Jump to content

Stanza della Segnatura

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stanza della Segnatura
ArtistRaphael
Year1508-1511
TypeFresco
LocationVatican Museums, Vatican City

The Stanza della Segnatura is one of the rooms of the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Museums. It was the first to be decorated by Raphael, between 1508 and 1511.

History

[edit]

The room takes its name from the highest court of the Holy See, the "Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae" (Signatura of Grace and Justice), presided over by the pontiff. Judging by the themes of the frescoes and testimonies related to the term upper library used during the pontificate of the Della Rovere, it is assumed that the room was intended to serve as a study and library for Julius II..[1]; in any case, immediately after the completion of the works, its use as the court gave it the name it still bears today, as documented since 1513 by the master of apostolic ceremonies Paris de Grassis[2].

The School of Athens, detail

The pope's decision to move to these rooms on the upper floor of the Apostolic Palace dates back to November 26, 1507[3][4] and was linked to his refusal to use the spaces of the Borgia Apartment decorated by Pinturicchio, as he did not wish to be surrounded by the memories of his despised predecessor, Alexander VI[2].

Initially, Julius II entrusted the decoration of the new rooms to a select group of artists[4], namely Luca Signorelli, Perugino, Jacopo Ripanda, Bramantino, Baldino Baldinelli, Cesare da Sesto, Sodoma, Lorenzo Lotto, and Baldassare Peruzzi. Raphael, likely summoned by Bramante[5], architect of St. Peter's Basilica, left Florence for Rome in the summer of 1508 and joined the group, "presumably" assisting Sodoma in the final months of 1508[4][5][6]. Perhaps on the advice of Bramante and Pinturicchio[6], in 1509, Julius II decided to entrust the entire decorative project to the artist from Urbino[7], not hesitating to destroy all previous decorations[6], both the recent ones and those from the 14th century, including frescoes by Piero della Francesca and Bartolomeo della Gatta[2].

Raphael's decoration began with the Stanza della Segnatura in October 1508, and the works were completed in three years, by 1511, as evidenced by the inscription on The Parnassus and the one on the architrave of the window below the lunette of the Cardinal and Theological Virtues[2].

According to Paolo Giovio, the iconographic program of the first two rooms (the Segnatura and the Heliodorus) was suggested by the pontiff himself[8] and was likely developed by a group of theologians and humanists in the pontifical circle with a Neoplatonic background, among whom scholars identify the participation of Giles of Viterbo, Cristoforo Marcello, and Tommaso Inghirami[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. However, it is not unlikely that the artist played a significant role in defining the scenes at a compositional level, as suggested by his perfect harmony with the cultural environment of the pontifical court: evidence of this is the prestige and undisputed admiration he received from the literati of the time[2].

It is certain that the Stories were not created spontaneously: a large number of preparatory drawings demonstrate a long and thoughtful elaboration, starting from ideas that were initially quite vague[2].

The decoration, as is customary in fresco cycles, began with the ceiling, which could be considered completed in 1508; this was followed by the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (1509), the School of Athens (1509-1510), the Parnassus (1510-1511), and the Virtues (1511). The attribution of the four monochromes on either side of the two windows is uncertain but surely based on Raphael's designs[2]. During the time of Paul III, the wooden panels inlaid in the lower register were replaced with monochromes by Perino del Vaga[2]. During the Roman Republic established by the Jacobins and later during the Napoleonic period, the French devised plans to detach the frescoes and make them portable. Indeed, they expressed a desire to remove Raphael's frescoes from the walls of the Vatican Rooms and send them to France, among the objects sent to the Musée Napoléon as part of the Napoleonic spoliations[17], but these plans were never carried out due to technical difficulties and the failed, disastrous attempts by the French at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome[18].

Description

[edit]
The Parnassus, detail

The iconographic theme is that of the ideal organization of humanistic culture, divided into theology, philosophy, poetry, and jurisprudence, each corresponding to a wall and the female personification depicted in the ceiling medallion. Additionally, it can be read as an exaltation of the Neoplatonic categories of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. The Rational and Natural Truth is represented by the School of Athens; the Theological Truth (the Supreme Truth, God) by the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament; the Beautiful by the Parnassus; the Good by the Virtues and the Law depicted in the ceiling and the wall of the Virtues, both as canon law (Gregory IX Approves the Decretals) and civil law (Tribonian Presents the Pandects to Justinian)[2].

