The Villa Farnesina

Kara Dunn
Honors in Rome - Summer 2004

I. Introduction
"Key Figures: Patron and Artists of the Villa Farnesina"

The Villa Farnesina is a Roman villa built in 1509 for Agostino Chigi. At the time of its construction, the estate was located just outside of the city walls, and therefore considered a country villa. Today, it is only a short bus ride from the city center, located across the Tiber in the neighborhood of Trastevere. When considering the villa and its decoration, it is important to first consider the man it was built for. Chigi was a phenomenally wealthy banker from Siena. In fact, he was so incredibly wealthy and influential that he was honored with the title “Il Magnifico” by his hometown, was elected to be a senator, and was on intimate terms with Pope Leo X, who baptized Chigi’s illegitimate son (named Lorenzo Leone after the Pope) and eventually married Chigi to his mistress, Andreosia.

The Villa Farnesina
View of the Villa Farnesina from the gardens

The Villa Farnesina
View of the Villa Farnesina from the main entrance.

At this time, the Renaissance admiration for classical texts, art, and architecture had made the Roman villa fashionable again. In it’s classical ideal, it was meant to function as a retreat that could be devoted to quiet meditation and contemplation away from the city in the beautiful, rural countryside. Chigi, a business man first and foremost, had no desire to build a villa devoted to leisure hours and quiet reflection. Though Chigi did surround his villa with a large garden and fine stables, the building was meant to serve a business purpose as well. Being located so close to the city center, it was close enough for him to be able to return to the city in the evenings and his business there. The advantage of not being located too far away also allowed the villa to serve as a place where Chigi could lavishly entertain high prelates, noblemen, cardinals, and popes in a setting of wealth and grandeur. Comedies and poetry recitations were performed there for entertainment, and Chigi was famous for the extravagant banquets he held at the Farnesina. The most famous of these took place in his stables, when he tricked his guests into thinking it was his banquet hall by the lavish tapestries and decorations that were hung to conceal the stalls. At another famous banquet, he was said to have told the servants to cast the silver dishes each course was served upon into the Tiber after being used, to show his disdain for such trifles (though it is also said he placed a net below the surface of the water to retrieve the dishes with later). Whether or not they are true, the fact that these stories were circulated at all suggests the impressive scope and magnitude of his entertainments there. So, while the villa was built with classical architecture and function in mind, its true purpose was to impress upon guests the wealth, culture, and refined taste of the Chigi household.

Other key members involved in the construction of the Villa Farnesina include Baldassarre Peruzzi, an architect and painter, and Raphael Sanzi. Peruzzi was a famous architect who designed the Villa Farnesina and painted some of the frescoes as well. Like many great artists of his time, he was remarkable for the varied extent of his knowledge and skill. Not only was he a student of mathematics, a classical scholar, an architect, painter, and scientific engineer, but he also was a practitioner of minor arts such as stucco work in relief. The Villa Farnesina was one of the first works which brought renown to the young artist. On account of his success there he was appointed by Pope Leo X as architect to St. Peter’s, though his design for it’s completion was never carried out. Peruzzi continued to live and work in Rome and Siena until his death in 1536, when he was buried next to Raphael in the Pantheon. Raphael Sanzi, master painter of the Renaissance era, was commissioned to paint the "Triumph of Galatea", a beautiful fresco adorning what is now known as the "Hall of Galatea". Five years later, he was again commissioned by Chigi to decorate the ground floor loggia of the villa. A huge number of artistic works were completed or guided by Raphael during his regrettably short lifetime, and the Farnesina’s Galatea is considered to be one of his most accomplished pieces.


II. Description

Loggia della Psyche
The Farnesina is set in the midst of a beautiful garden of bergamot trees, cedars from Lebanon, cypresses, laurel bushes, and evergreens. On the ground floor of the Villa, an entrance hall leads to the Loggia della Psyche. The frescoes there were painted by Raphael and his pupils Giulio Romano, Francesco Penni, Raffaellino del Colle, and Giovanni da Udine. Raphael was commissioned to decorate the loggia in 1517, five years after painting the Galatea there. Like the Galatea, this cycle reflects the cultured atmosphere which had flourished in Rome under Pope Julius II and Leo X. According to his commission, Raphael was to decorate the large entrance loggia. This is a space which communicates between the living room and the garden outside. Raphael approached the individual character of this space by treating the roofed structure, which is a part of the main building, as an open pergola. He divided the space with magnificent, rampant garlands of exotic fruits that had been recently discovered in the explorations of the Americas. In fact, the garlands, painted by da Udine, were so admired by Pope Leo X that he commissioned the painter to decorate the first floor of the loggia in the Vatican with similar floral motifs. In keeping with the theme of the loggia as a pergola, Raphael also designed two large ceiling pictures that simulate tapestries stretched across the room. These huge awnings were painted so that we can see the straps “holding” the tapestries in place, and even the scalloped edges they create by stretching the material.

The frescoes around the ceiling represent episodes from the story of Cupid and Psyche as told by Aduleius in the “Metamorphasis.” Some of the remarkable frescoes include Venus showing Cupid her rival, Psyche; Cupid talking to the Three Graces; Venus going to Olympus on her chariot pulled by doves; Psyche competing the tasks set to her by Venus; and finally the story ends with the two psuedo tapestries on the ceiling which show the Council and the Banquet of the Gods, during which the marriage between Cupid and Psyche is arranged and celebrated. Although the preparatory drawings and the general conception of the stories are certainly Raphael’s work, the bulk of the painting was actually carried out by his pupils.

Loggia della Eros e Psyche
The Loggia of Cupid and Psyche was designed by Raphael.
Though much of the actual painting was done by his students,
Raphael's own hand in evident in the lovely face of Psyche
as she accends to Olympus with her lover, Cupid.
While completing the loggia, Raphael was supposedly so sick wtih longing
for his mistress that Chigi had her brought to stay at the villa in order to allow the artist
to focus on his work. It is thought to be her face that Raphael used as a model
for Psyche in this cycle of frescoes.

Hall of Galatea
To the right of the loggia is the Hall of Galatea, which contains the famous fresco depicting the triumph of the nymph Galatea, on a shell pulled by dolphins. The subject is chosen from a poem by Angelo Poliziano, a poet from Florence, which had also helped inspire Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. These lines describe how the clumsy giant cyclops, Polyphemus, sings a love song to the beautiful sea-nymph Galatea, and how she rides across the waves in a chariot drawn by two dolphins, laughing at his song while a company of sea gods mills around her. In the myth, Galatea refuses Polyphemus' advances because of her love for a Sicilian youth named Acius. Polyphemus eventually kills Acius with a boulder in a jealous rage, and a distraught Galatea turns his blood into the river Acius in Sicily.

Triumph of Galatea
Raphael's "Galatea" depicts the beautiful sea nymph riding across the waves on her chariot as she
laughs at the cyclops Polyphemus, who is singing her a love song (pictured elsewhere in the hall).

Hall of Galatea
The ceiling in the Hall of Galatea, designed and painted by Peruzzi, represents
the alignment of the stars on the day of Agostino Chigi's birth. His horoscope supposedly foretold a long and prosperous life.

All around the fresco of Galatea are delicate and idealized landscapes painted by Gaspare Dughet, and higher up on the wall there is a stunning Head of a Young Man. The charcoal colored head set against a rough background was originally attributed to Michelangelo, but modern opinion is inclined to credit it to Peruzzi. The lunettes, representing several myths, and the wide square near Galatea where Polyphemus stands, are the work of Sebastinao del Piombo. The vaulted roof, which was painted by Peruzzi, represents the twelve signs of the zodiac with planetary gods residing in some of them. Venus, for example, appears with the sign of Capricorn, and Apollo, the sun, with the the Archer. Star-charts of the northern hemisphere show that the constellations in Peruzzi’s fresco would have occupied this position on December 1, 1466. Since there is no documentation accurately pinpointing the date of Chigi’s death, though it was thought to be around the year 1465, it is generally believed that this ceiling represents the position of the stars on the day of Chigi’s birth. Peruzzi, an astrologer, would certainly have been capable of painting a precise horoscope for Chigi, and Chigi himself was known to believe in astrology, perhaps because his stars foretold and long and prosperous life for him.

