the countryside. Although some of his paintings were exhibited and he won several awards, he was reluctant to sell them, believing art was a form of spirituality rather than a commercial activity. 

However, he did sell some works to illustrious clients. In 1907, his painting “The Charity Cloister in Perugia” was purchased by the King of Siam, Rama V Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), an acquaintance of Galileo Chini, who would later work for his successors in Thailand. In 1917, the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III (1869–1947), bought his engraving “La roccia fantasma” (The Ghost Rock).

Schlatter, “La roccia fantasma.” Credits.

In 1935, he wrote in the Theosophical magazine “Il Loto” (The Lotus): “Art/ Means of elevation / Strive during your earthly life to obtain ever more/ Intimate communion with the Spiritual Infinite to elevate yourself to the high spheres of the Ideal, of the Sublime. / Art in its highest expression tends to give a foretaste, a glimpse of the sublime Realms of Spirituality.”

He preferred to earn a living by designing wrought ironwork. In 1912, he obtained a patent for a new technique, and in 1913, he established an ironwork company with some co-workers. He also painted copies of the works of famous masters for some of Florence’s antique dealers. However, he remained poor throughout the rest of his life. 

His wife Emma died in 1923 of an infection contracted while swimming in the river Arno. The incident led Schlatter to focus on spirituality and esotericism. He was already familiar with Theosophy, but it became his primary interest after his wife’s death. He published several books presenting the Theosophical doctrines: “Gocce di rugiada” (Drops of Rust); “Ride la morte ( Death Laughs); “Viaggio sentimentale” “(Sentimental Journey); “I fiori della vita” (The Flowers of Life); “Mater Purissima” (The Purest Mother); “Cinque leggende sulla via dell’amore” (Five Legends on the Way of Love); “Base unica” (The Only Base). These books were not sold but distributed for free. They were devoted to introducing others to Theosophy by using a simple language. Schlatter put on the frontispiece of “The Flowers of Life” a quote from the President of Theosophical Society, George Sydney Arundale (1878–1946): “I would like to encourage my brothers to present the essence of Theosophy in a concise, simple but conclusive form.”

Schlatter, “L’isola dell’amore” (The Island of Love), 1908. Credits.

Even more critical to understand Schlatter’s approach to Theosophy are the twenty-five books he illustrated and bound but never published, which are notable works of art. They include “Reincarnazione” (Reincarnation), “Teosofia pura” (Pure Theosophy) and “Krishnaji philosophe malgré lui” (Krishnaji, the Unwitting Philosopher). In the latter book, he compared Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) to Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), of whose works Schlatter was one of Italian early readers.

Because he shunned publicity and rarely sold his paintings, Schlatter was almost forgotten after he died in 1958. He was rediscovered through a pioneering book chapter by Elisabetta Fadda in 2013, followed by Federica Franci’s dissertation and articles. The artist’s great-granddaughter, Alessandra Schlatter, has converted her ancestor’s Florence home into a museum doubling as a bed and breakfast. It is the center of initiatives preserving the memory of the Theosophist and painter.

Source: bitterwinter.org