One of the reasons it has taken me so long this time to post anything new is that this blog filled up. I have set up part 2 of my adventures and you can find them at http://romanrikk3.blogspot.com. Feel free to continue visiting this page to look at pictures and read what I've written; this blog is not going away. But for new and, hopefully, exciting adventures you will have to visit the other page.
Oh, one of the other reasons is I'm just plain lazy. :-)
My continuing adventures through the eternal city. Please feel free to make comments-it is pretty much the only way I know if people are reading this and enjoying it. Also, for those of you who don't already know this, if you click on any of the images they will expand.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
I love neon
As I walked home last night I passed by a section of town famous for its cafes and bars and restaurants. It is Via Veneto and if you have ever seen La Dolce Vita you should recognize it as the place where they all hung out. It is fun for me for three reasons: one, it is actually a lovely walk, with wide sidewalks and trees and lovely shops with lovely windows. Two, the items in those lovely shops are way beyond anything I could ever afford so it is pretty safe for me to window shop. Yes, those are beautiful shoes but $600? I don't think so. Finally, I love neon and the neon is beautiful. I'm not sure what it is about neon but the quality of light is just different. I mean it doesn't really light up anything but it really catches the eye. And if the sign is old you can even hear it hum. Plus the light can be multi-sensory; a red neon light isn't really giving off much heat but it looks and feels so warm like a fire on a cold, winter's evening and a blue light can be as cool and refreshing as lemon gelato on a warm afternoon. Perhaps it is because of growing up near Route 66 and all its neon signs-neon bringing back warm and fuzzy childhood memories? Then there is the way it reflects, off the buildings, off the backsplash, off the wet pavement. It is an unobtrusive light that adds magic to a place that LED lights or colored lights just can't accomplish.
Carnivale
So yesterday I ventured out to Piazza del Popolo to check out the goings on on a beautiful, sunny Sunday. It is carnival season here in Rome and Piazza del Popolo is where all the public activities are being held. Even though I knew it would be crowded I still didn't expect as many people as I saw. If you've been keeping up with my musings you remember that this piazza has three streets heading off in three different directions. Well, I came up the middle street-Via del Corso-and about a half mile or more before the piazza it was already wall to wall people. And these were the people leaving. At first I thought that I had missed all the fun but then realized that, along with me, there were still scores and scores of people heading to the piazza. I got there and it was packed. Normally I am not a fan of crowds like this but about half the people there were about 7 and well behaved. So, whereas in America I would feel claustrophobic because everyone else in the world is taller than I am and I wouldn't be able to see a thing, here, where I am a normal height for an adult, I had no problem seeing through and over the crowd-again thanks to half of them being very, very short...I mean young.
I found my way to the middle of the piazza and stood on the base of the Obelisk in the center. From there I had an excellent view of the arena where any moment now they'd start the horse show. Any moment...or not. Actually, two youngsters did some simple riding tricks, getting the horse to kneel, riding two at the same time, not falling off and breaking bones. But otherwise the announcer just talked and talked and talked while five horsemen rode around in circles. I got bored so I ventured on which is a good thing because otherwise I would never have seen the cute, young men on stilts spitting fire. Nor would I have seen the 'Punch and Judy' show. All in all it was a wonderful evening.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Baby, it's cold outside
It is a cold, rainy day here in Rome. I'm curled up in my chair, wrapped up in a blanket, occasionally napping, and wishing there were three little dogs nestling in my lap. I have books open, pen and paper for note taking and am surrounded by two racks of freshly washed and still drying clothes. It's a good day-a good day to study and relax and nap. I'm working this weekend on a presentation on the Domus Flavia-Domitian's grand palace at the top of the Palatine. I am somewhat astounded that I have no pictures of the remains as they are quite striking. Perhaps I'll get a few sometime this weekend if I ever venture outside. I know they say that witches only melt in movies but I never like to take that chance.
