rome cases

Question 2

The Deliverance of St Peter - description

Answer 2

• nocturne scene of angel saving st peter from his imprisonment
• three sections seem to tell the story- on the left, soldiers are waking up, in two pairs, one soldier in each pair scolds the other. positioned on steps
• in the centre, two slumped soldiers behind heavy rustication frame/grill the depiction of an angel reaching towards a slumped and bound st peter, cell is beneath an arch supported by huge pilasters
• her light illuminates everything
• on the right, two sleeping soldiers and the glowing angel with an awakened st peter
• st peter has a halo
• illusionistic stairs
• semicircular lunette
• foreshortening of figures, orthogonals in stairs, life size figures
• lots of reflection of light sources- moon, torch, angel, reflecting in metal armour

Question 3

The Deliverance of St Peter - context

Answer 3

• commissioned by Pope Julius II for his Vatican apartments
• part of stanza di eliodoro- the other three in the room are also about divine intervention
• painted during the time in which a schismatic ecclesiastical council was being formed by unhappy cardinals, to depose Julius, followed by a defeat from the French at the Battle of Ravenna, then an unexpected victory when the French failed to capitalise and where pushed out by Swiss mercenaries fighting for the Papacy
• Pope had been praying in his titular church of San Pietro when he heard this news- ideas of divine liberation/miracles in a time of need
• Julius II linked to St Peter- ideas of divine intervention saving them, imperial destiny of the pope that will defeat all because of god’s power

Question 4

The Creation of Adam - description

Answer 4

• highly idealised in musculature and form, adam reclines on land, arm outsretched with his finger almost touching that of god’s, whose arm is similarly extended outwards towards his
• adam’s finger is limp while god’s is straight, direct transfer of energy, adam is passive
• slight look of longing
• idea of continual transfer, process, god to adam, adam to us
• god is bearded and surrounded by angels, floating
• looking at each other
• anatomical accuracy
• they reflect each other- adam is a reflection of god

Question 5

The Creation of Adam - context

Answer 5

• commissioned by pope julius ii as part of the sistine chapel ceiling
• one of the nine stories from the old testament on the ceiling
• michelangelo took a year long break- the style changes after, and narratives are pared down to only the essential figures so they can be seen from the ground
• oak leaves and acorns, pope makes himself part of the destiny, the story of creation
• linking authority of the old testament with the new dynasty
• sistine chapel built by sixties iv, based on measurements of temple of solomon

Question 6

Pieta - description

Answer 6

• marble pyramidal sculpture of Mary holding Jeus’ crucified body in her lap
• mary in heavy robes, idealised face, impossible youthful
• naturalistic elements of christ’s body- tendons, ribcage, bones, muscles, heavy limp body, falling of his arms
• idealistic elements- minimised wounds, highly polished, perfect body and musculature, no flagellation, only stigmata and small wound on side of body
• highly accomplished undercutting, realistic rendering, projection of his foot
• her face is pensive, not properly mourning/grieving
• her sash has ‘

Question 7

Pieta - context

Answer 7

• michelangelo studies dissected bodies and anatomy
• he saw antique sculptures while working for the medici
• saw nude body as a vessel of divinity
• mary as chaste and immaculate conception idea
• michelangelo passing a fake ‘sleeping cupid’ as real- discovered but skill was so impressive he gained credit
• commissioned by cardinal jeans bilheres de lagraulas, french ambassador to rome and abbot of saint-denis, paris
• commissioned for the patron’s funerary chapel
• contract demanded it to be completed in a year, and for it to be more beautiful than any other work in marble in rome
• michelangelo hid in st peter’s overnight and added his signature to the sash ‘michelangelo buonarroti the florentine was making this’ showing both civic pride and suggesting that the sculpture was not yet finished
• influence of antiquity

Question 8

Triumph of Galatea - description

Answer 8

• fresco of the nymph galatea running away from/ rejecting polyphemus the cyclops
• she stands in the centre, on a seashell, body twisting, arms holding onto reins pulled by dolphins, head looking backwards, red robe flowing around her
• apotheosis- she is becoming divine
• to the left, mythological male figure pulls a nereid towards him, she twists away from him
• to the right, a hippocampus and nymph
• three putti point bow and arrows towards galatea
• a putti clutches arrows, hiding behind a cloud top left
• highly anatomically accurate, antiquity
• chiaroscuro to accentuate muscolature of the body
• red drapery stands out against green blue of sea
  less saturated colours
• evoking ideas of sex, pursuit, love, sensuality

Question 9

Triumph of Galatea - context

Answer 9

• for villa farnesina, functional piece to stimulate conversation
• classical notions of pleasure, leisure, erotic love
• influenced by michelangelo, interest and attention to physicality and musculature

Question 10

Julius II - description

Answer 10

• Pope Julius sat in a throne-like chair with acorn finials
• dressed in choirdress- rocchetto, mozzetta, camauro, and green, white and red signet rings, holding a silken cloth
• green damask curtain with st perter’s keys
• 3/4 profile
• looking down, vulnerable, frail
• on acorn finial is a reflection of two windows suggesting window panes of his vatican apartment
• bearded

Question 11

Julius II - context

Answer 11

• growing a bears as a token of mortification at the French’s possession of Bologna, (1510) as Julius Caesar also did
• french were also encouraging cardinals to form a schismatic ecclesiastical council to depose Julius (1511)
• della rovere
• he was ill, read the last rites august 1511

Question 12

Tempietto - description

Answer 12

• circular stepped podium
• peristyle of 16 doric unfitted columns around a cella
• doric entablature
• circular drum on top, surrounded by balustrade, with niches and a semi-circular arch
• cartouche embellishment
• dome has 16 ribs
• coupala
• highly symmetrical
• crossed keys in the doric entablature

Question 13

Tempietto - context

Answer 13

• commissioned by King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille with the support of the Spanish Pope Alexander IV
• bringing the cultural authority of the Renaissance to Rome and the papcy via Bramante
• functional site of pilgrimage- pious pilgrims would bring wealth and trade to Rome
• first classical revival in Rome
• vitruvian principles

Question 14

Villa Farnesina - description

Answer 14

• house composed of a loggia with an arcade and pilasters supporting an entablature
• 9 bay facade, each wing creating two bays each
• decorative post and lintel over the supported structure
• cornice with modillions
• dentilled frieze
• open loggia, onto a garden

Question 15

Villa Farnesina - context

Answer 15

• commissioned by Agostino Chigi, a successful banker, wealthy from lending money to the papacy, treasurer to the papacy, owned the rights to alum mines
• made as a tangible sign of his wealth, status and humanist taste and culture
• used as a rural retreat, for both personal relaxation and luxury, and where he could invite influential clients back to
• a home for his mistresses