Origins of the Roman Renaissance

The first week in Rome was an educational experience like no other.  By fully immersing myself in the culture and history of Rome, I learned more than I ever would in the classroom. In Art and the Jesuits in Early Modern Rome, we went to several places which contained art made in the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance periods. We also tied together the links between these places and the Jesuit influence in Rome.

First, we went to S. Maria in Trastevere which is an example of transitional church because it has works from both the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The church itself was built over a natural eruption of oil. Rumor has it that this eruption happened on the actual birth of Christ. The church was rebuilt by Innocent II who believed that classical antiquity was the “Golden Age” of Rome. To make the church more classical he took spolia, or works from ancient monuments, and put it in the church. He did keep works from the "Dark Ages", as he would call them, like the Byzantine inspired mosaics made by Pietro Cavallini. The church itself was dedicated to the Virgin Mary so it only makes sense that they would have a series of mosaics depicting major events of her life. The Annunciation was one of the mosaics of the series. It is a type of iconography which has certain elements to differentiate it from stories found in other icons. This particular image formula has the Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel, a house like structure, and the Holy Spirit. In my opinion, this mosaic is Late Medieval moving towards Early Renaissance. Like the Byzantine style, it has gold background which represent the heavenly realm, and it contains elements of hierarchy of scale. The Renaissance elements come across in the break in frontal two dimensionality like earlier mosaics, the attempt at linear perspective with the house where Mary is enthroned, and the classical architectural elements like the columns and barrel vaults. 

Moving on to another transitional work found in the church of S. Cecilia is Cavallini’s Last Judgment fresco. The fresco is located above the entrance inside of the church. Cavallini was a contemporary of Giotto which were both artists of the late Middle Ages. This fresco was made in the late thirteenth century. It was created to remind people of what was waiting for them at the end of time. It was also the last thing they would see before leaving the church. Jesus is in the middle of the fresco surrounded by angels, his heavenly court, and good and damned souls. This is another image formula used to identify the last judgment from other biblical stories. Jesus is placed in a full body halo called a mandorla with his hands raised slightly. The angels surround the mandorla. On his right is the Virgin Mary and on his left is John the Baptist. These are two saints who are known for intercession, or asking Jesus for prayers. Then the heavenly court flank Mary and John the Baptist. Underneath the heavenly court are two distinct sides of the good and the damned. On Jesus’s right, the good are being guided by angels to heaven. On Jesus’s left, the damned are literally being pushed to hell. The good side includes noble looking people, some can be identified by the types of hats they wear. The damned people are all naked and huddled together with no forms of identification. The fresco exhibits attempts at chiaroscuro, three demential bodies that have weight and take up space, and human emotion which are all elements of the Renaissance. 

Tempietto

Pantheon

An ancient building that had major influence on architects of the Renaissance is the Pantheon. It was constructed by the emperor Hadrian in the sixth century and is considered one the greatest buildings of all time. This is the epitome of ancient Roman architecture. The front is a Roman temple which is connected to cylindrical building which has a dome on top. The dome was possible with the Roman invention of concrete. The dome has an oculus in the top center which lets sunlight, rain, and even rose petals in on the feast of Pentecost. The great Late Renaissance artist Rafael is buried in the Pantheon which is fitting because it inspired several creations of the Renaissance. An example of this inspiration is Bramante’s Tempietto. The Tempietto was made as a shrine to where St. Peter was martyred. It turns out that St. Peter was not actually martyred in this spot, but it is still frequently visited by Christian pilgrims. The Late Renaissance, 1490s-1520s, was all about harmony and balance which was found in buildings from classical antiquity. A circular colonnade surround the central plan of the building each paired with pilasters to make the building sturdier. The Tuscan Order of columns, non-fluted, is used which is a Roman form of the Greek’s Doric Order. Everything is perfectly proportioned which creates a harmonious structure. These ideal geometries reflected the perfection of God himself. Symmetry, order, balance, and harmony are the quintessential characteristics of the Late/High Renaissance and the Tempietto was all of these things.

The Jesuits contributed to the promotion of art from both the Medieval and Renaissance periods by commissioning artists to make works for their churches. The most prominent example of this is Il Gesu found in the heart of Rome. Although Il Gesu is mostly Baroque, it has a Madonna and Child from the fourteenth century in one of the side chapels. The artist is unknown, but this painting is characteristic of Giotto who was one of the most important artists of the Late Medieval and Early Renaissance. 

That wraps up this first week in Rome. 

Ciao for now!