Friday July 13

It’s our last day in Rome! The time has flown by amazingly fast!

In beginning this blog I see that I missed one of the important stops of yesterday… The Gesu.  The foremost Jesuit church in Rome was built between 1568 and 1575.  It was built as an overwhelming display that would challenge every one of your senses as you entered.  We were directed to sit by our professor, not the usual protocol of the trip, but we were soon to find out why.  At the same time each day, the church has a magnificent performance of song, spoken word, dramatic lighting, and mechanical effects.  The result was quite stunning, and more than a bit overwhelming. I can only imagine the impact on those that can understand Italian that have come there to worship. 

On our last day we compared churches designed by Bernini and Borromini, San Andrea Al Quirinale and San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane.  Both of these churches were designed in small spaces, and we could compare the two from the standpoint of design, and use of that design to create the illusion of a bigger space. San Andrea, designed by Bernini is made to look larger by the skilled placing of light, color choices in marble, and ceiling decoration that leads the eye.  San Carlo, designed by Borromini features convex and concave surfaces in the ceiling, as well as a series of geometric shapes that create the illusion that the ceiling is taller than it’s actual height.

Our last stop of the trip is the Palazzo Barberini. At this point, we have all taken in so much, that it is hard to comprehend any more. The Palazzo Barberini is one of the grandest palaces in Rome, built for the Barberini pope Urban VIII in 1624. Both Bernini and Borromini were a part of the design of the palace. The palace is now home to what is considered the most important of Italian Baroque paintings.  The most outstanding of the paintings that we saw was the ceiling fresco in the salon by Pietro da Cortona. This fresco is located in a room that would have been available for access by many people, and the fresco was designed to make a statement of power.

Having the room to ourselves, we were able to lie on the couches to get a more comfortable view of the ceiling. The imagery includes Divine Providence crowning with the laurel wreath of Immortality, along side the family arms of the Barberini, and the family crest symbol, the honeybee. These symbols represent the triumph of pope urban over lust and intemperance.

Our time in Rome has concluded and everyone is excited for the return trip, or for further travel. The sights that we have seen may take months to fully process, and I know the memories will last a lifetime.  Someday, I hope to bring my family, and possibly my own group of students to Rome to share what I have learned these past two weeks.

Arrivederci Roma!

Thursday July 12

Our first stop today takes us to see the Tempietto.  The Tempietto is a wonderful temple designed by Bramante in 1502.  The Tempietto is located in the courtyard of the Spanish academy and was commissioned by King Ferdinand. It’s design shows a perfect unity of the circular temple set within the square shape of the courtyard. Bramante studied the proportions and principles of Vitruvius and had a deep understanding of the architecture of antiquity.

The Tempietto is a small temple, holding only about 10 people. It is at the site of St. Peter’s martyrdom. The chapel has a hemispherical dome and 16 Doric columns. The circular design signifies divine perfection, the square and circle considered to be fundamental truths.

Next on our list is the Trevi fountain. I have been researching the fountain, as it is where I will make a presentation. Trevi is named for the intersection of three streets, trivium. The architect was Nicola Salvi, a 35 year old who won the commission by winning a competition held by Pope Clement XII Corsini.  The baroque style fountain took over 30 years to complete, and was started in 1732.

This is the fountain of popular culture. 3 to 4 thousand euros per day are thrown into this fountain, and the proceeds collected each day go to fund projects for the needy. Several popular movies featured this fountain including “Three Coins in a Fountain” and “Roman Holiday.” More than 20 million gallons of water move through the fountain each day. The aqueduct built by Marcus Agrippa in 19 BC carried the original water supply to the fountain. 

The fountain features Oceanus, the God of water, riding a shell chariot flanked by winged seahorses called hippocampus, and tritons. The positioning of the horses, along with the flowing water gives the fountain a sense of movement and energy.  Other sculptures featured in the fountain are the allegorical figures of Health and Fertility, both used to express the benefits of water. The bas-relief carvings depict the story of the maiden that led Agrippa army to the water source, and Agrippa accepting the plans for the aqueduct. The attic figures represent the four seasons, and again the benefits of water. The rockwork of the fountain, the scogli took over a decade to create, and represents over 30 types of flora. Salvi won the compatiton due to his design creating a perfect harmonious unity with the palace façade.

Our last stop of the day brings us to another fountain, The Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini. Built as a support to the obelisk moved by Innocent X from the Circus of Maxentius. The fountain features 4 allegorical figures representing the four most famous rivers from four continents, the Danube, the Rio della Plata, the Ganges and the Nile.