From the windows on the first floor, there is a beautiful view of the gardens. A pleasant stroll under the laurel bower leads to a marble plaque which bears the inscription:

"Quisquis huc accedes: quod tibi horridum videtur mihi amoenum est; si placet, maneas, si taedet abeas, utrumque gratum" which translates to:

"Whoever enters here: what seems horrid to you is pleasant to me. If you like it, stay, if it bores you, go away; both are equally pleasing to me."


III. Function
"Function of Artwork: Impact on Viewer and Themes in Decoration"

The Villa Farnesina is rumored to have been built upon the site of the ancient villa where Cleopatra stayed when she accompanied her lover, Mark Antony, to Rome, and was built by Chigi for his mistress, the infamous courtesan Imperia (though it became the home of his second mistress, Andreosia, who eventually became his wife, after Imperia's death). Considering this history, it is not surprising that the decoration of the villa should have a common theme running through it - love.

The myth of Cupid and Psyche is an interesting subject matter for the loggia. Cupid fell in love with the daughter of a king, but had to remain unrecognizable to her and so came to her only at night. After Psyche had undergone many difficult trials, Zeus made her immortal and allowed her to marry Cupid. The unusual subject seems to be a reference to the much longed for marriage between Chigi and his mistress, Andreosia, with whom he already had four children. Of particular interest is the scene of Cupid with the Three Graces. It was said that only in the presence of the Three Graces could a young man recognize the charms of his beloved. Cupid is looking at the Graces and pointing with his left hand, not at Psyche, but at the loggia itself, the Chigi’s own domain. This is thought to be a compliment to the charms of Chigi's mistress, the lady of the house. The garlands of fruit are also charged with highly erotic overtones. Many of the fruits are bursting open, at their peak of ripeness, and there are several questionable vegetables, apparently an irregular variety of an elongated squash, scattered throughout the garlands.

The "Triumph of Galatea" also follows this theme of the pursuit of love, and demonstrates Raphael's remarkable skill in creating a fluid, harmonious composition of his figures. In this cheerful picture, every figure seems to correspond to some other figure, and every movement has a counter-movement to answer to. For example, there are small boys with bows and arrows aiming at the heart of the nymph. The ones to the right and left echo each other’s movements, and the boy swimming beside the chariot corresponds to the one flying above Galatea’s head. The sea gods also seem to be wheeling around the central figure, with two on the margins who blow their seashell horns, and two pairs in front and behind. Amazingly, all of these diverse movements around Galatea are also reflected in the figure of the nymph as well. While her chariot is driving from left to right across the sea with her veil blowing backwards, she is gazing back over the water in a counter-action to the forward motion of the chariot. Hearing the strange love song, she turns around and smiles, and all the lines in the picture converge on her beautiful face in the center of the picture, from the small boys arrows to the reins she holds in her hands. Through these artistic means, Raphael has achieved constant movement throughout the composition of the piece, without letting it appear restless or unbalanced.

The exquisite beauty of Raphael’s figures was also admired by his contemporaries and by following generations. When he had finished Galatea, Raphael was purportedly asked by a courtier where he had managed to find a model of such beauty in all the world. The master replied that he had not copied any specific model, but had instead followed “a certain idea” he had imagined in his mind. To some extent, Raphael had strayed from the faithful portrayal of nature which had been the ambition of so many artists at this time, and deliberately used an imagined type of regular beauty.

These themes of love found in the artwork of the Farnesina are also extended into the master bedroom, in a beautiful depiction of Alexander the Great presenting a crown to his beloved, Roxane, as she sits on a bed in a grand sleeping chamber.

These works of art, created by acknowledged masters of the day, would have been meant to impress upon the viewer the cultural attainments of the household. The grand style of the villa imparts a feeling of wealth and sophistication, and guests of Chigi would have undoubtably felt that they were in the presence of an influential and powerful figure upon entering his domain.


VI. Patron
"Functions of the Villa: Chigi's Motivations for Decorating Scheme"

It is intersting to note that the subjects for the villa's decoration were chosen from history or classical mythology, and there is no Christian imagery present in any of the decoration of the villa. One reason for this could be the fact that one of the villa's primary functions was to be a home for Chigi's mistress, a union which would have been considered "unholy" by the church. It would therefore make sense that Chigi would chose classical figures to celebrate their love, since there is no implication of an Almighty Father hovering in the heavens above, judging the activities going on in the villa below.

This leads into the second major function of the villa, which was to serve as a space where Chigi could host lavish parties to entertain his friends, clients, or other influential figures. This is especially evident in the decoration of the loggia. The theme is love, depicted with erotic overtones in the fruit of the garlands and the beauty of the scantily clad mythological figures. A banquet of the gods is presiding on the ceiling above the loggia, a party for the gods mirroring the parties that would have been taking place down below. As a palace built for banquets, love affairs, and entertainment, Chigi would not have wanted to include Christian symbols or figures that would remind the viewer of the church's stance on morality and values.

Some viewers might have found the villas decoration slightly shocking - the themes of love, eroticicm, and paganism without any sign of Christianity to contrast them. This is partly due to the Renaissance and the revival of classical texts and pagan mythology. These classical subjects would have been considered a sign of culture and education, not a sign of paganism or heretic beliefs. This can also be seens as a testament to Chigi's power. While the decoration of his villa might have caused a few reproving looks, nobody would dare reprimand an influential man like Agostino "Il Magnifico" Chigi for his choice of artwork. Chigi apparently believed himself to be above reproof, considering the inscription placed in the garden which implied that the viewer's opinion of his villa's decoration was of little consequence to him.


V. Conclusion
"The Villa Farnesina Today"

After Chigi’s death, the villa was bought by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, from whom the villa takes it’s name. It was passed to the Bourbon family in 1714 and then bought by the Spanish Ambassador, Bermudez de Castro, some time after that. In 1928 it was bought back from the Duke’s heirs by the Italian state and the major rooms were opened to the public for viewing, as it still is today. The Academia Nazionale dei Lincei is currently located in the Farnesina since 1944, and there is also a library there.

While the decoration of the villa may have been erotically charged and slightly radical in it's lack of Christian imagery at the time of it's construction, its artwork has lost that shock value over time. Visitors who return to the villa now are drawn there to view the work of Raphael, although those with more knowledge of Renaissance art and architecture are also interested in seeing the work of Peruzzi. Unfortunately, the Villa Farnesina tends to get lost in the crowd of historical sights, monuments, and museums that saturate Rome, and visitors today are likely to find themselves alone in the villa to appreciate its lovely artwork at their leisure.


VI. Personal Observations
A visit to the Villa Farnesina should be on every traveller's list of places to see in Rome, in my opinion. All of my research was completely inadequate in preparing me for my first experience of exploring the villa and seeing the decorations in person. Since the villa recieves very few visitors, even in peak tourist season, it feels almost as though the viewer is stepping back into a tiny bubble of Renaissance Rome as they wander the empty rooms, alone. The villa is unique in that it offers an opportunity to view paintings by Raphael in the setting they were meant to be viewed in. It is surprising how different the impact is, vieweing the "Galatea" as a part of the decoration of an entire room and not simply as a solitary panel on display in a museum. In this setting it is possible to see how the paintings were meant to work together within the overall scheme of decoration, and I found them more powerful when viewed together than they probably would have been if viewed individually.


VII. Bibliography
Hibbert, Christopher. "Rome: Biography of a City." London: Penguin Books, 1985.

Millard, George. "Rome." New York: Oxford University Press, 1961.

Johnston, David E. "Roman Villas." London: Shire Publications, 1988.

Raphael's Stanze at the Vatican

Shane Richards
Honors in Rome - Summer 2004

I. Introduction

Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael Santi) was born in Urbino, Italy in 1483 on Good Friday. His father was a mediocre painter who upon Raphael's birth knew of a divine quality that his son possessed. Like the ideal Italian family situation of the day, with two parents and one son, he was raised by his parents in an environment protected from regular peasants and other "less refined" persons. At an early age, his father noticed a strong artistic ability in Raphael, not just the feeling he had at birth, and so he was sent away to study under Pietro Perugino in Perugia. Raphael studied under Perugino and learned to paint duplicates or very similar styles of Perugino's own work. Within a short time, Raphael's abilities as seen through his paintings exceeded that of Perugino's, so he decided to leave and move to Florence, a known hotspot at the time for young and flourishing Renaissance artists.

