The Private Chapel of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in the Cancelleria, Rome Author(s): Patricia Rubin Source: Journal of the

Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 50 (1987), pp. 82-112 Published by: The Warburg Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/751319 . Accessed: 05/10/2011 14:43
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IN

THE PRIVATE CHAPEL OF CARDINAL ALESSANDRO FARNESE IN THE CANCELLERIA, ROME PatriciaRubin

October 1547 Annibale wrote to his friend,Lodovico Beccadelli, seeking Caro advice:

gained, attract me wonderfully. On the other hand the greatness of the Farnese frightens me.t

The mostillustrious CardinalFarneseis callingme to Rome ... adviseme whatI shoulddo. in the nature, affection whichhe holdsme,his My desirewouldbe toservethislord... hisbenign the with whichI have already of applicationto study, knowledge and familiarity his household

There could hardly be a more tellingappreciation of Cardinal Alessandro's reputation among his contemporariesthan this,forCaro was a veteran courtier.He had even been attached to the court of Alessandro's father,Pier Luigi Farnese. There must have been somethingtrulyawe-inspiringabout the young Cardinal. Twenty-sevenyears old at this As time,he was already an experienceddiplomat and political strategist. Vice-Chancellor of the Church, he handled the correspondencewith papal nuncios at foreigncourts and the Council ofTrent.2 He was also a scholar, antiquarian, collectorand connoisseur.3He lived the lifeof a gentleman,as well as that ofa Prince of the Church: assembling a court which was always filled with many letterati whose conversation and and galant'uomini company he enjoyed.4
This articleis based on research myM.A. thesisat the for On Cardinal Alessandro's patronage,see F. Zeri, Courtauld Institute and I should like to thankMichael Pittura controriforma, 1957, PP. 34-36 and Clare e Turin Hirstfor generous I his assistance with thatproject. am also Robertson,'Aspects of the Patronage and Imagery of indebted to Konrad Oberhuber, Arnold Nesselrath, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, 1520-1589', Ph.D. thesis, and to PierNicola University London, WarburgInstitute, Alessandro Nova and Clare Robertson; of 1986. For his di scavi as see for the degli Pagliara,especially help in measuring chapel. I am activities a collector R. Lanciani,Storia mostgrateful to Fabrizio Mancinelli,Directorof the Roma, Rome 1903, u and F. Benoit, 'La Bibliothbque too PinacotecaVaticana, and Mauriziode Luca, therestorer, grecque du cardinal Farnbse', Milangesd'archiologie et formakingpossible (and so enjoyable) my visitsto the d'histoire, 1923, pp. i66-98. See theseriesofarticles XL, by L. Partridge in the Art Bulletin (LII, 1970, pp. 81-87; LIII, chapel. cardinalFarnesemichiamaa Roma 1971, pp. 467-86; LX, 1978, LIV, pp. 50-62; I972, S'. .. lI'illustrissimo for Cardinal Alessandro's rebuilding and mio pp. 494-530) a ... consigliate me qual che debba fare.II desiderio sarebbedi servir la benignasua natura, decoration theFarnesevillaat Caprarola. of cotesto signore... Le a I'affezion miporta,I'applicazionche mostra glistudi, che 4 See Vasari's autobiography, Vitede' pii eccellenti la conoscenzae la conversazione ho di giP presa de la pittori, scultori architettori,G. Milanesi,Florence1878ed ed. che sua casa... m'allettano E mirabilmente. da l'altrocantola 85,vii, p. 681; inAugust 550CardinalAlessandro wrote to to grandezza di Farnese mi spaventa...' A. Caro, Lettere Paolo Giovioin Como, trying lureGiovioback to Rome: assenzadella Cortenonsi puo ed. familiari, A. Greco,Florence1957-61,II, 317, PP. 48-49 '. .. In sommaquestavostra a che finalmente ce ne torniamo quel (Civitanova,14 October piiisoffrire...E forza I547). 2 There is no detailed biographyof this remarkable Padre Tevere, e che facciamo insieme una vita da IV: Annibal in et del His is Opere Commendatore Caro, Delle figure. career summarized A. Ciaconius,Vitae, res galantuomini', del a del Annibal scrittenome Cardinale etS.R.E. Cardinalium, Rome lettere Commendatore Caro edn gestae Romanorum Pontificum de' ed. A. F. Seghezzi, Milan 1807, I, Farnese, 1677, uI, pp. 558-66 and L. Cardella, Memorie storiche Alessandro of of cardinalidella santa romana chiesa,Rome 1 793, Iv, pp. 134-40. pp. 326-28 (30 August1550).A tally themembers the Further information to relating theperiodunderconsidera- Cardinal's household in I554 totals 305 'mouths' and tionherecan be foundin L. von Pastor,TheHistory the includesCaro, Tolomei,Giovioand Amaseo amongother of see and artists. this, For musicians ed. poets,writers, Popes, R. Kerr,London I912,xI, xuI.Partsofhismassive scholars, official have been publishedin Concilium F. Benoit, 'La Maison du cardinal Farnase en 1554', correspondence
aus Abt. i (1534-1559), Nuntiaturberichte Deutschland,
I910, xI. XI,