While the walls display a vast representation of illustrious figures, typified in their features, the scenes on the ceiling are more idealized, with personifications of the Revealed Truth, the Rational Truth, the Good, and the Beautiful. In the main scenes, Raphael refused to create a simple gallery of portraits, as done, for example, by Perugino in the Collegio del Cambio or Pinturicchio in the Borgia Apartment, but sought to involve the characters in action, characterizing them with movements and expressions. This is particularly evident from the first fresco, the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament. Typical Renaissance themes, such as the harmony between ancient and modern wisdom, pagan and Christian, poetry as a source of revelation and knowledge, and justice as the culmination of ethical virtues, are thus represented through actions in a completely natural and direct manner. Instead of the hermetic representations of his predecessors, Raphael created scenes that were meant to appear concrete and eloquent, familiar thanks to his extraordinary mastery of the pictorial medium[19].

Originally, the lower register, at human height, was decorated, as in the Sala delle Udienze del Collegio del Cambio in Perugia or the Studiolo of Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino, with a covering of inlaid wooden panels, handled starting in 1508 by Fra Giovanni da Verona[2].

These are the frescoes on the walls:

  1. Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (Theology)
  2. The School of Athens (Philosophy)
  3. The Parnassus (Poetry)
  4. Cardinal and Theological Virtues, with Gregory IX Approves the Decretals (canon law) and Tribonian Presents the Pandects to Justinian (civil law)

Ceiling

[edit]
The ceiling

The ceiling was the first part to be frescoed, starting from the end of 1508. Frames with grotesques divide the space into thirteen compartments. At the center is an octagon with putti holding the papal Della Rovere coat of arms. Around it are four thrones (diameter 180 cm) with personifications of Theology, Justice, Philosophy, and Poetry. At the corners are four panels in imitation mosaic (120x105 cm each) with Adam and Eve (Raphael), the Judgment of Solomon (Raphael), the Prime Mover (Raphael), and Apollo and Marsyas (Raphael)[2][20].

Between the octagon and the rectangles are four smaller trapezoidal compartments with rounded sides. Each contains two representations: the upper one in monochrome, with a historical subject derived from Livy, and the lower one in polychrome, with a mythological subject derived from Hyginus (astronomer). Small triangular spaces between the medallions and the main panels are decorated with Della Rovere oaks[21].

In the larger compartments, the figures simulate relief effects on a gold background imitating mosaic. The scenes depicted are directly linked to the lunettes below and the elements, as are the putti painted on the arches of each lunette, each with an emblem characterizing it as a genius of an element. The exception is the putti of air and fire, which appear swapped, suggesting a change in the program during execution[21].

The resulting scheme is as follows:

Wall Image Medallion Image Panel Image Lunette Element Putto
West Theology Adam and Eve Disputation of the Holy Sacrament Fire Air
South Justice Judgment of Solomon Cardinal and Theological Virtues Earth Earth
East Philosophy Prime Mover School of Athens Water Water
North Poetry Apollo and Marsyas The Parnassus Air Fire
Disputation of the Holy Sacrament

Disputation of the Holy Sacrament

[edit]
See also: Disputation of the Holy Sacrament

As mentioned above, in the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, Raphael transformed the parade of theologians from a simple gallery of portraits into a true assembly, where the Church Militant, in the lower half, acts in the presence of the Church Triumphant, in the upper circle of clouds. The study of numerous preparatory drawings shows a progressive emphasis on the gestures and emotional warmth of the characters, coordinated around a focal point represented by the consecrated host above the altar[22].

School of Athens

[edit]
See also: School of Athens
The School of Athens

The School of Athens, dedicated to philosophy, is set in a deep nave of an open building, inspired by Bramante's designs for the new St. Peter's Basilica, evoking the idea of a "temple of wisdom." It features philosophers and sages of antiquity gathered on a staircase around Plato and Aristotle at the apex. The groups are dynamically arranged, linking gestures and expressions, respecting a certain symbolic hierarchy without ever stiffening the representation, which always appears fluid and natural[22].

Raphael assigned the likenesses of contemporary artists (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bramante, himself, and Sodoma) to various characters, as if to reaffirm the new, proud intellectual dignity of the modern artist[19].