Once in Florence, Raphael immersed himself amongst the many amazing artists most notably Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. At this time, Raphael continued to grow in his abilities as he dedicatedly researched perspective and form as seen in the art which surrounded him. Much like Michelangelo, he was noted for his depth of research which included the study of his peers both of the present day and of classical times, as well as time spent researching the shape and tone of the human body. Then, at age 25, Raphael was summoned by Bramante, the Pope's architect, to come to the Vatican to tryout to paint for the Pope.

It was at this "tryout" for Pope Julius II, that an unproven Raphael first began work on the Disputa. This became the first painting in a twelve year project that included painting and designing most of the frescoes for the four upstairs Stanze rooms of the Vatican. Within the first few weeks, the Pope's admiration for Raphael's work was so great, he commissioned him to first finish the frescoes of the most famous room, the Segnatura. Upon further completion of the Segnatura, the Pope placed Raphael in charge of the design of the rest of the Stanze, most of which Raphael's students frescoed based upon his designs.

II. Description

The Room of the Segnatura (Room of the Signature) housed 220 books for Pope Julius II, and earned its name because immediately following its completion, the Pope signed many papal documents within its frescoed walls, hence, the "Room of the Signature." Upon the four walls Raphael frescoed four highly classical ideas. This room starkly contrasted the religious frescoes Michelangelo painted at the same time in the Sistine Chapel. Raphael's view of the four main classical ideas included philosophy (The School of Athens), theology (The Disputa), literal arts (Parnassus), and the justice wall.

The School of Athens

The School of Athens which lies on the wall of philosophy is the most famous and revered fresco of the Segnatura. It may even be considered one of the most influential paintings of Raphael's lifetime. The School of Athens, originally named Causarum Cognito (Knowledge of Causes), dominates the attention of the room despite being the third wall to be chronologically completed, after the Disputa and Parnassus. It takes place in the ancient Grecian city of Lyceum and depicts the most accomplished and illustrious philosophers and scientists of ancient Greece. Sadly, Raphael kept no diary and left no concrete evidence of the true identities of the characters in the fresco. The identities are both speculated and inferred by art historians based upon their features or the objects they hold in their hands. Throughout the entire painting, Raphael focuses the viewer's attention to his perspective point through the use of the movement down by following the arches as well as the balancing effect of the actors on opposite sides of the center.

The central figures which lie on either side of the point of perspective depict one of the most famous teacher student combinations, that of Plato (left) and Aristotle (right). These two men appear to be walking under the main archway and obviously can be seen leading the school. Plato is depicted holding a copy of his Timaeus. He points up towards the heavens, symbolizing his philosophies of the aetherial realm. He had strong beliefs based upon the heavens and stars in the sky and their relationship to our galaxy, most notably the sun and the earth. His philosophies form the original discoveries and hypotheses of the greater universe around us. His face appears to be almost a duplicate of the self portrait of Leonardo, which suggests that without definitive ideas of Plato's looks, Raphael chose to honor his master by painting his face in the place of an unknown one. Plato looks to be conversing with Aristotle who holds a copy of his Nichomachean ethics. In disagreement with Plato, Aristotle points to the earth to signify his beliefs in more concrete ideas based around the earth itself.

Aristotle and the men to his left are seen as proven scientific philosophers, while the men to Plato's right are less material scientists and more in belief of unproven philosophical ideas. This theme is echoed not only by the people in the painting but also the statues in the background. On the left, Apollo, the god of natural philosophy can be recognized by his symbol the lyre. This propagates the claim that these men had less of a grasp upon the realism of their philosophies. Whereas on the right side, Athena, the god of moral philosophy suggests that those on the right were moral and correct in their theories. The important feature to note is the use of purposeful balance on each side that is never ignored throughout this entire masterpiece.

Starting by moving to the right, Diogenes can be seen sitting on the steps with a beggar's chalice by his knee. He appears to be deep in thought and his face depicts a very cynical attitude which Diogenes was famous for. Many art historians praise Raphael for this figure because of the use of depth that can be seen by Diogenes' pose on the steps. His figure seems to provide the best example of Raphael's improved use of perspective and movement in his work. Also, Raphael is praised for the immense detail and the appropriate lack of clothing. For a figure such as Diogenes, Raphael would have first taken sketches of a model in the same position, then used that sketch to create such a real image that in this case, showboats to his students and scholars his amazing abilities. Further to his right, Strabo can be seen holding the earth. He is famous for his geography and knowledge of the earth as a whole, even in the ancient Grecian times. His identity is in question, but most historians believe that this in fact is Strabo because a copy of his book translated to Latin in 1450 was contained in the library of Julius II. Right next to Strabo looking the away from the viewer Ptolemy also is holding a celestial sphere, but unlike Strabo's, Ptolemy's appears to be in motion. They appear to be in conversation and it can be assumed that Raphael painted the globes differently to contrast each philosophers dissimilarities. The person on the bottom right appears to be either Euclid or Archimedes with four students surrounding him. The main figure is bending over with a pair of dividers on a stone tablet. He appears to be teaching the four students around him. The significance of this portion of the fresco is based around the idea that each student resembles the four different stages of learning. Starting from left to right, the first student studies intently the literal meaning of the work. The next student appears to be an apprentice, the next person looks to be dawning comprehension, and the last student seems to be in anticipation of the outcome. The expressions and movements of these four actors truly epitomize the greatness and purpose of Raphael's form.

Raphael placed his self-portrait in very near the right edge of the painting. Only his head is visible, and his expression looks exactly like the one on his self portrait that hangs in the Uffizi in Florence. He looks directly out of the painting and down towards the viewer, the only person in the school directly to do so. This suggests that he looks at every viewer almost begging for a response and a reaction to his work. This practice was used by many painters throughout the Renaissance so that the viewer would feel open to criticize and make judgments upon their masterpiece.

To the left of center, sitting on the steps, Heraclitus is depicted with his head resting on his hand in deep thought. Many believe that Raphael added Heraclitus late, because he was not depicted in the preliminary cartoon of the painting that still exists today. Also, the body shows an almost perfect copy of what Michelangelo was believed to look like during that time period when he painted the Sistine Chapel. This was another attempt to honor one of Raphael's masters, much like he did with Leonardo and the face of Plato. However, with this figure, Raphael goes further, by depicting Michelangelo's face as well as his infamous leather shoes that rumor says he never took off.

Above him and to the left, the only face of a woman clothed in white robes can be seen almost glancing out of the painting. This person has been hypothesized to be either the Pope's nephew Francesco Rovere or the female Hypatia. Many believe that Raphael truly painted Hypatia despite quarrels by the college of cardinals that her beliefs counter those of the truly faithful. Raphael, an infamously passionate lover, supposedly claimed of the only female in the school "(She is the) most famous student in the school...and cannot be removed." This discrepancy leads many historians to believe that he disguised her and hid her into the fresco so that only those who knew him would know her true identity. Pythagoras is seen kneeling in the bottom left hand of the painting. Pythagoras on the left and Euclid on the right provide the balance that Raphael purposely intended on opposite sides of the point of perspective. Pythagoras can be seen with a representation of his mathematical harmony which was believed to be half science and half religious mathematics. He is holding a blackboard with the numbers 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = X (10), the sacred number. He was painted opposite Euclid because his philosophies are more secretive and more philosophical, while Euclid left remnants of physical geometry that are still recognized today. Just to the left of Plato, Socrates is depicted teaching a young person, maybe Alexander the Great or some other young student of classic Greece.

Truly, this masterpiece dominates the focus of the Room of the Segnatura. Never before had such an amazing group of classical thinkers been brought together on one canvas or in one gathering place. To stand in this room, Pope Julius II felt the same feeling that present day museum goers do, of sheer amazement and awe of the great conglomeration of classical thinkers encapsulated on one immense fresco. The sum of the parts of this painting come together to create a much more powerful statement than that of the singular elements. Much like many other Renaissance paintings, this theme of perspective and proper weighting makes an enormous statement to those patrons lucky enough to view it.

The Disputa

On the wall opposite the School of Athens, Raphael painted the other large and historically famous painting of the Disputa (The Disputation of the Blessed Sacrament) to depict the wall of theology. The point of perspective in this painting lies obviously enough where the blessed host is levitated above a golden chalice-like object. The four main figures displayed in the middle of the second tier of the painting show Mary, Jesus, John the Baptist, and above Jesus' head, the figure of God the Father. They provide a striking image that jumps out of the fresco and forces the viewer to realize the linear importance of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Host.

