Rome Week 2!

Our second week in Rome was filled with learning about art and architecture within the time of Ignatius. To do this, we explored St. Peter’s Basilica, the Palazzo Farnese, and the church of S. Maria del Popolo. It was an interesting day of learning the ties between Roman Art and the Church.

Our first stop was the amazing St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The St. Peter’s that we know today is not actually the first of St. Peter’s Basilica, as it was rebuilt later to be more ornate and amazing under Julius II’s reign. St. Peter’s Basilica is an amazing piece of art within itself. When originally viewing it, the large Tuscan double colonnade stands out, running through the square and lining up perfectly on each side. They were made by Bernini and created to symbolize the hands of God stretching out around the people, embracing the people and leading them into Church. It was seen as a sort of universal welcome into the Church at a time when the Catholics and Protestants were separating, especially within Rome.



         Moving closer into St. Peter’s, we were able to learn about the large bronze doors at the entrance to the basilica. These doors were done by Filarete and depict many biblical iconographies, including the executions of both Peter and Paul. There are two large etchings of the saints in the middle of the doors. St. Peter is shown holding the keys to the papacy and handing them away to someone kneeling before him. This is a donor portrait of Eugenuis IV, the Pope who commissioned Filarte to create the doors. In St. Paul’s large portrait, he is seen with his image formula of the sword and book. The sword refers to his beheading and the book refers to his many epistles seen in the New Testament today. Below the large etchings of the two saints, there are depictions of both of their martyrdoms. St. Paul’s trial and beheading are on the bottom left and St. Peter’s upside down crucifixion is on the side of it. Other stories are told through the doors as well. In between the six main pieces on the doors, the artist depicts scenes of the Council of Florence. Upon looking closely, you can also see that Filarte actually slipped himself onto the doors. Around these times, artists were not seen with great importance and were not given the recognition that they deserved for the work that they did. It was slowly starting to elevate and artists were growing to be a more important part of society, so Filarte put a self-portrait onto the doors. The doors tell such great stories in hopes of educating the people of Rome about the stories of the Church, depicting them immediately at the entrance in a beautiful, ornate way.



         After walking around the basilica, we then set out to go to the Palazzo Farnese. The Villa Farnese contains the incredible Loggia of Galatea. The Loggia was frescoed by Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo. Sebastiano got involved by later adding in a fresco of the cyclops Polyphemus, who was in love with the beautiful nymph Galatea. Raphael frescoed The Triumph of Galatea within the Loggia. The Loggia is an amazing piece of work that describes both the beauty of Galatea and the longing that Polyphemus felt for the nymph. When looking at the frescoes around the Villa Farnese, it is easy to see that the paintings are all immense and detailed. The bodies are also placed in dramatic stances in order to show the full body. They were often theatrical looking, which is an important aspect of Renaissance Art. Bodies were no longer just standing straight or siting down, they were twisted and turning in a dramatic form. It also shows Renaissance styles by the way that Galatea is moving in such different directions, but still uses symmetry and balance by keeping Galatea in the middle and forming an almost triangle around her of movement from the others in the painting.



Every week gets better in Rome and I can’t wait to see what’s next!


-Kelsey Stelly

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