Wednesday July 11

There will be no pictures…… My camera decided to go on vacation. :(

Today we headed to the Villa Borghese to continue our study of life outside of the city and church life.  Located on approximately 1700 acres, the park and now museum and gallery were once the home of the Borghese family, including Cardinal Scipione Borghese the nephew to Pope Paul V.  Considered to be a country home in 1605, it now sits in the center of Rome as a public park.  The cardinal was powerful and a voracious collector of art, sometimes collecting it by less than moral means. His collection of Caravaggio paintings grew to over a dozen, and many are still seen in the gallery today. At the time that this villa was built, the gallery was a new phenomenon and the purpose of art grew to include more than just the telling of religious stories. Art was placed in personal galleries as a prompt for conversations between the visitors of the villa.  Smaller paintings were also introduced at this time, a step away from the conventions of large altarpiece paintings. The early Caravaggio paintings in the gallery show immediately how different his approach to painting was at the time. A 1594 self-portrait of Caravaggio holding a fruit basket engages the viewer, with a certain type of seduction. The portrait gazing into the viewer’s eyes, also a new convention of that time.   Other works by Caravaggio include a commissioned work for St Peter’s, The Madonna of the Palafrenieri, which was refused by the church due to the subjects being too everyday, and the Madonna being too provocative.   Included in the gallery is also what is considered to be Caravaggio’s last painting Young St John the Baptist. At the time of his death, Caravaggio had been on the run for years with a price on his head for committing the crime of murder. Although he was pardoned by the pope, he did not make it back to Rome for the pardon and he died of malaria before the age of 40.

The cardinal Borghese also took in the sculptor Bernini who was heavily influenced by the large collection of sculpture from antiquity. Bernini was given a sculptural/artistic challenge to create a series of sculptures based on stories of mythical characters. The first was entitled Aeneas and Anchises was sculpted when Bernini was just 15 years old. This sculpture, features 3 human forms, showing different ages, and complex positioning of the bodies as Aeneas carries his father Anchises.  The sculpture references the Michelangelo Christ Risen, and also is reminiscent of the Raphael painting Fire In Borgo, showing that Bernini was aware of the artists that had come before him. Other sculptures that were included in this commission include Apollo and Daphne. One of his most famous sculptures today it depicts the story of Daphne turning into a laurel tree at the touch of Apollo. A stunning sculptural feat, with the graceful modeling of bodies as well as the realism of the body’s transition into a tree. The third of these sculptures tells the story of the Rape of Persephone. It shows Pluto holding Persephone as she struggles to free herself. One of the most stunning aspects of this sculpture is the realism created in stone of the fingers pressing into the flesh. The stone looks as flesh, soft and supple, tricking the eye to forget that it is indeed marble. Also in the Borghese gallery is Bernini’s version of David and Goliath. Rather than having the facial expression that Michelangelo’s David has, that keeps us from knowing at what point in the action the sculpture is placed, Bernini’s David brings us right into the action, letting us know that the giant is right behind us, carrying our gaze to make sure of our safety.  

The paintings and sculptures included today are too many to list in the size constraints of a blog. I have tried to hit upon what I thought was the most moving to me personally.

Tuesday July 10

Today we travel to Tivoli!  This requires a bus trip, a subway trip, and then another bus ride!  This is an experience that I will save description of for a later time…

Our first stop is The Villa D’ Este. The D’ Este family was an important political family in the mid 16^th century. Almost becoming Pope, Ippolito D’ Este was given the Cardinalship of Tivoli and commissioned the site of a former monastery to be transformed into his villa.  This huge villa and its elaborate gardens and fountains are quite an extreme to the life in the city. Although the villa was the living quarters of a cardinal, its art and iconography is a celebration of antiquity, whimsy and leisure. The art provides moral symbolic messages, but is not heavily based on religious themes.  The ceiling frescoes convey messages of high status and power of the D’Este family.

Both the interior and exterior of the Villa has water as a main feature. Interior fountains were located in many of the rooms and the room of Venus even has an entrance to a secret garden.  The exterior gardens are a series of terraced lawns, accentuated with fountains and pools and waterfalls, each more spectacular than the one before. The Fontana del Bicchierone was added to the gardens in 1661 and is a Bernini fountain.  

Our next stop will provide a completely different experience for the day… The ruins of Hadrian’s Villa. 