The three levels of this painting depict the three different levels of divinity. The bottom row contains mortal and less divine historical members of the Church, the second level depicts divine prophets and Saints such as Peter and Paul. This row also includes Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist. The third row shows the completely divine and heavenly layer of the Church including God the Father and a few angels. Together, this contains the most influential members of the Church throughout its entire existence. They seem to be together to argue about the Eucharist and other issues of precedence to the Church. Of the people in the second level of divinity, those seen on the right came from the Old Testament of the Bible, while those on the left are from the New Testament. This provides that balance that Raphael valued so greatly in the paintings in this room. Each person must balance an equally meaningful person on the other side of the painting. Of those seen in the lowest level, two mortals are pictured (from the time it was painted). Those are Bramante who leans on a balustrade at the far left of the painting, and Pope Julius II who can be seen in the middle of the people to the right of the Eucharist. This painting is often criticized because it was the first completed in the room, before Raphael improved. However, it still personifies Raphael's amazing skills at the beginning of his career. He truly conveys the decorum and stateliness that classicizes the Roman court. Even though this early work doesn't provide the same depth and movement that he became so famous for later in his career, it does show the beginning of his mimicking of the praised styles of his peers.

The Parnassus

In between the Disputa and the School of Athens, the Parnassus provides an insight into the literary arts housed in the library of Julius II. The second painting completed in the Segnatura, Parnassus, depicts a group of poets on a famous Greek mountain above the city Delphi. The ancient classical world of Antiquity is displayed on this wall with the centermost character of the painting being that of Apollo. The muses which surround Apollo exaggerate the beauty of the ancient classical muses. Apollo is seen playing a nine string violin, one string for each of the muses which surround him. This fresco seems to bridge the gap in the ability of Raphael from the Disputa to the School of Athens. Improvements can be seen in the improved classical look of the figures. They appear to be more dignified in their posture and movement than the characters of the theology wall.

The balance provided in this fresco may be seen by the two characters nearest to the doorway. On the left, Sappho introduces the fresco with a sense of grandeur. She holds a scroll that contains her name. She is noted for her slow and easy gesture that depicts an unmatched strength and classicism anywhere else in Raphael's work. She offers a better introduction into the painting than the Disputa, because she is a much stronger figure than Bramante is in the Disputa. The poet opposite the Sappho leads us out of Parnassus and into the School. It also bridges the gap from the beautiful divinity of the theology wall and Sappho, to the more realistic and philosophical wall of the School of Athens.

The Wall of Justice

The Wall of Justice, the fourth and final wall in the Segnatura contains far fewer links to classical times and receives much less praise than the walls that surround it. In the peak of the wall, the three cardinal virtues are depicted by the women sitting with the angels. Those include fortitude, temperance, and obviously, justice. These three women are surrounded by three angels which signify faith, hope, and charity. On the lower right of the wall, canon law is depicted with the faces of Pope Julius II, and his two favorite cardinals of the time who later became Popes Clement VII, and Paul III. On the left side, Pope Julius II is seen at an earlier age symbolizing civil law by the oak branch that is included in the fresco. Raphael returns again to the balance between opposing sides of his paintings, in this case the balance between civil and canon law

III. Function

This room exemplifies the vast improvement in Raphael's abilities between the years 1508 and 1512. The vast changes between the figures in the Disputa and the School of Athens show the influence that Raphael was allowed by painting the Segnatura at the same time that Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It is believed that Raphael spent hours on end studying and observing the great works of Michelangelo just a few hundred feet away. Just like early in his career, Raphael was a master of studying and then replicating the works of those with better style and form than his own. In fact, Michelangelo described Raphael's conception as only the median of idealization, meaning that Raphael had to study and work harder than most to achieve his success. Most of the functionality of this room was stated above in the large description of the work.

IV. Patron

The Segnatura and the School of Athens define the return to classical idealism that was so prevalent during the time of the Renaissance. For the purpose of the library of Julius II and following the artistic norms, the room itself was meant to force the viewer to one specific point in the room. In this case, the center of the ceiling is the point where Raphael combines the singular pieces of the walls and paintings on the way up to the center to link the whole room in one powerful statement. The walls were chosen with a deliberate purpose, by putting theology and philosophy, and literary art and justice on opposite walls, Raphael brought the viewer's attention upwards to the linkage between opposing themes. The path between theology and philosophy are greatly contrasting but provide two separate avenues of truth, one through faith, the other through reason and observation. Following the same idea of opposites coming together, art and law show how discipline and inspiration become a temple of the human mind.

In the spaces on the way up to the center, Raphael painted four blends between the two adjacent themes. Between theology and law, the Temptation of Adam depicts the divine judgement of man.




Likewise, between law and philosophy, the Judgment of Solomon shows the combination of a philosopher king as well as a judge in the human form.





Another reference to the Platonic doctrine of harmony in astronomy can be seen above the walls of philosophy and art.






Between the last two walls, art and theology, the Flaying of Marsyas depicts the consequence of challenging divine authority. Above each wall is a painting of each of the four traits which depict in an even more direct way the themes of the books originally housed against their walls. Above them, the center medallion displays a crest surrounded by angels. The ultimate goal of this room was to combine these four traits to their relationship to the heavens above. Like most religiously commissioned pieces, they lead the viewer's eyes to the heavens, but Raphael achieved this in a much more classical way rather than in a purely biblically way like Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.


V. Conclusion

Obviously, this room provides the modern viewer with a unique experience due to the amazing artistic abilities of Raphael. Unlike his later works which he often sketched out but had his students finish, the Segnatura provides a great example of a work entirely completed by Raphael. It also shows from wall to wall the speedy maturation of one of the most renowned artists of the Renaissance. Since Raphael only lived twelve years after beginning of the Segnatura and only eight years after its completion, this room houses a large chunk of Raphael~{!/~}s life. Obviously, he worked on other pieces than just this room at the same time, but like Lisa said, this room really made Raphael a ~{!0~}Rock Star~{!1~} of the Renaissance. Visitors today should consider themselves lucky to be able to see scenes of the original great thinkers in the same room as some of the most famous biblical figures including Jesus himself. It will be continuously visited because the people in the painting are continuously studied and revered for their amazing contributions to modern society. At the time of its completion, the characters had already survived over 1,500 years of scrutiny. This sense of timelessness and perseverance of ideas from that period of time through the Renaissance to today makes it hard to believe the painting could ever go out of style or grace with museum goers, art historians, and philosophers everywhere.


VI. Personal Observations

When assigned this topic I hardly had any idea how prominent a place Raphael had in the Renaissance. As a poorly studied art historian, I could only name Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci off the top of my head as famous artists from the Renaissance. One google query later, and I realized that I was given the opportunity to study one of the greatest artists of all time, who packed some amazing works of art into his short 37 year life. At a quick glance, the School of Athens can be praised for its great detail and stellar use of perspective. I had no idea the can of worms that could be opened by trying to figure out the identities of the characters. I couldn't believe the great detail that Raphael purposely went to in an effort to achieve perfect balance. The relationship between the walls to promote a powerful conglomeration of ideas combined with the faces in the paintings being intentionally painted to make reference to the famous books which were stored on the rooms shelves floored me. When Pope Julius II walked into this library in 1512, he was just as lucky as I felt the day we went on the tour. Pictures and websites do Raphael no justice with regards to the immense size and power that the walls emanate into a rather small room. I found it most interesting to study the progression in ability inspired by Michelangelo that can be noticed by even the worst art-eye. Also, I felt the inclusion of his two great masters faces into the painting was similar to the way that great athletes, actors, and musicians praise their teachers when given the chance after being honored themselves. I feel so rewarded for spending the time to learn in great depth the power of the amazing Room of the Segnatura.