Virtues and the Law

[edit]
See also: Cardinal and Theological Virtues (Raphael)
Cardinal and Theological Virtues

The lunette with the Cardinal and Theological Virtues, due to its irregular shape, was divided into multiple representations, with the Virtues at the top and, below, in front of two niches, two scenes related to the application of law, civil (Tribonian Presents the Pandects to Justinian) and canon (Gregory IX Approves the Decretals).The scene of Justinian may have been executed by Lorenzo Lotto based on Raphael's designs.[citation needed]

Other decorations

[edit]

The baseboard by Perino del Vaga features a series of imitation wood panels, framed in monochrome and topped with a garland, while between them are some caryatids in faux relief or panels imitating red porphyry veining. Below the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament are scenes of a Pagan Sacrifice, the Vision of St. Augustine of the Child by the Sea, and the Tiburtine Sibyl Showing the Virgin to Augustus. Below the Cardinal and Theological Virtues are Solon Addressing the Athenian People (left) and Moses Bringing the Tablets of the Law to the Hebrews (right). Below the School of Athens are Philosophy, the Magi Discussing the Celestial Sphere, and the Death of Archimedes and Siege of Syracuse. Below the Parnassus are painted inlays imitating bench backs[23]

In the mosaic floor in Cosmatesque style, the emblems of Nicholas V and Leo X are visible, as well as the name of Julius II[24]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ In regard to the original purpose of the Rooms, historians refer both to the testimony given by Bembo in a letter dated January 20, 1513, praising Julius II's private library (Epistularum familiarum libri VI, Venice, Scoto, 1552, p. 188), and to accounting documents from March 1509 concerning payments for work done by Lorenzo Lotto and Sodoma, which alternately mention a libreria superiore and a biblioteca. Designated as upper, Julius II's library was thus distinguished from the Vatican Library located on the ground floor of the north wing of the papal palace. The use of the room as a library is further supported by the absence of a fireplace, the floor design, and the fact that the base was decorated under Leo X, suggesting it was previously covered with wooden library structures. See Deoclecio Redig de Campos, cit., p. 7; John Shearman, cit., pp. 196-199; Giovanni Morello (ed.), cit., p. 51; Marcia B. Hall (ed.), Raphael's School of Athens, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 131 and 161 note 1.

    When Raphael arrived in Rome to work on the decoration of the Rooms in Julius II's apartment, he began frescoing the room originally intended to house the pontiff's private library [bibliotheca secreta], where the ecclesiastical tribunal later held its sessions, giving the room its name, henceforth known as the Stanza della Segnatura