A couple weeks ago, on another cold and rainy day, we had to venture out to the Immigration Office to submit paperwork and be fingerprinted. It was a long journey by bus and subway and bus again. Most of us got lost at one point on the journey-we each had separate appointments so didn't travel as one large group. It was appropriate weather for a day you had no time to in which to enjoy yourself anyway. And the outskirts of Rome resembled the weather-dreary, cold, and a little sad.
And now I must get back to my studying.
A couple weeks ago, on another cold and rainy day, we had to venture out to the Immigration Office to submit paperwork and be fingerprinted. It was a long journey by bus and subway and bus again. Most of us got lost at one point on the journey-we each had separate appointments so didn't travel as one large group. It was appropriate weather for a day you had no time to in which to enjoy yourself anyway. And the outskirts of Rome resembled the weather-dreary, cold, and a little sad.
And now I must get back to my studying.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Two last paintings from the Villa Borghese
Titian-Sacred and Profane Love-1514-Nicoló Aurelio and Laura Bagarotto (Epithalamic-Nuptial Painting)
This painting was made early in Titian’s career but it didn’t receive its common name until much later, the end of the 16th century. It is a polysemic painting meaning that is open to multiple interpretations; interpretations that are based on the viewer’s level of culture and knowledge, and the circumstances at the time. For example, art historian Erwin Panofsky considered this a neo-platonic painting and that the women represented Celestial Venus and Earthly Venus. He based this partly on the castle in the background which is clearly the town of Asolo. The Court of Caterina Cornaro, former queen of Cyprus who had given Cyprus to Venice, was the place in the day for artists, musicians, and poets such as Pietro Bembo who helped revive pastoral poetry. These artists and poets would sit around and discuss neo-platonic philosophy and other important humanistic ideas. Bembo’s Asolani was published around 1500 and would not have been unknown to Titian.
Another theory is that Sacred and Profane Love is based on Francesco Colonna’s Hpynerotomachia Poliphili, a bestselling novel about a boy who dreams and in his dreams he travels. In one of his travels he meets two women at a fountain.
Another art historian (whose name I didn’t write down because it was supposed to be on our handouts but it wasn’t-something like Rona Goffrey) discovered the coat of arms on the fountain of Nicoló Aurelio. With further study she discovered the coat of arms of the Bagarotto family in the silver bowl. After a great deal of research she discovered there was a connection. Nicoló Aurelio was a citizen of Venice but not a nobleman. Laura Bagarotto was a young woman with a tragic past: her family was considered to be traitorous to Venice and all of the male members were executed, including her husband, and the family’s titles and properties confiscated. The two met, fell in love (or not), and married. By marrying Laura, Nicoló was able to regain the family’s titles and properties for Laura and become a nobleman as part of the package. It is quite possible that he commissioned Titian to create this painting as a wedding painting. Venus and Cupid, unseen by Laura, are present to bring luck-read fertility and lots of sons-to the marriage. Another symbol in the painting points to it being a nuptial painting, the basket with jewels often represented a dowry. The painting may be a talismanic image for marriage but that is no reason to discount the other theories as they are just as valid points of view.
Danae-Corregio-1531-Frederico II, Duke of Mantua
Frederico commissioned a series of paintings based on the loves of Jupiter: Io, Leda, Ganymede, and Danae. Jupiter often had to disguise himself when seducing his loves to keep from frightening them and, more importantly, to hide from his jealous wife, Juno. Danae was the daughter of Acrisius who had received an oracle telling him he would be killed by the son of Danae. Thinking ahead, he built a tower and locked his daughter up in it. Jupiter saw her, fell in love, and came to her in the guise of a golden shower. Imagine Acrisius’ surprise to discover his daughter had given birth to a lovely little boy, Perseus but that’s another story.