VII. Bibliography

Freedberg, Sydney, Raphael's Frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura

Hersey, George, The Stanze, Chapter 5 in High Renaissance Art in St. Peter's and the Vatican. Chicago, 1993

Lahanas, Michael, The School of Athens
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/SchoolAthens.htm

Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican, Vatican Polygot Press. Vatican City

Shearman, John, The Vatican Stanze: Functions and Decoration, Oxford University Press. London, England 1972

Vesari, The Lives of the Artists: The Life of Raphael of Urbino

Feminae Romanae: The Role of Women in Ancient Rome

Amanda Cats-Baril
Honors in Rome - Summer 2004

I. Introduction

In beginning to examine the expansive and multifaceted topic of women’s role in Ancient Roman society it is most important to remember that whether or not one is looking at a farmer’s wife, a prostitute, a goddess or an empress, one is looking at them through the eyes of a male. Not a single female voice echoes through history, telling the tale of her gender and how they felt about their position in society. Instead there are only resoundingly masculine voices, portraying expectations and conveying women as either the failure or satisfaction of these. That said, we do have enough variety within our male sources to compile a fairly accurate conception of what women’s lives were like in the Great Roman Empire. It is possible to look to Roman literature and pieces written by Pliny, Cicero, Livy and others to get the most accurate view of women, but one can also turn to portraits and sculptures, mostly of goddesses, which are key in deciphering what values women were expected to embody. A plethora of eulogies allow us to understand how women were memorialized and remembered by those they left behind and certain telling elements of Roman architecture offer us a window in to the daily lives of Roman women. Such constructions as the Roman house, which provides no separate quarters for women, reveal the extent to which male and female lives were integrated in the private sphere.

Most importantly in understanding Roman women, however, we have Roman legend which established in no uncertain terms the expectations that women were expected to fulfill and the virtues that they were demanded to exemplify. What sets legend apart from the other sources (with the exception of sculpture, in itself a physical representation of legend) is that Roman women themselves would have been very aware of the messages that the legends were intended to impress upon them. The significance of legend and virtues in establishing the morals and essence of the Roman Empire was equally applicable to its significance in dictating the expectations for Roman women. Women who achieved these virtues were given due respect but women who didn’t were expected to take their own lives. The virtues and expectations portrayed in Roman legend were consistent throughout the existence of Ancient Rome. Even as women’s rights changed, particularly with the transition from Republic to Empire, the conception of an ideal woman was remarkably consistent.

Before embarking on a specific discussion of women’s role in society, therefore, it is necessary to establish a firm understanding of the virtues portrayed in legends and sculpture. The virtues that would have stood, larger than life, for all women to observe and respect can be summarized in three Roman terms: pietas, pudicita, and concordia. Pietas, meaning piety, was expected of all Roman citizens but was particularly important for women. This virtue is exemplified when we see statues that portray women with their heads covered. These statues would have been portrayed in public and one can imagine that a woman entering the public sphere would have been ashamed to stand next to a statue exhibiting piety if the woman herself wasn’t complying with this virtuous norm. Pudicita can be considered the cardinal virtue of a woman in Rome and is slightly more complex than piety. Pudicita was a mix of chasity, modesty, sexual fidelity and most importantly fertility. This virtue was inextricably tied to a woman’s role as wife and mother, her true place in Roman society, and was therefore of utmost significance in determining how she was viewed. Also related to the woman’s position in the home as mother and wife was the virtue concordia which explicated the expectation of harmony between husband and wife. One of the most unique aspects of women’s lives in Rome (compared to the lives of women in other societies of antiquity) was that mutual respect and affection was the norm in Roman marriages. Particularly following 100 BCE, when women had the right to own their own property, harmonious equality became the rule in Roman households.
As was previously discussed, these ruling virtues were displayed most obviously in Roman legend. All of these virtues were embodied by historic women, most of whom are familiar to all who have studied Rome. The first of these women were the Sabines who were kidnapped away from their men at the festival of Consuelia and were raped to become the first mothers and wives of the Roman Empire. These women are forever credited in helping to launch the Roman Empire in the 8th century BCE and are remembered mainly in the context of the battle which occurred eight years after their original kidnapping. When the Sabine men returned for their women and entered Rome the women themselves protected the city of Rome and its male inhabitants, urging both parties to abandon the fight as their brothers and fathers on one side and husbands on the other. In this way the women exemplified the balance that was expected of their gender: a delicate blend of strength and obedience. Based on their interference in the battle, the Sabine women have forever stood for endurance, courage, perseverance and honor. It is important to note that these particular virtues are not gender specific, and in this way the women set the bar for not only the females but also the males of the Roman Empire. The Sabines are also significant in that they are respected as the mothers of Roman society. This is important as an explanation to the respect that was due to all Roman women as mothers: just as the Sabines stood as the moral authority for Roman society in its entirety, so contemporary Roman women were respected as the cultural and moral authority in their role as child-rearers.
Another famous woman in Roman legend is Lucretia, wife of Collatinus who was raped by Sextus Tarquinius in 510 BCE. Lucretia was the picture of the ideal Roman woman. She was chaste, modest, loyal to her husband; famously, she sat at home knitting while other women went to dinner parties. Most importantly, however, when Lucretia’s virtuosity was violated she took her own life. This action, reiterated throughout Roman legend, made it extremely clear that un-virtuous women were expected to acknowledge that they didn’t deserve life and that they were a burden to their families as long as they were living. In true Italian fashion, the family was to come before the individual and the woman was expected to kill herself. This seems harsh to us today but was a norm in the past. What is also notable about Lucretia is that she shaped Roman history; the ensuing revenge that her friends took on the Tarquinius family, ended their tyrannical rule and gave birth to the Roman Republic. It is important to take note of the way in which women, Lucretia and the Sabines, are regarded as essential figures in the unfolding of Roman history.

Women abound in Roman legend. Circa 506 BCE a woman named Cloelia was taken hostage by the warrior Porsenna. Cloelia became an icon of “pragmatic patriotism” when her attempted return to the Roman Empire was discovered. Porsenna threatened to wage war on Rome based on the fact that Cloelia’s escape had broken their truce. In an act of extreme courage and self-sacrifice for the state, Cloelia offered to return herself to Porsenna. He was so impressed that he granted her her freedom and in addition allowed her to bring friends back to the empire with her. Instead of taking her female compatriots with her, Cloelia recognized that the Romans needed warriors and left her friends behind in exchange for the freedom of male hostages.
In direct opposition to the example set by Cloelia, Tarpaeia stood as her antithesis. Tarpaeia is notorious for leading the Sabines into Rome in exchange for gold. Her unbounded greed was severely punished when the Sabines crushed her under their shields. Tarpaeia is important in that she represents the extent to which treason was intolerable to the Romans. Her preference for personal, material wealth over the good of the state is memorialized in legend. An important aspect of this legend is that it represents the way in which men portrayed women as either virtuous or wicked. There was no middle ground for women in the Roman Empire, all portrayals cast women at one extreme or the other.

This is slightly ironic because in reality Roman women were a balance between the extremes of other women who preceded them in antiquity: the Etruscans and the Greeks. Etruscan women were treated as equals to the men in their society. They exercised beside their men, were politically ambitious, educated and renowned for their sexual promiscuity. In this last category they differed greatly from the Romans, who valued female chastity and sexual fidelity, but all in all the freedoms awarded to Etruscan women made way for the Roman women to enjoy many rights forbidden to the Greeks. Greek women were extremely oppressed in both the public and private spheres. Cornelius Nepos who saw one of "the salient contrasts between Greek and Roman society that Romans do not segregate their womenfolk and that the matrona "versatur in medio", that is, moves about in the middle of male life in terms of both physical space and social occassion." Nepos commented directly on the differences between Roman and Greek women, “Many things that among the Greeks are considered improper and unfitting are permitted by our customs. Is there any chance a Roman who is ashamed to take his wife to a dinner away from home?” And indeed, the answer to his question would be no. Women in Roman society were permitted and encouraged to make public appearances at social occasions. They attended public and private banquets, even though they were excluded from most political and religious ceremonies. While they would never have been allowed to vote or hold office, Roman women were considered full “cives Romanae” and enjoyed private rights that were comparable to Roman males (i.e. inheritance).

As was previously mentioned, Roman women enjoyed a large amount of authority within the home. Their main role in society was as mother and wife, and a woman’s fulfillment of these duties was central to how she would be judged. The emphasis laid on duty fulfillment is best exemplified in the eulogies of the time, which are all focused on wifely duties such as being loving towards husbands, bearing children and attending the house. This focus is understandable when one considers that the vast majority of a woman’s life was spent within her marriage. With average life expectancy for women estimated at 25 years and the minimum age of marriage being 12 years old a woman hardly knew life outside of her marriage. By the age of twenty, 59% of Roman women were married and 26% would already have at least one living child. It is revealing to consider that there is not one record of an unmarried, aristocratic Roman woman in the time of the Republic. Wifely responsibilities only intensified when the Roman Republic became an Empire under Augustus.