Buschbell, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1916, 1937, x, xi and

Berlin

Tridentinum...

Epistularum ...

nova collectio, ed. G.

et XL, Milanges d'archiologie d'histoire, 1923, PP. 198-206.

82
Volume 50, 1987 and Courtauld Institutes, oftheWarburg Journal

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One of the first official acts of the pontificate Paul III had been the elevation of his of fourteen-year-old grandson to the cardinalate in i534. Following the death of Cardinal Ippolito de'Medici in August 1535, the Pope promoted Cardinal Alessandro to the powerfuland profitableposition ofVice-Chancellor ofthe Church.s The young Cardinal the subsequently applied his considerable energyand intelligenceto furthering interests ofthe Church and ofthe Farnese family, which he saw as inextricably linked. It should be concernedwiththegood ofthe Church forthe sake noted, however,that he was primarily of the family.This is made quite clear in a letterwhich he wrote to Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo, Bishop ofTrent, in November 1548: We oughtto consider interests bynowto reflect our and that..,.we havean old pope,whocan die at anymoment after fifteen wellsay) having doneanything (one might yearsofthepapacywithout for family.6 his Papal nuncios at the courtsofthe Emperor Charles V and King Ferdinand ofSpain often phrased theirreportsto the Cardinal: 'As formattersofreform..,.as forthe familyaffairs ofYour Illustrious Lordship ...", Cardinal Alessandro's attitude towards reform this at timeseems to have been as much pragmaticas dogmatic. Theological debate takes second place to political ends and practical matters in his correspondence. For Cardinal Alessandro reformwas the means for the Church to reassert its rightfulauthority, temporal as well as spiritual. The imagery of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese's private chapel in the Cancelleria reflectsthese concerns, just as its style reflectsthe Cardinal's taste. Its scheme is as The importance of the chapel in the personal, as learned and as allusive as an impresa. wider context of the religious art of the period is the importance of its patron in contemporarypolitical life.A considerationofits imagerymay elucidate some ofthe key issues of the pontificateof Paul III. In spite of this, the Cancelleria chapel has never been thoroughlydiscussed. No reasonable identifications the lunetteor vault frescoes of have been proposed. This was doubtless due to the fact that until recentlythe chapel was virtually inaccessible; a campaign of restoration made it possible to study the paintings there, and revealed many intriguingfeaturesof their design and execution."
the surface 62 x 98 cm is x o103 132cmat itscentre; painted at the edge, 67 x 98 cm at the centre. The stuccofigures on holding musical instruments the vault (P1. 17) are of approximately cm high.The dimensions the lunette 65 are: Saturn 26b), I6o x 368cm Regensburg I9IO0, IIm, p. 25. For the office of Vicepaintings Janus receiving (Pl. first instituted Paul III, and its (with frame), 131 x 33 cm (painted surface); Mass Chancellor, formally by for significance Cardinal Alessandro,see L. Partridge, (Pl. 22b), 173 x 378cm (with frame), 141 x 343cm and Dynasty Caprarola: Perfect at in 'Divinity Destruction Temples 24b) 168.5x History the (paintedsurface); ofthe (P1. Room of Farnese Deeds', ArtBulletin,Lx, 1978, p. 525, with 376cm (withframe),142 x 342 cm (paintedsurface). The further references. Beheading theBaptist(PI. 27c) measures215 x 348cm of 6 'ci ... conviene considerare a casi nostri et pensare (with frame), 161 x 296cm (painted surface). The hormai... che havemoun papa vecchiochea ognihorap6 ConversionPaul (PI. I9b) is 213 x 372cm (withframe), of morire quindicianni di papato senza haverfatto con nulla 162 x 322 cm(painted The prophetJonah i9b) surface). (P1. casa sua, come ben si p6 dire.' Nuntiaturberichte in is 162 x 77 (withframe),15o x 55 (paintedsurface). per (as The November 1548). n. 2), XI, p. 167 (28 and altarpieceis 17o x 177 cm and the churchfathers alle cose della riforma... Quanto alle cose di evangelists thealtarnicheare approximately x 24 cm in 7 'Quanto 56 casa di V. S. Illustrissima ...' Ibid., p. 95 (Pietro (paintedsurface) each. The principal earlier discussions of Bertano from the chapel are I. H. Cheney,Francesco Brussels, DecemberI548). 30 Salviati (1510-1563), 1963, I, pp. 105- 12, 2 19, 8 It is nowpossibleto provide dimensions thechapel Ph.D. thesis, New York University for and itsdecorations: measuredat thelevelofthepavement, 222-27, II, pp. 383-86 and A. Schiavo, II Palazzo della thefloor 400 x 685 cm; theheight is from pavement the to Cancelleria, Rome 1964,pp. 1 dates 71-76.Cheneyno longer thesecond corniceis 575 cm. The vault panel oftheForge the work in the chapel to two periods, 1541-43 and c. 1549, withframe, Xx cm at its edges, suggesting (P1.22a) measures, insteadthatsome designsforthe projectwere 132 95 (15 s For thispromotion August 1535,withthe titleof S. Lorenzo in Damaso) and his originalelevationto the cardinalate (18 December 1534 as Cardinal Deacon of S. Angelo) see C. Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi,