During the Middle Ages, the poetry of Ovid had been translated with a moral bent; the story of Jupiter and Danae was considered a reference to the annunciation. Renaissance artists-poets, painters, thinkers, etc.-rediscover sensuality and bring it back into the light. This painting is sensuous and is meant to be. It helped open the doors for future artists like Caravaggio. Cupid is seen assisting Jupiter by taking Danae’s clothes off and pointing to the golden drops falling from the sky, which Danae clearly is enjoying. This painting marks the rebirth of erotic art.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Caravaggio and stuff
Piazza del Popolo
The gates here were one of the main entrances to Rome. The via Flaminia was a major road leading into Rome from the north and dates back to antiquity. Pilgrims used the road to reach the city. The triumphal arch is in the middle of the Aurelian wall and built at the end of the 16th century. The gates are flanked by Peter and Paul. The doors would have been closed when pilgrims arrived and the pilgrims would have to pay taxes to pass through the gates to enter the city. The piazza was the first sight the pilgrims had of the city. This section of Rome, the Campus Martius, remained populated during the Middle Ages because the aqueduct, the Acqua Vergine, remained operational.
The obelisk in the center of the piazza was re-uplifted here in the 1580’s by Sixtus V who wanted to redesign the city with an urban plan-renovazione urbis. This particular obelisk was important and dates from antiquity. It is one of two obelisks from the Circus Maximus-the other is at St. John Lateran-and would have marked the ends of the spine of the circus. The obelisk is made from a single piece of granite and was transported to Rome whole as a spoil of war.
During the Middle Ages the Circus Maximus turned into a lake due to its low profile and approximation to the Tiber. Sixtus V, thinking there might be something there, had the lake drained and rediscovered the obelisks. He had the obelisk re-uplifted at Piazza del Popolo which connected axially with other obelisks in the city- at St. John’s, at St. Peter’s, at the Spanish Steps, at Santa Maria Maggiore. The obelisks recreated the spine of the circus referencing Rome itself as a circus. Sixtus V had the obelisk capped with a bronze cross indicating Christianity’s superiority over the ancients and marking the continuation of the ancient imperial governments.
The far edge of the piazza is executed in a tridentine design with three streets heading off into different yet important, parts of Rome: Via Ripeta heads to St. Peters, Via Baubino leads to Santa Maria Maggiore and then to St. John’s, and Via Lata leads to the Campodoligo, the civic center of Rome. Bernini designed two churches for that end of the piazza, Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The two churches, with their classical pediments and domes, are a synthesis of St. Peter’s and the Pantheon combining the ancient with the modern. Each church has three entrances referencing the three streets, as well as the three entrances to the piazza through the Porto del Popolo.
Santa Maria del Popolo was the first church pilgrims would see as they entered the city. It was the legendary location of Nero’s grave and early Christians put a church here to dispel evil spirits by sanctifying the ground. In 1660 a celebration was held for Queen Christina of Sweden who had made a pilgrimage to Rome after converting to Catholicism. Bernini had restored the arch and the church in honor of the celebration, which was also staged by Bernini.
Neo-Platonism-during the Renaissance Plato’s Ideals evolved to coincide with the thinking of the day. The Ideals become fragmented as they travel through the universe from heaven to earth. Once on earth the scatter so humanity can only see a fragment of the truth. The human soul went through a similar process. As it leaves heaven, the soul loses its memory of the ideal place but it regains that memory after it leaves the body and returns to god.
Transition-The end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries was a time of transition between the Renaissance and the Baroque, which might be said to be a response to Protestantism-the Counter-Reformation. 1600 was a jubilee year and Rome expected two million visitors-pilgrims-to crowd her streets. Churches throughout the city were refurbished and embellished. This was fortunate for a young artist named Michelangelo Merisi whom we know as Caravaggio.
Caravaggio arrived in Rome in the 1590’s under the patronage of the marquise Colone. He lived with another artist, Arpino, who was commissioned to pain the inside of St. Peter’s dome. Caravaggio assisted Arpino and studied still lifes. He was discovered by Cardinal del Monte who commissioned early paintings by Caravaggio. The Justiniani Family, neighbors of del Monte, also started commissioning paintings from Caravaggio. Caravaggio received his first public commission from Cardinal Matteo Contaerelli for the family chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi which was being embellished along with the other churches for the Jubilee year of 1600. The chapel was dedicated to St. Matthew and Caravaggio made a series of three paintings for the chapel.
