Della Rovere Chapel: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Popolo Della Rovere ceiling.JPG|thumb|250px|Late Gothic ribbed vault]]The chapel is hexagonal with a sexpartite [[ribbed vault]]. The side walls are articulated by painted Corinthian [[pilasters]] decorated with [[grotesques]], resting on a monochrome base. The ribs and the splays of the two arched windows are decorated with similar grotesques. The main altar-piece, ''The Adoration of the Child with St. Jerome'' is an exquisite autograph work by [[Pinturicchio]]. The tomb of Cardinal Cristoforo della Rovere (died in 1487), a work by [[Andrea Bregno]] and [[Mino da Fiesole]], was erected by his brother. On the right side the funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro (died 1506) is attributed to [[Francesco da Sangallo]]. The marble slabs of the baluster are decorated with Cardinal Della Rovere's coat-of-arms held by two putti. |
[[File:Popolo Della Rovere ceiling.JPG|thumb|250px|Late Gothic ribbed vault]]The chapel is hexagonal with a sexpartite [[ribbed vault]]. The side walls are articulated by painted Corinthian [[pilasters]] decorated with [[grotesques]], resting on a monochrome base. The ribs and the splays of the two arched windows are decorated with similar grotesques. The main altar-piece, ''The Adoration of the Child with St. Jerome'' is an exquisite autograph work by [[Pinturicchio]]. The tomb of Cardinal Cristoforo della Rovere (died in 1487), a work by [[Andrea Bregno]] and [[Mino da Fiesole]], was erected by his brother. On the right side the funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro (died 1506) is attributed to [[Francesco da Sangallo]]. The marble slabs of the baluster are decorated with Cardinal Della Rovere's coat-of-arms held by two putti. |
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The polychrome grotesques on yellow-gold background are of high quality and were enhanced by a recent cleaning. The rich repertoire of figures contain masks, swans, camels, shells, musical instruments etc. They were painted by a ''pictor doctus'' with an ease comparable to the artists of the imperial era. They are therefore ascribed to the hand of the master who put into practice a bold experiment, one of the most succesful of its kind.<ref>Acidini Luchinat, 1982.</ref> |
The polychrome grotesques on yellow-gold background are of high quality and were enhanced by a recent cleaning. The rich repertoire of figures contain masks, swans, camels, shells, musical instruments etc. They were painted by a ''pictor doctus'' with an ease comparable to the artists of the imperial era. They are therefore ascribed to the hand of the master who put into practice a bold experiment, one of the most succesful of its kind.<ref>Acidini Luchinat, 1982.</ref> |
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===Vault and lunettes=== |
===Vault and lunettes=== |
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Revision as of 16:03, 25 December 2013
The Della Rovere Chapel (Template:Lang-it) is the first side chapel in the right-hand aisle of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. It was dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Jerome and decorated with the paintings of Pinturicchio and his pupils. It is one of best preserved monuments of quattrocento art in Rome.
History
The chapel was built by Cardinal Domenico della Rovere from 1471 to 1484 after the reconstruction of the church by his relative, Pope Sixtus IV. The architecture shows a certain Lombard influence and it is attributed to Andrea Bregno. The pictorial decoration is attributed to Pinturicchio and his school. According to the traditional dating he worked in the chapel from 1488 to 1490, at the same time when he created the frescoes of Palazzo Della Rovere (now Palazzo dei Penitenzieri) for the cardinal.[1]
Other studies, for example those of Strinati (1995), have proposed an earlier date, before the Bufalini Chapel in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, oscillating between the 1470s and 1482, supported by the dedicatory epigraph of the cardinal that does not report his title of archbishop of Turin which he only got in that year.[1]
Description
The chapel is hexagonal with a sexpartite ribbed vault. The side walls are articulated by painted Corinthian pilasters decorated with grotesques, resting on a monochrome base. The ribs and the splays of the two arched windows are decorated with similar grotesques. The main altar-piece, The Adoration of the Child with St. Jerome is an exquisite autograph work by Pinturicchio. The tomb of Cardinal Cristoforo della Rovere (died in 1487), a work by Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole, was erected by his brother. On the right side the funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro (died 1506) is attributed to Francesco da Sangallo. The marble slabs of the baluster are decorated with Cardinal Della Rovere's coat-of-arms held by two putti.