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PATRICIA RUBIN

dimensions thepresent The chapelon theplanhas a semicircular on site. chapelofsimilar of apse. Thereis an apse on theexterior thechapel,butSalviati'saltaris setagainsta flat wall.' Some alterations thechapel's structure in to seem to have been made, therefore, of order incorporate newdecorations. rebuilding thealtarwallmayhavebeen to the The to to and but modified the required support stonealtarpiece itsframe; thechapel,though 1 at receive altarand thestuccodecoration, notbuiltor totally the was rebuilt thistime. for distucchitand thearrangement Vasari saysthatSalviatiwas responsible thepartimenti a than ofthedecorations asymmetrical somewhat hoc, and ad rather is indicating painter's a builder's sensibility. of Certainfactors to the favoured project updatetheoriginal chapel.The completion in in thestuccoornaments theSala Regia inJune 1545and thedecorations theFarnese in of chapel) apartments Castel S. Angeloin thespring 1548(whichincludeda stuccoed had left teamofskilled Between1541-46a substantial a and stuccatori decorators free.12 worksat the Farnese of portion the Cardinal's incomehad gone towardsthe building the for around I546 theburdenofpayments thatproject Palace, but from passed from on to family the papal budget,so that the Cardinal could spend more freely other in thatVasari's frescoes theCancelleriadate It schemes.13 isprobablynotcoincidental from thatyear.Vasari says thatPerinodel Vaga painteda chapelfortheCardinal.He thusdatingthework the does notsay where, he placesit towards endofPerino'slife, but around I546-47.14 And laterCardinal Alessandrowantedto improvethe projectfor withpaintings mosaic.This and Paul III's tombby including smallchapeldecorated a and richly the turned to be impractical, it confirms Cardinal'stastefor out but precious ornamented chapels.'5 for the Vasari saysthatSalviati'received commission theCancelleria chapelthrough to Annibale Caro and Giulio Clovio' when he returned Rome fromFlorencein the

known. A plan of thepiano nobile the Cancelleria which has been dated c. 1520 shows a of

