Rome Week 3!

For our third week in Rome, we set out to discover the sites of Late Renaissance Rome and Jesuit Cultural Policy! To do this we explored il Gesù, Sto. Stefano Rotondo, the Ciesa Nuova, and finally the Galleria Borghese. Each setting was more beautiful than the next and brought new insight into the art of the Renaissance!

         At the Gesù, we were able to see amazing paintings and sculptures depicting many religious stories. We saw a painting of the Pentecost that was inside one of the side chapels, helping to show that the Gesú was originally made to be a place of learning for Catholics and a place for the Jesuits to share their knowledge and faith with the world. The Pentecost refers to the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles giving them the ability to speak in multiple languages and go out and spread the works of Jesus Christ. It featured Mary, along with the Apostles with flames above their heads and a dove above them, representing the Holy Spirit coming down to them. This was a great painting to have near the entrance of the Gesù as it also reflects the mission of the Jesuits. They are supposed to go out and teach the world about faith and the Church just as the Apostles did long ago!

         Later, we went to the Sto. Stefano Rotondo basilica which I personally thought was extremely interesting. It was a circular church with the alter in the middle. All around the circle was frescoes depicting different martyrdoms within the Catholic faith. This was a church in honor of St. Stephen because he was a martyr himself. This was the first church in Rome to have a circular plan and was actually built for the Hungarians of Rome at the time. I thought the many portrayals of martyrdom were extremely interesting, but also at times quite gory. Apparently the basilica is now a popular wedding church, which is obviously funny in many ways. For many devout Catholics, though, I could see how one could want to be surrounded around the most devout Christians who died for their faith.


         We also made a stop at the Ciesa Nuova where we got to see Pietro da Cortana’s famous ceiling paintings. His paintings were created to portray the Trinity in the dome and the Assumption in the apse of the church. It was also incredibly interesting because in the painting, the assuming Virgin Mary is portrayed by raising her eyes to the Heavens of the Trinity, while God the Father is extending his hand towards her. This made it more of a moving, flowing scene which matches with the ideals of the Late Renaissance. There, we also learned about the Council of Trent which helped to label which art would go into Churches and which images were able to be used by the Catholic faith. In the times leading up to the Council of Trent, images were becoming so beautiful and almost scandalous with the way holy bodies were being portrayed. This Council definitively set a doctrine stating that art had to teach about the Catholic faith outwardly and also that important, holy figures should be clothed when being portrayed that way. This was incredibly important and coincides directly with how the Jesuit’s feel about the art they used in their churches. No art was simply placed in a Jesuit church without deep thought about it’s ability to teach about the faith. The Council of Trent sparked this and delivered a set of rules defining the art that was suitable for the faith, leading the Jesuits to then decide on art that was suitable for their teachings.


         Finally, we went to the Galleria Borghese and got to see two amazing sculptures by Bernini. These sculptures expertly describe the ideals of the Late Renaissance. First, I saw Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, which portrays the moment in mythology where Apollo is chasing Daphne, begging him to love her. He eventually touches her as she is running and Daphne then begins to turn into a tree. This sculpture was amazing! The way that Bernini chose a different texture for the parts of Daphne that were turning into a tree, making it seem more like it was happening right there, in the moment. He also made Daphne incredibly lifelike to where it really looks as she is running and moving in the sculpture. The exact parts of her that Apollo seems to be touching is where the tree is growing from and it was incredible to see. Her toes were turning into roots and you can see the movement of the tree taking her body over as if it was happening in front of you. The Late Renaissance was all about showing movement and twisting the body, and this sculpture portrays that impeccably. We also got to see Bernini’s Rape of Persephone. This also showed off movement and was amazing, especially if the onlooker walked around the statue in order to get the full picture. Upon doing this, you can see the exact area where the king grabs Persephone. It is such an intense grab and is portrayed as so. You can see how Bernini sculpted the king grabbing her thigh forcefully, as there are indentations in her body. This shows the ideals of the Late Renaissance by showing the movement being used by the sculptor. It did this by having a sculpture that an onlooker would have to completely rotate around to experience. Also, the way the hands grasps onto Persephone is something so amazing and so different for the times that it truly brought in a new style for sculpting. It was amazing to see in person and I appreciated it so much.




One week left and I cannot wait to see what is in store for later!

-Kelsey Stelly


         

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