It's Sunday morning, a few minutes before 9am, and I am pretty sure I am the only one awake... and probably will be for a few more hours. It's quite nice actually. I love to be able to just listen to the sounds of the city. We don't have ac so during the day my window remains open... allowing me to hear the city in all of it's glory. Anyway, Friday I had my first art history class. I really like my professor. He's an American who lives here and teaches... He is so enthused by art history it almost makes me laugh, but I love professors who love what they teach... otherwise the class typically stinks. On Fridays our art history classes are on site, so we all met up at San. Peter in Montorio... it is a basilica located on the top of the Janiculum hill. We began by examining the outside which was quite simple and lacked any ornamentation. I felt that it really misled me... we next went to the courtyard to look at the "tiempetto" (little temple). It was this tiny building that looked like a classic pagan temple, but actually is a martyrium dedicated to Saint Peter. In the medieval times people believed that this was the spot upon which St. Peter had been crucified. To support this claim, this building was built here... but because pieces from antiquity like its columns were used, it looked like it had been standing there for a thousand years. So it seemed to religious pilgrims that this really was the place that St. Peter had been crucified... really fascinating! (sidenote: it was commissioned in 1502 and built shortly thereafter) After this we went inside the church to examine the art within. The first chapel off the right is the one we looked at. It had been made by Sebastiano with help from the great Michelangelo! Here the oil mural technique is used and I think it is quite effective. The murals are of the transfiguration of Jesus and the flagellation, two scenes highly important to Renaissance believers at the time as scenes of the passion. It was so interesting to be able to analyze all of the pieces of the murals... you really begin to understand the politics that went into these pieces. They were not pieces painted for beauty or for their religious association. Much of the time, they act as propaganda... shocking, I know! The church using propaganda!!! haha.... I'll give you an example on the politics of this piece. This was Pierfrancesco Borgherini's chapel. In those days there was much credence given to namesake saints, so next to the scene of flagellation, we have St. Peter and St. Francis... quite interesting (get it? because his name is Pierfrancesco). The mural of St. Francis is quite interesting in that this church was of the Franciscan order... the Fransiscans were mystics and dwelt on each
moment of the passion of Christ- thus we have these two scenes depicted here. So interesting! This church also has very close ties with the Spanish as it was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella... this becomes interesting because one of Raphael's paintings of the Transfiguration comes to the church at about the same time that Sebastiano is finishing his work. Raphael's painting acted as payment for the Spanish support in the next conclave and against the Turks at the time... There is so much more to the art than just being art! I don't think art is really ever done for the sake of art now that I think of it...Anyway after that we went to the Villa Farnesina... A late 15th century villa for Augostino Chigi; you might recognize his name... he belonged to a papal family. The villa was amazing! I now want a house built like that haha! We were now looking at art that does not hold Christian iconography, but is full of mythological scenes. I was blown away by the "Triumph of Galatea" by Raphael. It was a huge mural showing the scene after Galatea escapes Polyphemus- the giant one-eyed monster. It was amazing, as was the rest of the artwork. Here, one can again see "propaganda" slip into art. One of the signs of Augustino Chigo is a bundle of arrows... one of the cupids in the scene carries this exact symbol. Above us were scenes of mythological deities. It was actually an intricately worked representation of the sign of the zodiac. The position of the deities as constellations worked out that the date representated is December 1, 1466- Augostino Chigi's birthday!!! Haha... I mean I guess the guy was paying today's equivalent of millions of dollars for this artwork so he can ideally have whatever he wants painted on it, but I still think it is so fascinating to see how art is never art... it always has underlying motives! We did a tour of this villa, and I definately want to go back. By this point all of us were a bit antsy... we had been standing for a full four hours... it's pretty difficult standing while taking notes. I'll remember my clipboard for next time! Next week we have class in the Sistine Chapel... so looking forward to that! Ciao for now.
-XOXO
moment of the passion of Christ- thus we have these two scenes depicted here. So interesting! This church also has very close ties with the Spanish as it was commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella... this becomes interesting because one of Raphael's paintings of the Transfiguration comes to the church at about the same time that Sebastiano is finishing his work. Raphael's painting acted as payment for the Spanish support in the next conclave and against the Turks at the time... There is so much more to the art than just being art! I don't think art is really ever done for the sake of art now that I think of it...Anyway after that we went to the Villa Farnesina... A late 15th century villa for Augostino Chigi; you might recognize his name... he belonged to a papal family. The villa was amazing! I now want a house built like that haha! We were now looking at art that does not hold Christian iconography, but is full of mythological scenes. I was blown away by the "Triumph of Galatea" by Raphael. It was a huge mural showing the scene after Galatea escapes Polyphemus- the giant one-eyed monster. It was amazing, as was the rest of the artwork. Here, one can again see "propaganda" slip into art. One of the signs of Augustino Chigo is a bundle of arrows... one of the cupids in the scene carries this exact symbol. Above us were scenes of mythological deities. It was actually an intricately worked representation of the sign of the zodiac. The position of the deities as constellations worked out that the date representated is December 1, 1466- Augostino Chigi's birthday!!! Haha... I mean I guess the guy was paying today's equivalent of millions of dollars for this artwork so he can ideally have whatever he wants painted on it, but I still think it is so fascinating to see how art is never art... it always has underlying motives! We did a tour of this villa, and I definately want to go back. By this point all of us were a bit antsy... we had been standing for a full four hours... it's pretty difficult standing while taking notes. I'll remember my clipboard for next time! Next week we have class in the Sistine Chapel... so looking forward to that! Ciao for now.
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