Whilecertain of aboutthedating and progress thework it remain, is possibleto questions of and the subjectsof the frescoes, and to suggestthe circumstances the commission consider nature the and thestructure thechapel'sdecorative of programme. to CardinalAlessandro redecorate private his Exactlywhatprompted chapel is not

done in the early 154os but that the chapel's execution dates from 1548. She attributesthe lunettes toJacopino del Conte and hints that the vault design is from the circle of Perino del Vaga ('The Parallel Lives of Vasari and Salviati', artistica. e ambientale storiografia GiorgioVasari: tra decorazione di Convegno Studi,Arezzo 1981,ed. G. C. Garfagnini, Florence 1985, PP. 307-08). 9 For a photograph of the apse, see Schiavo, Cancelleria (as in n.8), fig. 103. See C. L. Frommel, Der romische Palastbau der Hochrenaissance, Tiibingen 1973, I, p. 74, pl. I63a forthe drawing in the Uffizi(UA 987) attributed to B. della Volpaia. To date no informationhas come to light regarding the building, decoration or dedication ofa private chapel for the palace's original owner, Cardinal Raffaele Riario. Frommel suggests that the present chapel was included among Sangallo's projects forthe palace, dating to c. 1514-20. There are Riario arms on the ceiling of the adjacent room. That the altar wall would require some form of 10o strengthening in order to support a stone altarpiece was suggested to me by Michael Hirst.

1' Vasari (as in n. 4), vII, p.

the Sala Regia under Pope Paul III', ArtBulletin, LVIII, 1976, pp. 395-423. For the progress of the work at Castel v, LXI, 1976 nos I-2, pp. 21-42 and for the documents,
LXI,

12FortheSala Regia,see B. Davidson,'The Decoration of

3o.

S. Angelo,see E. Gaudioso, 'I lavoriFarnesiania Castel serie ed d'Arte, Sant'Angelo: precisazioni ipotesi',Bollettino

E. Gaudioso, 'I lavori Farnesiania Castel Sant'Angelo: seriev, DocumentiContabili (1544-48)', Bollettino d'Arte,
1976, nos 3-4, PP- 228-62. a III.r: Le Palais Farnise 13 F. C. Uginet,Le Palais Farnise travers documents les financiers (Ig535-I612),Rome i980, p. 5.

14Vasari (as in n. 4), v, p. 629. in intervention thetombdesign CardinalAlessandro's s15 Caro to Bishop AntonioElio from is describedin a letter
(5 August i55i), Lettere inn. I), n, 372, P. I06. (as

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

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autumn of I548. Salviati bought a house near the Farnese Palace, clearly with hopes of takingup Perino's position as the favouredartistof the Farnese court. It is possible that, as Vasari says, the Cardinal was urged to the project by Caro and Clovio seeking employment for Salviati, who, until then, was occupying himselfwith 'works of little importance'.,6 chapel musthave been well advanced before Workon the May 1549whenSalviati

