Conclusion (Piazza Navona, etc.)
Spanish Steps Alessandro Specchi 1723-25 Rome
- Art and architecture responding to presence of tourists in the city - Enabled by a quest, funding left by a Frenchman - Bottom is a Spanish community, French is at the top and papal at the bottom - Stairs lead to church yet conceived independency to art - Not framing the architecture but instead is framed by the buildings --> centered --> interesting to look at because of people going up and down it (spectacle) - Stairs are not complete until there are tourists in it
Sant'Agnese in Agone Carlo Rainaldi 1652-68 Piazza Navona
- Baroque church - Begun at instigation of Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, is adjacent to this church - The church was to be effectively a family chapel annexed to their residence (for example, an opening was formed in the drum of the dome so the family could participate in the religious services from their palace) - Systematic development of a piazza by a family year by year as they incorporate the building they already own into new ones - Borromini had to work with the Rainaldi ground plan but made adjustments; on the interior for instance, he positioned columns towards the edges of the dome piers which had the effect of creating a broad base to the dome pendentives instead of the pointed base which was the usual Roman solution - Rainaldi took over and added an additional story to the flanking towers and simplifying their uppermost parts
Apotheosis of St. Ignatius Andrea Pozzo Late 1688-94 Ceiling Fresco Sant'Ignazio, Rome
- Dome painted - Architecture, pilasters, columns, colored marble of the nave wall continue up into the ceiling, illusionary (looks so real yet it's paint) - Hard to tell where the actual architecture stops and where the painting begins (bel-composto) - Illusionary quality is absorbing - Sotto-in-su = looking up at Ignatius, being welcomed into heaven by Christ himself - Erasure of distinction between physical world and miraculous world of heaven --> brings us into proximity with the divine in the most direct way - Counter Reformation: The Jesuits are at the center of the attempt by the Catholic Church to reclaim their primacy; idea of defending the faith against the Protestants --> bringing people into the fold of the church and enhancing the power of the church - Four great continents of the earth: Africa, Asia, Americas, Europe --> notion of expansion of Catholicism to become a universal truth is central to this painting
Triumph of the Name of Jesus Baciccio 1676-79 Fresco and Stucco Gesù
- Paints ceiling of il Gesù - Churches want to impress people with di sotto en su - Pile of sinners falling from heaven - Christ's initials in center (subtle) - Smooths plaster to paint outside borders - Rational, uncomplicated space - Name of Jesus on the ceiling encompasses purpose of the whole church - Renaissance looking pilasters and columns but ornamented medium - Wall dissolves from earthly --> heavenly; secular --> sacred - Bel-composto (Bernini clearly influenced) --> mixture of architectural space, painting, sculpture, stained glass, color = harmonious - Borders are ambiguous (clear departure from Renaissance where everything was very clear), illusionary that was characteristic of Baroque rebellious nature
Piazza Navona Rome
- Pope Innocent's dwelling - Site of an ancient stadium - Believed to have been the site of a circus (horses race around a track similar to Renaissance form of the square) - Two fountains - Group of architects try to figure out what to do with groups of palaces - 3 bays leading into courtyard which echo the shape of the piazza itself - Grand staircase --> gallery --> rooms
Mid-17th century forward
- Scholarly and artistic community in addition to other foreign communities - Population expands exponentially which - Provokes the Pope to figure out how to cater Rome to this influx - Lost of glory past looking to recreate the lost grandeur - Families aspiring for status and looking to outshine other families
Palazzo Pamphilj Girolamo Rainaldi 1644-50
- Takes over façade from Borromini - Doesn't really echo Borromini - Unification of buildings, central entrance with bays - Transitional element that occupies alleyways that marks where the side of the building was - Pamphilj family's desire for a larger more magnificent building to reflect his family's increased prestige.
Audiences
local: 20% Roman changing local pilgrims distant people scholars, artists, students