Calling of St. Matthew-Three figures point to Matthew, a tax collector living at the customs house, who is sitting in the back of a tavern; Christ points rather emphatically at Matthew, his arm following the shaft of light (or Christ is responsible for the light), Matthew responding to the gesture by pointing to himself, and finally Peter, standing next to Christ mimics his gesture but less emphatically, his fingers in a priestly blessing formation. The hand of Christ is Michelangelo’s hand of Adam from the Sistine ceiling-recalling that Christ is the new Adam. The light enters the room from the right emphasizing the reading of the painting from Right to left giving it a linearity of narrative like a history painting. Caravaggio divided the painting in half recalling Michelangelo on the right and Leonardo on the left; the figures in the painting react much like the figures in Leonardo’s Last Supper. The figures closest to Christ are the most animated while the ones furthest away are not involved in the scene at all. Overall the painting is calm and tranquil.
Martyrdom of Saint Matthew-A more violent painting it is juxtaposed with the tranquility of the Calling of Saint Matthew. The figures are placed in a circular formation based on a wheel referencing the continuation of time. There is energy in this painting as if the artist was present and captured the moment as it occurred-this is the concept of energeia, a rhetorical figure of speech, rhetorical verrissitude. The Ignudi in this piece are neophytes-those awaiting baptism. Matthew is shown falling into the baptismal font as if he were falling into a tomb, which is what this chapel was.
Altar Piece-St. Matthew with the Angel-Matthew is writing his gospel while receiving inspiration from an angel. This is the second version Caravaggio painted, the first was rejected because Matthew was depicted as illiterate with his hand being guided by the angel and it was unseemly that an illiterate man could write the gospel. In this version, the angel is dictating the gospel to Matthew and giving him the human ancestry of Christ which would be recalled by the elevated host.
Madonna of Loreto was created for the Caveletti family and dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. In the depiction, the Madonna and child are at her home and receiving pilgrims-an anachronistic image. Mary is crossing her legs as if she is turning to go back inside and taking the child to his destiny. This is showing her in movement. Her hand is holding the child exactly where his future wound will be. Christ’s face is obscured, hidden in the shadows; his awareness of his future sacrifice is hidden. There is tension in the image, the red velvet of Mary’s dress represents the blood of Christ and she is being portrayed as a priestess, delivering her son to his sacrifice. Caravaggio took into consideration the precise location of the painting and the architecture immediately surrounding the chapel; the painting is illuminated from the lower left side as if it were receiving its light from the church door opening.
Boy with a Basket of Fruit-This is a suggestive and sensuous painting similar to Titian’s “Flora.”
This is an early painting of Caravaggio’s and it represents where his talent lay, which was not on the human form. From Pliny’s Natural History: "The story runs that Parrhasios and Zeuxis entered into competition, Zeuxis exhibiting a picture of some grapes so true to nature that the birds flew up to the wall of the stage. Parrhasios then displayed a picture of a linen curtain, realistic to such a degree that Zeuxis, elated by the verdict of the birds, cried out that now at least his rival must draw the curtain and show his picture. On discovering his mistake he surrendered the prize to Parrhasios, admitting candidly that he had deceived the birds, while Parrhasios had deluded himself, a painter. After this we learn that Zeuxis painted a boy carrying grapes, and when the birds flew down to settle on them, he was vexed with his own work, and came forward saying, with like frankness, 'I have painted the grapes better than the boy, for had I been perfectly successful with the latter, the birds must have been afraid.' " Caravaggio recreates the painting by Zeuxis-by way of Ekphrasis-and in doing so acknowledges where his ability is limited, the fruit is incredible, the boy not so much.
Sick Baccus-This is a self-portrait and a contemporary of The Boy with a Basket of Fruit. In this work Caravaggio is imitating Michelangelo and his sculpture of Baccus. He is attempting to prove the superiority of painting by transforming Baccus into a young man who is quite ill, something which sculpture could not accomplish. Baccus’ green pallor could be easily represented in paint but not in marble.