The has a quiver designs forthe stucco figuresin the vault (Pls 17, 18a, b).xs18 Uffizifigure ofarrowsover his shoulder,replaced in theCancelleria stucco by a wing,an Amor thereby transformed into somethingmore decorously angelic. The gracefullytwistingnude was probably not originallydrawn forthe chapel, Salviati adapting an elegant design to this purpose, making it the basis forthe garland-bearingyouthsof the vault, an economic use of drawings which occurs elsewhere in the chapel, as will be discussed later. Here it is importantin establishingSalviati's authorshipofthe vault design. Salviati, like Perino, undoubtedlyleftthe modellingand installationofthe stuccoes to specialist assistants,most likelytaken fromPerino's experienced6quipe. The modellingof the stucco in the Cancelleria chapel is close to thatin the ceilingofthe Sala Regia and the cameo stuccoes ofthe Sala Paolina at theCastel S. Angelo. Possibly,like Perinoin the Sala Paolina, Salviati subcontracted the vault panels; as executed theirstyleis quite different from Salviati's, although some figurescan be connected with drawings by Salviati.'9 Given their position they would have been particularlytedious to paint and relatively difficult see, an unrewardingtask, reasonably delegated. to Salviati may well have relied on former membersofPerino's shop forthe execution of the lunette frescoes as well as for the vault stuccoes. The lunettes are markedly Perinesque: the distinct insistent outlines, exaggerated knobbled musculature of the figures,and featureslike the broad snubbed noses, recall Perino's frescoesin the Castel S. Angelo. Incisions in the plaster show that therewere detailed, diagrammatic cartoons, outliningeven the boundaries ofthe shadows, like the one behind the women kneelingat the right of the Mass (P1. 22b). Such pronounced and literal incisions, indicative of
16 Vasari (as in n. 4), vii, pp. 3-31. Salviati had come to withfigures thePalazzo Vecchiofrescoes. suggests in He a Romeoncebefore, December1547'a l'odorde la morte in di date earlier than either the Palazzo Vecchio or the The is Cancelleriadecorations, Farnesesupport. visit it from Perino', unsuccessfully seeking comparing withdrawings reported in a letter from Paolo Giovio to Vasari the 1530s. io DecemberI 547), K. Frey, DerliterarischeNachlass For an exampleof thissee below,p. 91. For Perino's ( Giorgio 19 of Vasaris, I, Munich 1923, CIV, p. 209. subcontracting thepanels in theSala Paolina to Marco 17For the agreement of 2 May 1549 and other documents Pino,see E. Gaudioso,Bolletino d'Arte, 1976,nos 3-4 (as in to this commission,see A. Nova, 'Francesco n. 12), pp. 244-45, no. 513 (I9 January 1546), payment to relating Salviati and the "Markgrafen" Chapel in S. Maria dell' Perino: '.. . per due storie di Alessandro Magno che lui a des Anima',Mitteilungen Kunsthistorischen inFlorenz, fattofareda m.ro Marcho sanese pictorein la volta ... Institutes sc.12', similarlyno.520o (14 March 1546) and no.532 xxV, 1981,pp. 355-72. Uffizi17762 as Primaticcio, also attributed Rosso. (22 May 1546). Thereis also a technical to 1s for difference, the E. Carroll,'Some DrawingsbySalviatiformerly attributed Cancelleriavault panels are not truefresco, but oil on a to Rosso Fiorentino', MasterDrawings,xx,1971, pp. 17, 2surface withgessoand glue. prepared this it 22, identified as a drawingby Salviati,associating

fourmonths.17 agreedto completethe Margravechapel in S. Maria dell'Animawithin of Salviati probablymade designsforthe Cancelleriachapel overthewinter 1548-49, whenhe returned thework of thatspring to at leavingtheexecution thevaulttoassistants S. Maria dell'Anima since1543.The decorative which had beensuspended of vocabulary thevault is extremely close to thatdevelopedby Perinodel Vaga and his assistants at Castel S. Angelo. But Salviati's relianceon current Roman fashionwas tempered by reference his own ideas. A red chalk drawingin the Uffizi to with may be connected