The polychrome grotesques on yellow-gold background are of high quality and were enhanced by a recent cleaning. The rich repertoire of figures contain masks, swans, camels, shells, musical instruments etc. They were painted by a pictor doctus with an ease comparable to the artists of the imperial era. They are therefore ascribed to the hand of the master who put into practice a bold experiment, one of the most succesful of its kind.[2]
Vault and lunettes
The vault was decorated with delicate all'antica motifs before being covered with a blue carpet and gold stars due to its bad state. There are five frescoes in the lunettes from the Life of St. Jerome, detached and transferred to canvas in the 18th century. The scenes are:
- St Jerome debating the perpetual virginity of Mary with the heretic Helvidius
- St Jerome in the desert
- St Jerome extracting a thorn from a lion's paw
- St Jerome in his study with St Augustine
- St Jerome's death
The latter was hidden behind the monument of Giovanni de Castro, placed there in the 16th century, and was discovered only recently: perhaps this is the portrait of Cardinal Della Rovere mentioned by Giorgio Vasari.[1]
The lunette paintings are worn and only their general compositional structure could be appreciated which according to Strinati was influenced by the Roman painters of the era: Piermatteo d'Amelia and Antoniazzo Romano. Some deny the authenticity of the lunettes attributing them to the assistant Tiberio d'Assisi. The paintings were originally richly gilded as evidenced by the presence of red wax on the edges of the garments that served as a support for the leafs of precious metal.[1]
The Adoration of the Child
The Adoration of the Child with St. Jerome is located above the main altar, framed by a carved and gilded marble arch. It was always referred to as an autograph work by Pinturicchio whose mastery workmanship was confirmed by the recent restauration. In front of the hut of the Nativity, partially ruined and its walls built of different materials (symbolizing the Jewish and pagan religions which saw the rise of Christianity), and with a truss roof seen from underneath, the Holy Family is seen together with St. Jerome and the shepherds adoring the Child. Jesus is resting on a bundle of wheat, reference to the bread of the Eucharist. To the right the ox and the donkey are penned behind a fence of woven twigs while Joseph is represented in a typical dormant posture alluding to his role as a mere guardian of Mary and Jesus without active participation in the procreation. The rich background fades in the distance according to the rules of perspective which makes things appear distantly blurred in bluish colours through the effect of haze; it is populated by a city on the banks of a lake and a series of fantastic rocky spurs, creating an atmospheric setting for the procession of the Magi and the angelic announcement to the sheperds, located at the top center. In the middle an extremely slender tree acts as a pivot for the background and separates the two parts, re-creating equilibrium.[1]
The most beautiful pictorial details are the heads of Mary and the Child; the vivacity of looks and gestures recalls the Adoration of Antoniazzo Romano.[1]
The dedication plaque for the chapel is set at the centre of the base between two Della Rovere coat-of-arms with the cardinal's hat:
DOMINICVS RVVERE CARD[INALI]S S[ANCTIS] CLEMENTIS CAPPELLA MARIAE VIRG[INIS] GENETRICI DEI AC DIVO HIERONIMO DICAVIT.
Domenico della Rovere, the cardinal of San Clemente dedicated this chapel to the Virgin Mary, mother of God, and St. Jerome
Gallery
-
The Adoration of the Child with St. Jerome by Pinturicchio -
The Adoration of the Child (detail) -
Painted grotesque decoration by the school of Pinturicchio -
The tomb of Cardinal Cristoforo della Rovere by Andrea Bregno and Mino da Fiesole -
Funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro by Francesco da Sangallo -
Funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro (detail) -
Funeral monument of Giovanni de Castro (detail) -
Baluster with Della Rovere coat-of-arms -
St Jerome debating the perpetual virginity of Mary with the heretic Helvidius (lunette) -
St Jerome in the desert (lunette) -
St Jerome in his study with St Augustine (lunette)
Note
Bibliography
- Cristina Acidini, Pintoricchio, in Pittori del Rinascimento, Scala, Firenze 2004. ISBN 88-8117-099-X