Hadrian became the Emperor in 117 and proceeded to build the biggest Imperial villa of the Roman Empire. Taking just 10 years to complete, this massive complex was sprawled over what would be approximately 300 acres in U.S. terms. There were 4 main structures, the Pecile, the Imperial palace, the Canopus and the Accademia. The entire complex however was made up of more than 30 buildings, gardens and piazzas. Built on land owned by his wife, the Empress Sabina, the buildings were inspired by monuments that Hadrian had seen in his travels.  There are elements of Greek and Egyptian architecture throughout the complex. Hadrian who ruled from 117-138 loved to spend time alone reading, and many parts of the villa were created for him to have privacy. 

A sculpture display honoring Antinous, Hadrian’s lover, is located in the museum near the Canopus. The Canopus is a pool surrounded by columns and sculptures in the Greek style, and is a recreation of the canal in Egypt. It is thought that the pool may have been built in honor of Antinous. It is a very peaceful space that was once used as a grand dinning area.

 

Throughout the years the villa was pillaged, items stolen to decorate other palaces or villas, and its masonry reused for other buildings. It was not until the 16^th century that excavation work began at the site. Excavation still continues to this day.  

Monday July 9, 2012

Monday July 9

We started our day today with a visit to Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte, certainly the most disturbing of our stops thus far. A church dedicated to death and prayer built in 1575 as a reminder of the certainty of death, and the need to follow the churches doctrine to assure peace for your soul. The crypt below the church contains the remains of many people that would have been found in the streets, many not identified. The décor of the room was quite disturbing, with spine chandeliers and skull displays on the walls, certainly not a place that I would want to frequent!

I was pleased to move on to the next church, San Pietro in Montorio. This church was commissioned by Phillip III of Spain, as a way to show a place of power within Rome.  This wealthy church is home to Sebastiano Del Piombo’s fresco entitled Flagellation. Based on drawings supplied by Michelangelo but Pombo’s painting style showed a more naturalistic style than that of Michelangelo as well as more use of chiaroscuro for a deeper dramatic effect.

Within this same church was the Raymondi Chapel, an early work of Bernini. The chapel was done as a complete space, rather than individual artistic elements. With the use of light, he was able to create natural highlights on the altarpiece that give visual cues to hierarchy of important themes. The chapel highlights the cycle of death in both the paintings and the sculpture scenes on the sarcophagi.

After a break we got to delve into the hot-tempered life of Caravaggio! Caravaggio came to Rome as a young man, at the time of late mannerism, and his realistic painting style was not immediately accepted in Rome. However, Cardinal De Monte noticed his work, and Caravaggio was soon taken into the cardinal’s home as part of the familia. Caravaggio painted directly onto the surface without study drawings, unlike other painters of that time. He also drew from life, only what he saw, and nothing more.  Although his personal life was violent in nature, his paintings were extremely insightful in nature.

St Luigi dei Francesi is home to Caravaggio’s first public commission, scenes from the life of St Matthew, 1597-1603.  The Calling of St Matthew, The Writing of The Gospels, and the Death of Matthew all show the artist’s control of extreme realism, using elements from real life and dramatic use of light and dark contrasts. The effect is an intense display that elicits a strong emotional experience.

At St Agostino we saw Caravaggio’s Madonna de Pepelo. The power of this painting was to show the Madonna as an everyday person, earthbound, someone approachable and real. The pilgrims bowing to her were easy to connect to on a personal level. Rather than just telling a story as a lesson in religion, this painting had an emotional impact on the public, and helped to boost Caravaggio’s power as a painter.

Friday July 6.

Due to a transit strike today our schedule has changed. Rather that go to the Villa Borhgese as planned, we will go to St Maria Minerva, and then the Villa Farnesina. Up until this point, we have focused primarily on the monuments and churches and the role that the artwork and architecture had in Roman life. The imagery and iconography found in the Empirical monuments was designed to reinforce the strength of a particular leader, to gain favor of the people, or to boast of victory's on the battlefields. The artwork of the churches, throughout the centuries that we have studied, is produced to help the citizens of Rome to understand the political or religious climate in that time. Throughout each of the classical textbook art history stages, these themes remain true. Today we will have a chance to look at the art of Rome from a different perspective, art in a secular setting.

But first, we will stop at Santa Maria Minerva. Minerva is a 13^th century Dominican church built on the ruins of the Temple of Minerva. The early Renaissance church has elements of Gothic design, such as vaults. However it was restored in the 19^th century so there have been many changes. The church is dedicated to the patron saint Catherine of Sienna, known as the saint to give dowries to young women.