Baccus is also a very sensuous painting. He is definitely aware of the viewer and seems to be offering not only his grapes to the viewer but offering himself as well-his red ribbon just asking to be untied.
Palafenieri Madonna-The three figures in this painting, St. Anne, the Virgin Mary, and the Christ Child, represent the genealogy of Christ and his humanity. Christ is again being shown as the New Adam and here he is redeeming the sin of Adam by killing the snake. He is also touching his future side wound as is the Virgin Mary.
David Holding the Head of Goliath-This is another self-portrait but this one is rather penitent. Caravaggio had killed a man-the details aren’t important-and was exiled from Rome. He was desperate to return and pleaded with a cardinal friend of his to help him try to receive clemency from the pope. As a way of showing his sorrow for his deeds, he sent this painting as a calling card to the cardinal showing that he was repentant; one of Goliath’s eyes is already dead and the other stares directly at the viewer begging for forgiveness. This is actually a double self-portrait showing a young and an older Caravaggio; the young man holding the head of the older man also represents the passage of time.
Stanze by Raphael
These rooms were originally part of the papal apartments. Julius II had the apartments moved upstairs and these rooms redecorated to remove traces of Alexander VI whom Julius detested. Julius was a warrior prince and larger than life-Terebilita-but something of an uncultured, pompous jerk.
Stanza della Segnatura-1508-1511-Julius II
Disputation over the Sacrament (Disputa), School of Athens, Parnassus, Jurisprudence
Now called the signature room, this was originally Julius’ library. It was dived into four sections corresponding to the four disciplines-Poetry, Law/Justice, Philosophy, and Theology, the last two being the most important. Each wall had a fresco dedicated to one of the disciplines and tables were set up against each of the four walls with books relating to the discipline depicted laying out.
Disputa-This was the first wall visitors would see as they walked into the library and was the wall dedicated to Theology. The fresco depicts the Holy Trinity with God above blessing visitors. Below him is Christ showing his stigmata with the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist flanking him on either side. The Holy Ghost below Christ is flying down to the host on the altar. Each of the three figures is surrounded by a radiant, gold circle, the circles diminishing in size as this vertical axis moves downward with the host being the smallest. The vertical axis is intersected by three curvilinear, horizontal axes. The upper most axis is at the level of God and is made up of Angels. The middle axis is comprised of various saints and prophets sitting on clouds supported by putti. They are recognizable both by their attributes and inscriptions on their halos. The lowest axis is made up of forefathers of the church, identified by inscriptions on the books lying at their feet, and other polysemic figures discussing the exact meaning and importance of the host. Two figures to note are Dante in red on the right and the lone, enigmatic female figure pointing to the scene-La Bella Pictura. The frescoes shape reflects the apse of a church-appropriate with the inclusion of an altar and the host. In the background is a church under construction which represents the building of the new St. Peter’s.
School of Athens-This fresco is directly opposite the Disputa and represents the Philosophy discipline. It is populated with a large number of ancient philosophers including Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Zoroaster, and Diogenes who are discussing their philosophies with each other, with their students, their disciples, and/or interlocutors. The setting is a stable, three arcaded classical structure that is a representation of the new St. Peter’s. In the arcades are sculptures including one of Apollo and one of Minerva. At the center are Plato and Aristotle, Plato holding Timaeus, the Socratic Dialog in which Plato introduced his Ideals and refers to a single creator, Aristotle holding Ethics, his treatise on how people should act. Plato points to the sky-the heavens-where perfection exists. Aristotle’s gesture is pragmatic, he points to the ground as if to say it is what happens on earth that matters, not some heavenly ideal. The two are walking forward toward the Theology wall and, therefore, toward Christianity. Both Plato and Aristotle are pointing to the Trinity; Plato is pointing up at a tripartite window above him and Aristotle is pointing to the Disputa across the room. Plato, by referencing a single creator/god in Timaeus, prepared the world for Christianity and this idea made him and the other ancient authors worthy of study by Renaissance humanists fusing antiquity with Christianity, Philosophy with Theology, creating a new, modern society Again an enigmatic figure appears on the left in white, looking directly at the viewer. Also, on the right, Raphael included himself in the scene.