When Augustus came into power in 31 BCE, he felt that the Roman Empire had fallen into disarray on account of corruption and decadence; he began to emphasize the Roman virtues even more intensely in an effort to bring the society back into order. Women's role in the decadence of the past years was particularly condemned, and several paintings depict a woman exposed as symbolic of the state of the empire. Augustus also saw that there were a shortage of Roman men, largely due to the 50 years of civil war and high infant mortality rates (half of all children died before the age of ten), and implemented laws that forced increased reproduction. All women were expected to be married and have had children by the age of twenty and women who had over three children received special privileges from the state. One of the most significant changes in law was that a “univira”, a widow who never remarried, had been respected under the Republic but under the Empire a widow was forced by law to be remarried after 10 months of widowhood. One would infer from these laws that the women of Roman society would have been more restricted to the home following the laws’ implementation but in reality the reverse was true. The transition to Empire also marked an expansion in women’s rights, especially for the upper class.

Prior to 100 BCE “patria potestas” had been the rule in Rome. The Roman family and society had been highly patriarchal and a woman went directly from her father’s possession to her husband’s essential ownership. But following 100 BCE, the practice of “manus”, in which a woman’s right to life and all her possessions were under her husband’s control, was no longer implemented. In fact, it became forbidden for husband and wife to share property. Women prospered under these new conditions; in charge of their own property, it was not uncommon for women to build up a significant fortune and around this time we see that there were statues and buildings donated by women. Women were also given the right to divorce their husbands and towards the end of the Republic divorce became a common affair.

Augustus’ wife Livia exemplified this newly empowered woman. She handled property like a true entrepreneur, was previously divorced and was respected by Augustus despite the fact that she never had his child. Following Livia’s reign as empress it became common for an empress to be portrayed beside her husband in political propaganda, most notably on coins. In fact, under Augustus’ rule, and partially due to the respect that he held for his own wife, it became vogue for men to publicly praise their wives. Despite the fact that public praise of a wife was rooted in a selfish male desire to increase his own political profile (if a man’s wife was widely respected as a virtuous woman then his own political profile benefited), this new fashion has actually been historically beneficial since it resulted in the eulogies and biographies upon which we base our knowledge of ancient Roman women.

In the beginning of the Empire, expectations surrounding the education of women also changed. While education had never been a asset for women, many women became literate and well-informed about contemporary politics. It is documented that women of the early Empire were expected to advise their husbands on political affairs, even if they weren't invited to the councils themselves. While wifely advice was never publicly acknowledged, it was often heeded. As wartime outweighed peace in this period, women were often left without their men and they became increasingly capable and independent. As their independence increased, so did their involvement in politics; in 195 BCE women even organized a public demonstration in the Forum in defense of “their rights to luxury” which was essentially unheard of in antiquity.
While women’s emerging confidence was largely correlated to an increased male respect for the gender, some men were still insecure about women gaining societal power and women were often blamed for the moral degradation of the Roman Empire. Despite male insecurities, however, today we can clearly see the increasing strength of Roman women as a sign of progression within Roman society. Roman women were consistently portrayed as strong individuals; indeed, in portrayals of gods and goddesses we can see that goddesses were conveyed as equally magnificent to gods. And Roman women, too, received this same respect as long as they acted as virtuous as the goddesses themselves. Even Augustus was unashamed to be associated with feminine qualities and, to the contrary, openly associated himself with Venus through sculpture. This can be seen in the Prima Porta statue, in which he is portrayed next to a dolphin and a cupid.

In noting Augustus’ connection to Venus, I approach the subject that was most surprising to me in my study of Roman women. When I first began my research I was interested in exploring the difference between the way in which Romans respected their goddesses and the way in which they interacted with their women. However, the more information I found the more I realized that the goddesses were examples for women and that as long as women followed these models of virtue they were treated very well. Indeed, I found it remarkable how well respected Roman women were. I believe that the respect accorded to women should be taken as symbolic of the general maturity of the Roman culture; in many ways, I feel that Roman women were treated better than early women in modern society. Of course, in noting this I am failing to consider fully what Wallace-Hadrill has said about Roman society: “We are not dealing with a single, monolithic Roman world but one differentiated through time, across religion and across social divides.” In reading the whole of this paper and in examining Roman art, I encourage all to remember this quote and discourage all from making generalizations about the rights of women in Roman society. Despite these class variations, however, the strength of Roman women across all social divides should stand as an example for women of modernity and particularly those of contemporary Italian society who need an inspiration for confidence as they emerge into the public sphere.



II. Description

My presentation was given at the National Museum of Archaelogy in Naples. A lot of mosaics, frescoes and other pieces that were discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum are featured at the museum. In addition, they have a vast collection of marble sculptures. I have attached images of a couple of pieces that we saw while we were at the museum. In general, my presentation was not grounded in any site or monument.

Roman Woman Mosaic
This is a mosaic portrait from Pompeii that is now housed at the National Museum of Archaeology in Naples.
It is a very simple portrait, not focused on any particular virtue but rather on the physical portrayal of the subject.
Most likely, based on the clothing and jewelry that can be observed, the subject was a high class lady.
Also, the wealth of the subject is evident in the detail and high quality of the work; only a high class family
could afford such a piece. This mosaic was most likely displayed privately on the walls of a home.

Venus Pudica
This is a picture of the Venus Pudica at the National Museum of Archaeology in Naples. T
his sculpture exemplifies modesty. The way the sculpture is positioned to shade her body from public view
became a classic symbol of modesty and chastity, components of the cardinal feminine virtue of pudicita.
The sculpture reveals the way in which artists conveyed the virtues that women in society were expected to embody.

The Women of the Program and the Muses in Bronze
This picture is of all the fine, young ladies on the Rome 2004 program in front of the series of bronze
muses at the National Museum in Naples. Looking at these two configurations of ladies
it is clear why women are the inspiration of art throughout the ages.

Bibliography

Cross, Suzanne. Feminae Romanae:Women of Ancient Rome. Ancient Homes Net Ring,
2001-2004.

Mellor, Ronald J.. “Ancient Rome”. Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004.


Nodelman, Sheldon. "How to Read a Roman Portrait". Art in America. 1975,
January/February. Pp 27-31.

Treggiari, Susan. “Women in Roman Society”. I, Claudia:Women in Ancient Rome.
Yale, 1996.

Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. “Chapter 1: Reading the Roman House”. Houses and Society
in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1994. 1-16.

The Jesuits: Il Gesu and Sant'Ignazio as Triumphant Churches

Helen Cicero
Honors in Rome - Summer 2004

I. Historical Information

Counter Reformation
In the early 16th century the protestant revolt was exploding throughout Europe. Widespread dissatisfaction with the leadership and policies of the Catholic Church led to the protestant reformation, and eventually the formation and spread of the Protestant faith. The church recognized its need to correct the defects that had provoked the Protestant schism, and so launched an agenda of reform and revival. This movement to counter the spread of Protestantism is called the Counter Reformation.

There were two major components of the Counter Reformation. The Council of Trent, which met intermittently from 1545-1563, worked to re-examine and redefine Catholic doctrine and the role of the clergy. The activity of the Jesuits was another important factor in the Counter Reformation.

Sant' Ignazio
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was the founder of the Jesuit Society.
He lived in the Basque region of northern Spain, and was a soldier in the Spanish army. He was wounded in war, and while he was recovering he started reading religious books which sparked his interest in the church. When Ignatius was healthy he moved to study the Catholic Church in Paris, and eventually drew a small band of friends whom he directed in prayer and meditation according to his book, “The Spiritual Exercises.” This book discusses the idea of self-mastery, the art of teaching people to deny themselves completely in order to give full obedience to the church. In 1537, Ignatius came to Rome and here he was ordained a priest, and finally, in 1540, Pope Paul III approved the Institute of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was elected General Superior of the Jesuit Order and served this post until his death in 1556 at the age of 65. The chapel of St. Ignatius in Il Gesu contains his remains.

www.jesuits-europe.org/ mart/
Ignatius of Loyola
Saint Ignatius is the founder of the Jesuit Order.

