Baroque Ceilings in Italy
The ceilings of the large palaces of the aristocratic, ecclesiastical elite and churches were extremely important in creating the awe-inspiring atmosphere that all of these places and people connected to them wanted to portray. For the aristocratic members of society, who did most of their entertaining, as well as buisness in their homes, they felt a need for showing off their wealth, piety and religious affiliation as well as their education, many times choosing to depict scenes from ancient Greek and Roman literature and myth.
The ceilings for churches had a different purpose from those in secular homes however, these ceilings were meant to portray a heavenly environment, which would draw the visitor in, inspiring and also humbling the visitor. For the church, it was extremely important to educate its congregation in the hierarchy of the church, while also reminding other members of the congregation in the pious ways in which they should lead their lives. During the seventeenth century the Calvinists were taking a strong hold in the Netherlands and many Catholic Church officials felt that it was necessary for the church to send a strong message to its visitors through image, with the ceiling being the upward route to heaven.[i] In the following I will review three separate ceilings, all of which are in Italy, one is a catholic church ceiling by Giovanni Lanfranco, one is a Jesuit Church ceiling by Andrea Pozzo and the final is the ceiling of a Gran Salone, in a papal palace by Pietro da Cortona.
SantÕAndrea della Valle, Rome:
The Church of SantÕAndrea della Valle is host to numerous treasured frescos by artists such as Domenichino and others, but the most awe inspiring aspect of the church has to be the ceiling, rendered by Giovanni Lanfranco, which was considered to be the first great dome fresco of the Roman Baroque.[ii]
The
Assumption of the Virgin
SantÕAndrea
della Valle, Rome Ð 1625-1627
Giovanni Lanfranco |
It is well known that Lanfranco took his inspiration for this ceiling from CorreggioÕs dome fresco in San Giovanni Evangelista, in Parma.[iii]
The Assumption Of The Virgin
Correggio 1530 Parma Cathedral |
Correggio, like Lanfranco also used the di sotto in su technique, literally Òfrom below up.Ó[iv] What the two great masters did was to make a flat surface appear to be rising into the heavens, and in The Assumption of the Virgin, Lanfranco lets the viewer actually witness the miraculous event of the Virgin ascending into heaven.
Although this fresco looks as if the painter spent hours on every detail, Lanfranco was actually known for his immediacy, with very fast and lively brush strokes, which made it possible for him to obtain the lumenistic effect at the height of the fresco.[v] Although difficult to make out, Christ is at the top of the fresco and the Virgin is slightly below him, also difficult to detect due to the swirling clouds and group of angels, helping her in her ascent towards heaven.[vi] What makes LanfrancoÕs ceiling fresco really stand out among others is the fact that he was so innovative with the Baroque style, using massive amounts of figures, and the amount of attention paid to every detail, as well as the fact that he rejected balanced group settings, preferring more naturalistic, and sometimes chaotic scenes.[vii]
Palazzo Barberini, Rome:
Pope
Urban VIIII as his secular, family dwelling built the Palazzo Barberini in
1631-1632 in Rome. In 1632 Pope
Urban VIII commissioned da Cortona to fresco the ceiling of the Gran Salone,
with specific orders that the ceiling reflect the glory of the Pope and his
family, the Barberini.[viii] The ceiling was a very important aspect
of the huge room, which would be viewed by the elite of society, so the pope
wanted the ceiling to reflect the Òrituals and etiquette of court society.Ó[ix]
The Triumph of Divine Providence1633-39 Fresco Palazzo Barberini, Rome |
Today, there is modern day evidence that da CortonaÕs original effort was abandoned, for reasons unknown and in his effort to fix the ceiling da Cortona had the entire ceiling re-plastered to start on what we see today.[x] da Cortona used quadratura, or the painting of illusionistic architecture to get the desired effect, of the massive ceiling, which almost overwhelms a person when they walk into either end of the room.[xi]
The Gran Salone ceiling is based around the great Pope Urban VIII, with the Barberini coat of arms naturalistically set at the central part of the fresco. The Òdivine ProvidenceÓ, representing the Ògovernment of GodÓ, is shown gesturing towards the Barberini family crest, with the three bees in the center of it (the bee was the Barberini symbol.)[xii]
|
The Triumph of Divine Providence (detail) 1633-39 FrescoPalazzo Barberini, Rome |
Beneath the allegorical figure of Devine Providence are representational figures of fate and time, all of which were meant to portray the PopeÕs piety and virtue within the church. Along with the crown of stars, da Cortona reflects on the PopeÕs and the entire Barberini families ÒimmoralityÓ, or at least what they hoped would be their saving divine intervention.[xiii]
San Ignazio, Rome:
In 1684 Andrea Pozzo began the ceiling fresco at the church of San Ignazio, of the Jesuit order, which Pozzo was a member of. When Pozzo arrived to the church he first painted a false dome, using the technique of quadratura, placing each real window under a painted arch, which seems to open towards the heavens.[xiv]
The Apotheose of S. Ignazio1688-90 Fresco San Ignazio, Rome |
The
central figure of the fresco is St. Ignatius of Loyola, who is the founder of
the Jesuit order; he can be detected by the rays of divine light, which Pozzo
painted emanating from around his head.[xv] Just below St. Ignatius is one of the
most interesting aspects to this fresco, the scrolled tablets naming the four
corners of the earth, Asia, Africa, America and Europe.[xvi] Each corner of the earth has a
personified representation of it, showing the ÒuniversalityÓ of the Jesuit
order.[xvii]
The Apotheose of S. Ignazio, detail: The Continents1688-90 Fresco San Ignazio, Rome |
The Apotheose of S. Ignazio, detail: The Continents1688-90 Fresco San Ignazio, Rome |
However magical this fresco is, there is one secret that the viewer must know if they were to see the actually fresco first hand. There is only one point of view at which this fresco can be truly understood, which Pozzo was kind enough to mark on the floor of the church.[xviii]
Conclusion:
Even with the different locations and different themes that
all of these ceiling frescos have, their goal is all the same, to inspire and
educate the viewer, who is on earth to aspire to what is up above them. After studying all of these frescos it
seems that all of the artists have achieved their goals in creating the
awe-inspiring fresco that each patron desired.