Parnassus-This is the fresco dedicated to poetry. There is a mountain-Parnassus-surrounding a window through which the modern Parnassus was visible. Apollo, playing a vielle, is at the center surrounded by muses and poets including Sappho, Homer, Virgil, and Dante.
Jurisprudence-The final wall has a lunette above a doorway and contains the cardinal virtues, Fortitude, Prudence, and Temperance. On one side of the doorway, Justinian is receiving Civic law and on the other side, Gregory the Great is receiving Canon law. The two have become fused in the power of the pope.
Stanza di Eliodoro-Raphael-1511-1514-Julius II and Leo X
Expulsion of Heliodorus, Miracle at Bolsena, Liberation of St. Peter, Meeting of Attila and Leo the Great
This room was a waiting room for European royalty, ambassadors, visiting clergy and other dignitaries. While waiting, sometimes for hours, they would sit in this room and contemplate the scenes around them-or at least that was the idea. The scenes are meant to represent the special place papal authority has in God’s eyes; God is on the side of the pope. You attack us (the Church/Papal authority) and God will help the pope stop you-Meeting of Attila and Leo the Great. You imprison us and God will set us free-Liberation of St. Peter (being portrayed by Julius himself!). You disavow our miracles and God will convince you-Miracle (Mass) at Bolsena. You steal from us (or refuse to pay your church taxes) and God will strike you down-Expulsion of Heliodorus. These frescoes served as not so subtle reminders to the various visitors to mind their p’s and q’s.
Stanza dell’Incendio-Raphael-1514-Leo X
Continuing on the theme from above, here Leo X is shown as Leo IV, with the aid of God, is putting a stop to a fire in the Borgo by raising his hand in blessing.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Three Raphael's seen at the Vatican Museum and the Belvedere Courtyard
Raphael Sanzio was born in Urbino to a family of painters He was a prodigy and was sent to study with Perugino where, amongst other things, he assisted on Perugino’s Sacra Conversazione. Raphael’s early work imitates Perugino’s style but changes and develops as he matures and comes into contact with other artists such as Michelangelo and, especially, Leonardo. Although his life was short, he died when he was 37, he was quite prolific and achieved great status and acclaim while alive. His body rests at the Pantheon.
Coronation of the Virgin-1503-Patron: Oddi family
This is an early work of Raphael and reflects the style of his teacher, Perugino. The work is clearly divided into two sections by a very solid looking cloud on which Mary sits as Christ places a crown upon her head. Below the apostles, and Raphael himself, look up in wonder. The upper section is circular or hemispheric while earth is inside a square; these are standard depictions of heaven and earth dating back to antiquity-the heavenly sphere and the earthly plane. The faces of the characters are very similar and the angels floating above Mary and Christ are depicted in a medieval manner.
Foligno Madonna-1512-Patron: Sigismondo dei Conti
This piece represents one of Raphael’s first works in Rome. He was given the commission through the aid of Pope Julius II to whom he had been introduced by his friend Bramante. Julius’ friend and private secretary was almost struck by a meteor and attributed his fortune at being missed to the Virgin Mary, hence the subject of the painting. Sigismondo is being introduced to the Virgin by Saints John the Baptist, Jerome and Francis. The space is still being dived in two with the spherical heaven above the earthly plane but the dividing line is not as clear as in the Coronation piece. The clouds surrounding the Virgin Mary transform into angels as they ascend. Mary is sitting on a throne but it is a throne of clouds and NOT an architectural setting. Mary’s being framed by the sun is a reference to a vision at the top of the Campodoligo where a Sybil appeared to Augustus and informed him of Christ’s birth.
Transfiguration-1518-1520-Patron: Cardinal Giulio de Medici for the Cathedral of Narbonne in France (however it never made it to France-it was hung in San Pietro in Montorio until it was moved to the Pinacoteca-the painting gallery of the Vatican Museum).