The Jesuits
The basis of the Society of Jesus was to return to the strictest and most uncompromising obedience to the authority of the church and its ecclesiastical hierarchy. The main goals of this order were the propagation of the Catholic Faith, and the promotion of Christian piety. In addition to their three vows (poverty, chastity, obedience) they each took a fourth vow, which obliged them to travel anywhere in the world for ministry according to the Pope’s wishes. This vow extended the Jesuits influence across the world. Their success was enhanced by studying and adapting the language and culture of the countries where they worked.

www.marquette.edu/library/ collections/archive...
Jesuit Priests
A picture of modern day Jesuit preists in their robes.

Education was another important aspect of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits were called the “schoolmasters of Europe,” due to their schools, their pre-eminence as scholars, and the many textbooks they composed. Jesuit schools promoting intense academic studies became their most characteristic institutions, where scholarship, science, and exploration were the three main tenets. The Jesuits aimed to educate the sons of privileged Catholic families in order to attract the interest of wealthy patrons; they depended on wealthy donors for the financing of their building projects.

However, despite this initial success, a little over two centuries later, in 1773, the Jesuits were disbanded by Pope Clement XIV. This was a political power move on the part of the Catholic Church, who was facing international demands for the total destruction of the Jesuit Society. The property of the Society’s many schools was sold or taken over by the state, their libraries were destroyed, and books burned. However, the order survived and was formally reinstated in 1814 by Pope Pius VII. The society was flooded with requests to take over new colleges; the memory of their educational triumphs had not died.

The Jesuits were a powerful force in the Roman Catholic recovery because they truly embodied the zeal of the movement. The Jesuits became the “Pope’s army” of the Counter Reformation, armed with weapons of advanced academic studies, the education of youth, and zealous missionary activities.

Art After the Counter Reformation
The tumultuous religious environment of the 16th century caused the church to commission many major art programs. The Catholic Church began to build extravagant churches and monuments in the glory of God, in hopes of making the Catholic faith more appealing. The Church authorities realized that paintings high above the ground offered perfect opportunities to impress their viewers with the Catholic Church’s glory and power, as well as created a spiritual environment; both effects were well suited to the Church’s needs in the Counter Reformation.

www.borromini.at/ e/hibarock.html
The Baroque Style
This is an example of Baroqe work. It is very ornate and is crowded with decoration and color.

Jesuits were aware of the value of sacred images for both praying and for propaganda. They used the persuasive value of religious images, like graphic scenes of martyrdom, to evoke emotions. Imagery of saints was another important aspect of religious art during this time. Saints were images that the laypeople could relate with, and were very specific to the Catholic faith. The promotion of all those aspects of the Catholic Church that were rejected by Protestants became popular images as well, i.e.: angels, the Eucharist, scenes from Mary’s life, etc.

www.borromini.at/ e/hibarock.html
Baroque Art
This statue is an example of the emotion, drama, and realism that was captured in Baroque art.

The Catholic Church was influential in the progress of Baroque art and architecture. The church used emotional, realistic, and dramatic art as a means of propagating the faith; opposite from the simplicity Protestants chose to use in their art and architecture. Decadence, preoccupation with the potential of light, contrast of light and dark, sense of movement, energy, emotion, realism, intense spirituality (martyrdoms, ecstasies), and infinite space were all Baroque techniques adopted by the Church. The use of perspective to create an illusion of depth and space was another favorite Baroque technique. Italian Baroque religious art depended on the drama and theatricality of individual images as well as the interaction and fusion of architecture, sculpture and painting; creating visual unity was the goal.

II. The Church of Il Gesu

Patron
The full name of Il Gesu is Santissimo Nome di Gesu, meaning, the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Construction of Il Gesu began in 1568 and the church was consecrated in 1584. It is the main and first Jesuit church in Rome (the “mother church” of the Jesuits), and served as an architectural pattern for Jesuit churches that were set up throughout Europe during the Counter Reformation and Baroque period. The church occupies the site St. Ignatius chose for his headquarters of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius placed a great deal of emphasis on the location of churches; Il Gesu is in the heart of downtown which is a very visible and accessible location.

www.univ-tours.fr/.../ Gesu%20Vignole/Facade.jpg
Facade of Il Gesu

Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, nephew of Pope Paul III, was the major benefactor of the church. His name is predominately displayed across the façade and in various locations inside the church. Farnese was said to have owned the three most beautiful objects in Rome: his family palace (Palazzo Farnese), Il Gesu, and his daughter. He intended the decoration of Il Gesu to be as important as the architecture and wanted the paintings, architecture, and sculpture to be conceived as one unit.

www.abcgallery.com/ T/titian/titian47.html
Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
Farnese was the main patron of Il Gesu.

Church Layout / Interior Decoration
Il Gesu has a single aisle-less nave with short transepts, a shallow apse, and is flanked by side chapels; there is an emphasis on, and use of wide open space. The focus is set on the high altar which is visible from all parts of the church. The layout of Il Gesu suggests the Jesuit Church’s two major goals: a large nave with side pulpits for preaching to great crowds (sermons were very important), and a main alter as the centerpiece for the celebration of mass.

www.arch.montana.edu/.../ Il%20Gesu%20Plan.jpg
Plan of Il Gesu

The interior decoration of the church employs grand opulence and colors which are in keeping with the Jesuit goal of attracting worshippers by grand spectacle. Since this church is built in honor of Jesus, his name is predominantly incorporated throughout the church decoration. The idea of Baroque theatricality is also prevalent, with dramatic and showy decorations. The theatricality would have been enhanced during the 16th century with religious music playing and incense burning, thereby employing multiple senses, and enhancing the spiritual effect of the church.

www.usc.edu/.../comm544/ library/images/033bg.jpg
Interior of Il Gesu
The altar is the main focal point of this church.

The interior of the original Il Gesu, however, was vastly different than that which we see today. The nave and barrel vault were white washed, and the decorations simple. Not until almost a century later, when the Jesuits had accumulated more patrons, is much of the decoration done.


Adoration in the Name of Jesus
The ceiling painting of the nave, entitled "Adoration in the Name of Jesus," was done by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, otherwise known as Baciccio (1639-1709). Baciccio became a protégé of Bernini, and was recommended by Bernini to paint Il Gesu. He was famous for his use of perspective to create illusion and received many commissions from the church throughout his life. The majority of the decoration in Il Gesu was done by Baciccio, including the nave ceiling, the dome, the half dome, and the stucco figures. He began the nave fresco in 1676, almost a century after the church was completed, and finished three years later in 1679.

www.nuovorinascimento.org/.../ programma.htm
Portrait of Baciccio
He designed and executed the nave painting in Il Gesu.

In the painting Baciccio represented Jesus as a barely visible monogram, IHS (the abbreviation of the Greek form of the name Jesus). The letters emit a blinding light that floats heavenward. In contrast, sinners and heretics are violently thrown back down to Earth. Baciccio painted many of the sinners on three-dimensional stucco extensions which project outside of the painting’s frame to exaggerate the illusion. The nave fresco celebrates the name of the society with its focus on, and adoration of Jesus.

www.romeartlover.it/ Ceiling.html

"Adoration in the Name of Jesus" fresco
The illusion Baciccio created does not photograph well, but is amazing in real-life.

The painting seems to break through the vault and open up a hole in the ceiling – a window to heaven. This incorporated the drama and magnificence that the church was looking for, and created the feeling of being in a spiritual realm. Again, the church is using extravagance and splendor as propaganda to attract followers.


III. The Church of Sant' Ignazio

Patron
The church of Sant’Ignazio was built half a century later then Il Gesu, with construction beginning in 1626 and finishing in 1650. It was built as the church of the Collegio Romano, a Jesuit college, in order to honor St. Ignatius and his canonization. The Jesuits now had their own saints to honor, and this serves as propaganda for the faith. Sant’Ignazio is entirely baroque in style, and its grandeur represents the power, following, and money that the Jesuit Order had gained in a century.

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Facade of Sant'Ignazio

Pope Gregory XV’s nephew, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, was the major benefactor of Sant’Ignazio and emblazoned his name and family crest on the façade and throughout the church. A chapel inside Sant’Ignazio even houses an elaborate funerary monument to both Ludovisi and his uncle. The following quote of Ludovisi demonstrates how proud he was of his generous patronage to the church, “One raised St. Ignatius to the alter, while the other raised alters to Ignatius.”

