Today we toured two National museum, formerly the palaces of the Farnesina and the Corsini families. Eventually these "homes" (it's good to be the king) fell into disrepair or were given to the state.
Agostino Chigi was the original builder of the Farnesina Palace and he was definitely an egotist. He wanted everyone to know how very rich he was. So he built this tremendous palace which would be a place for hosting parties and entertaining popes. The architect of the building was from Siena and Chigi spared no expense in ornamentation and decoration so that he could impress everyone who came to visit. In fact, it was known that he would serve guests with his finest gold cups and expensive dinnerware and then throw them into the Tiber River after only one use. However, it was said that he had a net in the river to rescue the dining utensils. I suppose he just wanted to prove that he had the money to always use new stuff!
The first room we entered had lots of zodiac figures. Baldassare Peruzzi, a painter, architect and theatrical designer worked on the ceiling and walls of this room. They were inspired by a humanist Cornelio Benigni, who translated Chigi's horoscope into images with a complex arrangement of constellations, divinities and signs of the zodiac. In this room there are two frescoes which are spectacular. One depicts the story of Galatea and was done by Raphael. The other was done by a young artist, Sebastiano del Piombo and it depicts the story of Polyphemus. With the famous architect and two famous artists, Chigi was sure to impress his guests.
The next room was equally impressive telling the story of Cupid and Psyche. This was the room of Chigi's marriage to his long-time Venetian mistress. Raphael wanted to tell the similar story in mythology as the real-life story of Chigi himself. Notice the wreath-like arches. These are decorated with various fruits and vegetables. Chigi, the wealthiest man in Rome (a banker), wanted to impress his guests with vegetables new to the Italian scene including potatoes and tomatoes from America and depicts these and fruits and vegetables in the arches.
The Corsini gallery is a portrait gallery. It was truly remarkable. However, it was not air conditioned and these famous works are exposed to heat and humidity in the warm Rome climate. The Corsini family bought the building when one of their family members became the Pope. I guess they needed a place to entertain the new Holy Father and his guests.
It's an amazing place and my summary will never be able to do it justice so I'll just focus on a few of the works that really impressed and inspired me.
The first was a beautiful triptych. It was designed by Fra Angelico and it depicts the last judgment. Most last judgments depict terror, fear and trepidation. But this depiction is different. The only harsh illustration is at the bottom right hand corner of the center piece. The rest of the figures are sweet and peaceful. The gold leaf was in impeccable condition. Our tour guide, Laura Panarese, told about the process utilizing clay behind the gold leaf. It helps the paint to adhere and allows the brightness of the color to shine through. The piece was truly spectacular and made you feel almost hopeful for that day when we'll be one with the Lord in the kingdom.
Guercino (a.k.a. Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) painted this beautiful depiction of Ecce Homo. He uses what is known as the "Bolognese technique." In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, artists from Bologna would paint a dark background with the prominent figure bathed in light. This gave attention to the center focus of the piece and you don't pay as much attention to the background. This is what Guercino does in this beautiful painting of Christ "Ecce Homo" (behold, the man).
The final piece I point out was painted by Caravaggio. He was commissioned to do the painting as a wedding gift. As an artist, he didn't appreciate his talents being utilized for a wedding gift so this depiction of John the Baptist
was not only untypical but definitely not one of his greatest works. But I liked the story nonetheless. Caravaggio loved the image of John the Baptist. He often used a good friend, Simone, was often the model he used for portraits of men. Caravaggio's life was complex, and dark and troubled. His life was a contradiction in many ways. He'd paint these beautiful images of Madonna and child, John the Baptist, Jesus and the saints but his own life consisted of brawls and swordfights. He would often use ordinary men and women - often prostitutes and the very poor - to model his depictions of religious scenes. At the end of his life, he was accused of murder and fled Rome. He died at the young age of 39.
We spent almost four hours touring these galleries today. The art teacher who gave us the tour actually works at the North American College as a secretary. She was incredible and her descriptions were interesting and inspiring. I tried to take notes as best I could but it's difficult to capture everything conveyed by these beautiful works.
Tomorrow I'm off to Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa. Monday we'll stop in Orvieto on our way to Assisi where we'll spend 4 days with the art and architecture of that city.
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