This was Raphael’s last painting. Sebastiano de Bombo was also given a commission by the Cardinal and when Raphael saw what Sebastiano was creating he altered his own style once again by becoming more Leonardesque.
Christ is revealing himself to Peter, John and James who are being pressed down into the earth of Mt. Tabor by Christ’s aura. On either side of Christ are Moses and Elijah who are holding books referring to the Old Testament. The painting is, again, divided into the two sections-heaven and earth, sphere and square-but the separation, while apparent, especially in the circular formation of Christ’s mandola, the delineating line is completely blurred at this point in Raphael’s career.
The scene below shows the remainder of the apostles helpless and confused as they try to help a possessed boy. They are either looking desperately into a book for answers or pointing vaguely to Christ-whom they cannot actually see (but the boy actually appears to). The book is a reference to the New Testament and the stream just below it represents the purity of water. On the right the townspeople form a mirror image of the apostles and this set up is a reference to Leonardo’s Last Supper and the ripple effect produced from the center. The enigmatic female figure at the center turns and points to the boy. Her presence is most likely a device merely to show Rafael’s talent and is referred to as La Bella Pictura-she appears in other works of his.
The Belvedere Courtyard
The Belvedere Courtyard
The Villa |
Originally commissioned to Donato Bramante by Pope Julius II, the Belvedere Complex began in 1504 and continued under various architects and popes. The courtyard, inspired by courtyards of ancient Rome, was meant to connect the papal apartments and the Villa of Innocent VIII with a “covered and level” walkway of “two parallel porticoes diminishing in height from three to one stories in response to the rising terrain of Monte Sant’Egidio.” The lower court included tiered seating and served as a “theater for such papal spectacles as dramas, jousts, and bull fights. The lower court could also be flooded for mock battles at sea. Between the upper court and the Villa was a small, open courtyard which housed the papal collection of sculpture, much of it from antiquity and recently unearthed. In this courtyard the greatest artists of the day, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Bramante, would have walked and been inspired by the objects seen.
The Apollo Belvedere
This is a Roman copy of a Greek original by Leochares and has been in the Belvedere since 1511. It is believed to be the inspiration for Christ in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment (although I personally don’t see it). The Vatican Hill was once named Parnassus after the home of Apollo and it was on this hill the Apollo Belvedere was rediscovered.
Laocoön
Laocoön and his Sons |
This is one of the most important discoveries in the development of art. It was found by a gardener at the Villa in 1506. Michelangelo and other artists were brought in to analyze the work and attempt to decipher it. It actually wasn’t a problem; in the 1st century CE Pliny the Elder described the sculpture and its location in the Palace of Titus, and even named the artists: Hagesander, Polydoros, and Athanadoros. Laocoön was a Trojan priest who warned the Trojans of the Greeks plan to invade the city by way of the great wooden horse. Unfortunately for them, the Trojans did not believe him. But Athena did hear him and, being on the side of the Greeks, sent snakes to attack and devour Laocoön and his sons. The rediscovery of this statue marks the beginning of modern archeology with multiple individuals working together, and consulting archaic sources to determine exactly a time, place and function of an object.
Emotive Laocoön |
Even more than that, Laocoön changed the way sculptors and painters looked at their art. It had always been the goal of Renaissance sculptors to reach the level of and surpass that of antiquity. Laocoön brought about the direct confrontation of one society with another from different eras and it changed the rules of art by adding new twists in form, defined musculature, as well as enhanced emotion. Art changed forever at this point with artists placing their figures exaggerated twists and spirals, their bodies displaying dramatic tension, and giving the figures much greater depth of emotion.
Torso Belvedere
The Torso Belvedere was another ancient piece of sculpture that provided inspiration to artists. It has an emphasis on muscles that was unseen in Renaissance art up to that point but the torso’s influence can be seen almost immediately. One example is the Ignudi of Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling are based on the form of the Torso Belvedere.
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