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Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi
Ludovisi was the main benefactor of Sant'Ignazio and this image is from his funerary monument in the church.

Church Layout / Interior Design
The interior of Sant’Ignazio is in the shape of a Latin cross (the length is equal to two times the width) with a wide nave and apse. Like Il Gesu, this emphasizes large open space, and creates an optimum environment for giving sermons. A large cupola was planned for the nave but the Jesuits ran out of money so it could not be completed. Instead, Andrea Pozzo painted a false dome – the ceiling is really flat. The optimum spots for viewing the false dome and nave ceiling painting are indicated by small yellow circles inlaid in the church floor. The illusion of perspective is most realistic at these two points. Theatricality is also prevalent in the grand and impressive Baroque decoration of this church.

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The False Dome
This dome, painted by Pozzo, was done on a flat surface and demonstrates his mastery of illusion.

Triumph of Sant' Ignazio
Fr. Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709) designed the “Triumph of Sant’Ignazio” nave painting for this church. Pozzo, an ordained member of the Jesuit order, was famous for his mastery of perspective painting, and like Baciccio, had many religious art commissions. He won a competition to design and execute the nave painting of St. Ignatius, which took three years to complete (1691-1694). The dome, transept chapels, and apse are also decorated by Pozzo.

At the center of this expansive fresco Pozzo places Jesus with his cross. A ray of light travels from God, to the heart of Jesus, to St. Ignatius, who is carried on a cloud up to heaven. Ignatius acts like a mirror here, reflecting divine light out to the rest of the heavenly figures. Below Ignatius and to the right, is St. Francis Xavier, one of the original Jesuits, who is known for his missionary work in the Far East. The faithful followers of Jesus rise to the center of the fresco, while heretics are turned away and tumble downwards. In the four corners are women personifying the four continents of the known world: Europe with a horse, Asia with a camel, Africa with a crocodile, and America with a mountain lion. Jesuit missionary activity was occurring during this time in these areas.

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"Triumph of Sant'Ignazio" fresco
Painted by Pozzo, this ceiling creates the illusion that heaven is opening up over the heads of the congregation.

The ceiling of Sant’Ignazio appears to soar to the heavens, which again, creates the feeling of truly being in the presence of heaven and the spiritual world. Pozzo strengthened this illusion of the nave by continuing the Church’s architecture into the painting which makes the roof extend even further upward. The four personified women depict the worldwide victory of the Catholic Church in missionary work. Both of these aspects serve as propaganda for the Church.

IV. The Church Triumphant

The Holy Crusades
During the 16th century the Church had felt the impact of the protestant reformation and was filled with pessimism and insecurity. However, in the second half of the 17th century a new spirit of optimism and self-confidence invigorates the Church. The term, “the church triumphant,” refers to this new period of hope and assurance. What brings about this change from grief to hopefulness for the Church?

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Helmet from the Holy Crusades
Notice the crosses on this helmet; obviously the gear of a Christian soldier.

The Holy Crusades were one element that was crucial to the idea of the church triumphant. The Crusades were largely the product of Pope Innocent XI, whose goal was to unite the nations of Christian Europe in a holy war against the Muslim Turks. He achieved remarkable success in these wars, due in large part to his regime of reducing the Vatican’s debt. All the battles the Church won against the Turks were received with wild rejoicing, and served to build the strength and popularity of the church. The Crusades captured the support of the people as the militant Catholics were victorious again and again against the forces of Islam.

An example of this triumphal art is the “Adoration in the Name of Jesus” fresco on the nave vault of Il Gesu. The juxtaposition of the “adoration” and the “fall of the rebel angels,” though not from the same Biblical passage, complement each other perfectly in this fresco. Representing the triumph of good over evil, the angels over the demons, the Church over the Turks; this fresco embodies the spirit and feeling of the Catholic Church’s triumph.


Missionary Work
One of the most important factors in understanding the concept of the Church Triumphant is the missionary work of the Church. The Catholic Church looked to the lands beyond Europe to spread their faith and gained a large kingdom this way. This recruitment gave the Catholic Church a new vigor and pride, which was needed since the protestant reformation had resulted in so many losses. The church spread out to almost every corner of the world including: India, Japan, China, Philippines, the New World, and Mexico.

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Jesuit Missionary Work
This piece of art symbolizes Christianity being spread to China.

An example of this triumphal art is the “Triumph of Sant’Ignazio” fresco on the nave vault of Sant’Ignazio. This fresco depicts the triumph of the Jesuits in spreading the Catholic faith to the four corners of the known world. The triumph here is that of the Catholic missions, which ultimately, is a triumph for the Church.


V. Conclusion

The two frescos from Il Gesu and Sant’Ignazio both have the elements of drama, emotion, theatricality, and illusion that characterized baroque art. The paintings each create the illusion that Heaven is opening up onto the heads of the congregation, and this helps to generate a sense of spirituality and divine presence. Also, radiant light is the most important agent in each fresco. Ultimately, the church was using the magnificence and brilliance of these two ceilings to impress their followers with the power and brilliance of the Catholic Church. The high and splendid baroque ceilings of Il Gesu and Sant’Ignazio serve as church propaganda, and reflect the concept of the Church Triumphant: the victory of the faith.

The following quote is fitting to describe the influence Saint Ignatius had on the revival and reconstruction of the Catholic Church, “Some say Ignatius built the Jesuit society brick by brick rather then soul by soul.”

VI. Personal Observations

In researching for this presentation I really enjoyed learning about the Jesuit Order. Their role in missionary work, the academics, and the Counter Reformation were so crucial to the survival of the Catholic Church. It would be a very different history for the church without Sant’Ignazio and the Order he created. I also liked learning about the Baroque style. The drama, emotion, and color of Baroque art really captivate me. Il Gesu has been my favorite church in Italy thus far.

My first visit to the two churches was also really surprising. The outside of both Il Gesu and Sant’Ignazio are deceiving because they give no clues as to what the inside of the church will look like. When I stepped into Il Gesu for the first time I was in awe of the grandiose and ornate adornments, the bright colors, the decoration cluttering almost every square inch of space, and of course the nave painting. The photographs of the ceiling don’t do justice to the illusion of perspective that Baciccio has created. Also, the different components of Il Gesu (architecture, painting, sculpture) really do work together and emit a sense of unity. I also really liked the statues in the Chapel of Sant’Ignazio that were flanking the urn of Saint Ignatius.

When I entered the church of Sant’Ignazio I expected the interior to look very similar to Il Gesu. I was surprised however, by the differences between the two. Sant’Ignazio seemed brighter than, and not as crowded with decorations as Il Gesu. Standing on the yellow disk in the middle of the nave I could really experience the effect of Pozzo’s painting, but once I moved from that spot, the perspective was thrown off and something just did not quite fit. Pozzo’s false dome was amazing as well; at first, I did not believe that the surface was completely flat.

VII. Bibliography

Baroque Art and Architecture, Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2004. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572212/Baroque_Art_and_Architecture.html, accessed on: July 27th, 2004.

Engass, Robert. The Painting of Baciccio: The Church Triumphant (1964). Chapter 3. pg 54-67.

Evonne, Levy. A Noble Medley of Concert and Materials and Artifice: Jesuit Church Interiors in Rome, 1567-1700. pg: 47-59.

Gardner, Helen. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The High Renaissance, Baroque Art of the Seventeenth Century. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College, 2001. pg. 636-637, 739-741.

Grove Dictionary of Art: Jesuit Order, Il Gesu. v. A7, 1996. pg: 508-512, 822-824.

Hager, June. "Il Gesu and S. Ignazio." Rome, 1993. http://www.initaly.com/regions/latium/church/gesu.htm, accessed on: July 27th, 2004.

Hibbert, Christopher. Rome: The Biography of a City. London: Penguin Books, 1987. pg: 227-229, 353-354.

Jesuit Conference: Society of Jesus USA. “The Roots of the Society of Jesus.” http://www.jesuit.org/sections/sub.asp?SECTION_ID=187&SUBSECTION_ID=215, accessed on: July 27th, 2004.

Macadam, Alta. Blue Guide: Rome. London: A & C Black Publishers Limited, 2003. pg: 146-148, 199-200.

MacDonnell, Joseph S.J. Fairfield University: A Brief Jesuit History. http://www.fairfield.edu/jesuit/history.htm, accessed on: July 27th, 2004.