    — Giovanni Morello (ed.), cit., p. III
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Vecchi, Pierluigi (1975). Raffaello [Raphael] (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli. p. 100.
  3. ^ Redig de Campos, Deoclecio (1965). Raffaello nelle stanze [Raphael in the Rooms] (in Italian). Milan: Martello. p. 6 note 2..
  4. ^ a b c Shearman, John (1993). George Holmes (ed.). The Vatican Stanze: Functions and Decoration. Art and Politics in Renaissance Italy. British Academy Lectures (in Italian). New York: The British Academy and Oxford University Press. pp. 188 and 209 note 10. ISBN 0-19-726126-4.
  5. ^ a b See the testimony of Vasari Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b c Talvacchia, Bette (2007). Raffaello [Raphael] (in Italian). London: Phaidon.
  7. ^ The first payment to Raphael for the work in the Stanza della Segnatura is dated January 13, 1509, while a papal brief from March 7, 1509, authorizes payment to other artists, including Lotto and Sodoma, pictori in camera bibliotheca. On October 4, 1509, Raphael received the appointment as Scriptor brevium apostolicorum, formalizing his primacy. It is thus assumed that the exclusivity given to the artist from Urbino was decided between spring and autumn, while Sodoma was working on the ceiling and Raphael on the Disputa.
  8. ^ Paolo Giovio, ''Raphaelis Urbinatis Vita'', in: Paola Barocchi (ed.), Scritti d'arte del Cinquecento [Texts on 16th century art], vol. I, Turin, Einaudi, p. 14
  9. ^ Rowland, Ingrid D. (1997). Marcia Hall (ed.). The Intellectual Background of the School of Athens: Tracking divine Wisdom in the Rome of Julius II. Raphael's School of Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 131–170, esp. 147-8 and 158-9.
  10. ^ Pfeiffer, Heinrich (1972). J. A. Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth; Marcell Restle; Herbert Weiermann (eds.). Die Predig des Egidio da Viterbo über das goldene Zeitalter und die Stanza della Segnatura [The Sermon of Giles of Viterbo on the Golden Age and the Stanza della Segnatura]. Festschrift Luitpold Dussler (in German). Munich-Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag. pp. 237–254.
  11. ^ Pfeiffer, Heinrich (1970–1972). "La Stanza della Segnatura sullo sfondo delle idee di Egidio da Viterbo" [The Stanza della Segnatura against the backdrop of Giles of Viterbo's ideas]. Colloqui del Sodalizio (in Italian). II (3): 31–43.
  12. ^ Pfeiffer, Heinrich (1975). Zur Ikonographie von Raffaels Disputa : Egidio da Viterbo und die christlich-platonische Konzeption der Stanza della Segnatura [On the Iconography of Raphael's Disputa: Giles of Viterbo and the Christian-Platonic Conception of the Stanza della Segnatura] (in German). Rome: Università Gregoriana Editrice.
  13. ^ Winner, Matthias (1986). Disputa und Schule von Athens [Disputa and School of Athens]. Raffaello a Roma. Il Convegno del 1983 (in German). Rome: Edizioni dell'elefante. pp. 29–46.
  14. ^ Winner, Matthias (1993). "Stufen zur Erkenntnis in Raffael's Schule von Athens" [Steps to Knowledge in Raphael's School of Athens]. Jahrbuch der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen (in German): 56–60.
  15. ^ Künzle, Paul (1964). Raffaels Denkmal für Fedra Inghirami auf dem letzen Arazzo [Raphael's Monument for Fedra Inghirami on the Last Tapestry]. Mélanges Eugène Tisserant (in German). Vol. VI. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. pp. 499–548.
  16. ^ Joost-Gaugier, Christiane L. (2002). Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura: Meaning and Invention [Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura: Meaning and Invention]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  17. ^ Steinmann, E. (1917). "Die Plünderung Roms durch Bonaparte" [The Plundering of Rome by Bonaparte]. Internationale Monatsschrift für Wissenschaft, Kunst und Technik (in German). 11 (6–7). Leipzig: 1–46, p. 29.
  18. ^ Hoeniger, Cathleen (2012-04-11). "The Art Requisitions by the French under Napoléon and the Detachment of Frescoes in Rome, with an Emphasis on Raphael". CeROArt. Conservation, exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art (in French) (HS). doi:10.4000/ceroart.2367. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  19. ^ a b De Vecchi, Pierluigi; Cerchiari, Elda (1999). I tempi dell'arte [The Times of Art] (in Italian). Vol. 2. Milan: Bompiani. p. 204. ISBN 88-451-7212-0.
  20. ^ Table in the museum's official site
  21. ^ a b De Vecchi, Pierluigi (1975). Raffaello [Raphael] (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli. p. 101.
  22. ^ a b De Vecchi, Pierluigi; Cerchiari, Elda (1999). I tempi dell'arte [The Times of Art] (in Italian). Vol. 2. Milan: Bompiani. p. 203. ISBN 88-451-7212-0.
  23. ^ Roma [Rome] (in Italian). Milan: Touring Editore. 2008. pp. 688–690. ISBN 978-88-365-4134-8.
  24. ^ Roma [Rome] (in Italian). Milan: Touring Editore. 2008. p. 690. ISBN 978-88-365-4134-8.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Roma [Rome] (in Italian). Milan: Touring Editore. 2008. ISBN 978-88-365-4134-8.
  • De Vecchi, Pierluigi (1975). Raffaello [Raphael] (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli.
  • De Vecchi, Pierluigi; Cerchiari, Elda (1999). I tempi dell'arte [The Times of Art] (in Italian). Vol. 2. Milan: Bompiani. ISBN 88-451-7212-0.
  • Emiliani, Andrea; Scolaro, Michela (2002). Raffaello. La Stanza della Segnatura [Raphael. The Stanza della Segnatura] (in Italian). Milan: Electa. ISBN 978-88-435-9822-9.
  • Franzese, Paolo (2008). Raffaello [Raphael] (in Italian). Milan: Mondadori Arte. ISBN 978-88-370-6437-2.
  • Gombrich, Ernst H. (1978) [1972]. Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura and the Nature of its Symbolism [Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura and the Nature of its Symbolism]. Symbolic Images. Studies in the art of the Renaissance II. Oxford: Phaidon. pp. 85–101. ISBN 0-7148-1831-3.
  • Giovanni Morello, ed. (1986). Raffaello e la Roma dei Papi [Raphael and the Rome of the Popes] (in Italian). Rome: Palombi. ISBN 88-7621-568-9.. Catalogue of the exhibition at the Vatican Apostolic Library, Sistine Hall, January/October 1985 - May/October 1986.
  • Redig de Campos, Deoclecio (1965). Raffaello nelle stanze [Raphael in the Rooms] (in Italian). Milan: Martello.
  • Shearman, John (1993). George Holmes (ed.). The Vatican Stanze: Functions and Decoration [The Vatican Stanze: Functions and Decoration]. Art and Politics in Renaissance Italy. British Academy Lectures. New York: The British Academy and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-726126-4.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stanza_della_Segnatura&oldid=1304846589"