This church is home to one of Michelangelo's early commissions, Risen Christ. The sculpture stands at the base of the alter. It was created between the years of 1514-21 in Florence and transported to the church. The sculpture originally was created to be nude, but the Dominican church covered the genitals with a bronze leaf. Although art critics of today consider this to be one of Michelangelo's lesser works, it was highly praised in its time. Sebastiano Del Piombo said at the time, “the knees of that figure are worth all of Rome.” The sculpture has elements that all Michelangelo figures have, an idealized muscular male body, proportions skewed for dramatic emphasis, a classical contrapasto pose. All of these can be found in many of Michelangelo's works. The King of France ordered a bronze copy of this sculpture, however, it is often left out of catalog listings of Michelangelo's works. As a side personal note, I GOT TO TOUCH IT!!!!!!

Our next stop is the Villa Farnesina. Located in the Trasevere side of the Tiber, the Villa was the country home of the Roman banker Agostino Cigi. Cigi was a patron to Raphael and hired him to decorate the villa. Cardinal Farnese took over the villa in 1580, thus it's current name. The Villa gives us a chance to see Roman life at a more personal level. These rooms were not decorated to inform the public, they were designed for the enjoyment of the owner and his guests. Many pagan scenes can be found here. Painting designed to initiate conversations, to provoke emotions, and for pure whimsy. The most notable of the frescoes here are Raphael's “Galatea” from 1512, and the Loggia of “Cupid and Psyche,” done by Raphael and his assistants in 1518-19. When Raphael painted Galatea, the nymph goddess, she was purely from his imagined ideal of beauty. His color palette is inspired by ancient Roman art. 

The garden entrance is home to the ceiling frescoes depicting mythical scenes from Cupid and Psyche. Included in these provocative scenes is the Nuptial Banquet, Kiss Between Cupid and Jupiter, and Mercury accompanying Psyche to Olympus. The story, originally written in Apuleius' The Golden Ass, is quite a departure from the works that we have seen so far. We are moving into Renaissance art... my favorite art period!

Thursday July 5^th

Today is the day that I have been waiting for!!!!! Today we go to Vatican City, to the Vatican museums, and St Peters! Although I will see many, many things, I await the Pieta..... Those that know me know that I have spent years studying the works of Michelangelo. I have read about him, looked at his sculptures and drawings in books, practiced life drawings from his drawings, I even started a larger than life sculpture in wood based on the Pieta... but that is another story for another time.

St Peters Square is MUCH larger than I expected. The square was designed by Bernini in the 17^th century as a choreographed experience when entering the piazza. The piazza is enclosed on two sides by colonnades, a total of 284 columns all together. The spina which was located directly in front on St Peters to completely surround the square was demolished by Mussolini in the 1930's. All roads lead to the square as it is the most important pilgrimage site. The design kept in mind holding the maximum people possible to hear the Pope when he spoke to the masses. 

St Peter's Basilica, one of the worlds largest churches, is built on the site of a basilica started by Constantine and is the site where St Peter was buried after his martyrdom. When St Peter's was rebuilt in the 17^th century many architects and artists were involved in its design. Bramante, Bernini and Michelangelo all had a part in the creation of this amazing church. Michelangelo designed the dome and Bernini the square, as well as elements such as the alter over the tomb of St Peter within the church. Bramante's original vision of the church was that it would feature a cross design. However, that was not realized and the church ended up with the basic basilica shape. Bramante's work can be seen in the coffered ceiling.

We entered the church after waiting in line, passing the clothing check, (we all made it) and security. We gathered in the entrance, discussed the basics of the layout... and then turned to our right...... Yes, the first sight. The Pieta. It was surrounded by many.... who knows the number, but I did not stop, until I was in the front row. And then I cried.... It was right there in front of me. It is now behind glass, but that did not change the impact of the sculpture for me. This is what I wished most to see on this trip.  I am overwhelmed, and very happy.

After seeing this sculpture, the rest was a blur.... Funny, since there is so much more. Within the basilica is the Belvedere Torso, the 1^st century sculpture that so many artists used as a reference from antiquity, as well as many Bernini sculptures. Bernini was responsible for designing the space above and around St Peters alter.

After we left the Basilica, we entered the Vatican Museum, as well as the Sistine Chapel..... These are side notes to the day?! It is not possible to include all that we see in each day within these blogs. The Vatican museum itself would require days of blogs... The Sistine Chapel even more... They deserve more time than I have tonight.... I will do a second blog about today.... on another day...