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PATRICIA RUBIN

equally detailed cartoons,occur in the frescoesby Perino's shop in the Sala Paolina: as in the bay showingAlexander the Altars.20 The systemofmodellingwithin Consecrating Twelve areas of outline, creating sharp contrasts of shadow and highlightin the lunettes, is different from the generalized, nuanced chiaroscuro of the figuresin the wall panels below. This is evidentifone compares the musculatureofthe bearded man at the rightof the Destruction the Temples, twisted lines and patches of light, with the smoothly all of shadowed contours of the similar kneeling, turning, figure feeding the flames of St Lawrence's grilleforexample (Pls 24b, 25a). The paletteofthelunettefrescoes, orange, yellow and violet predominating, is both simpler and harsher than the subtly veiled and sfumatura colouristicvarietyofthewalls. Vasari repeatedlypraises Salviati's abilityin handling colour, calling him 'one of the most skilful, speedy, bold and expeditious artists of the age';21 and the bravura and self-assuranceof the painting in the lower register compares withthe styleofpaintingin the Palazzo Vecchio and the Decollato. It contrasts withthe workmanlike, but generallyuninspiredexecutionofthe lunettes,which suggests and that Salviati left the vault and lunettes to assistants trained in Perino's bottega, the concentratedhis efforts where the workwould be morevisible: the threewall frescoes, and the altar niche.22 Salviati's dislike of 'having anyone around while he altarpiece freeby Salviati to execute worked'23may explain theindependence ofthose assistants,left his designs with minimal intervention. Conflictingengagements and pressure fromthe Cardinal, who was in Rome, might explain Salviati's marked dependence on assistants here as well as the delays with the Anima commission which was completed only in August I55o, in sixteen and not four erected to paint the monthsas stipulated. A record of payment made forthe scaffolding on the altar wall ofthe OratoryoftheDecollato in August 155o, and a subsequent apostles finalpaymentmade in SeptemberfortheBirth ofthe Baptistthere,suggestthatSalviati had finishedthe Cancelleria chapel by thistimeas well.24The 'Pauline' imageryofthe chapel dates itsinventionto beforethedeath ofPaul III in November 1549. From thedocuments relating to the Anima and Decollato commissions it seems likely that the design and executionofthe Cancelleria chapel took betweentwelveand eighteenmonths:a timespan fromaround November I548 to the springof I550 at the latest. This compares with the pace of work on similar decorative projects, notably the Sala della Biblioteca in Castel S. Angelo.25 The commission for the chapel probably followed a course analogous to that of Vasari's work in the Sala Grande of the Cancelleria: the Sala de'Cento Giorni. In that

20 Museo Nazionale di Castel di Sant'Angelo, Gli Affreschi ed Paolo III a CastelSant'Angelo.Progetto esecozione 1543-1548, exhibn 1981-82, exh. cat. Rome 1981, figs I15-17. 21 Vasari (as in n. 4), vii, p. 41. 22 The restorer of the frescoes, Maurizio de Luca, has noted that there is even a difference between the two The separate registers in the application of the intonaco. applications of plaster in the lunettes are smoother, more accomplished, more workmanlike than those in the frescoes to below, making it very difficult distinguish the borders of in the giornate the lunette frescoes. He has also noted that there is some variation in the use of colour in the lunettes, Saturn (P1. 26b), the colours in the scene of Janus receiving although of the same restrictedpalette as the other scenes, are, however, darker. This suggests that differentartists

the were responsible executing cartoonson thislevel. for It Such inconsistencies notoccurin thewall frescoes. is do as the tobe hopedthatMr de Luca willsoonpublish giornate he observations wellas themany invaluabletechnical other in has made abouttheworks thechapel. 24Forthesepayments Augustand 5 September (26 I550) in Decollato von see R. E. Keller,Das Oratorium S. Giovanni
23 Vasari (as in n. 4), vii, p. 25.

Rom,Rome 1976, p. 40. 2s Executed between the end of 1543 and 13 June I545.

Pp. 232-33, 257 n. 40 forthe payments dating from29June 1544-13 June 1545 and the observation that the large sum

See Gaudioso,Bollettino d'Arte, 1976,nos 3-4 (as in n. 12),

thattheworkwas indicates dispensedin thefirst payment begunin late I543. alreadyunderway,probably

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

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case, according to Vasari, the Cardinal wished to have the room painted, and Paolo Giovio furthered both the project and Vasari's interests, commissioningVasari 'to make with various inventions,which in the end were not executed'. When the many designs Cardinal finallyresolved to go ahead, Vasari was pressured to work 'with the greatest possible rapidity', Giovio supervisingthe project,which was executed with considerable assistance and consequent lack of finesse.26Vasari's payment of 880 scudi was made throughthe bank of Sebastiano Monteacuto, a Florentinebanking house in Rome which handled many ofCardinal Alessandro's financialaffairs, includingpaymentsforwork at the Palazzo Farnese.27 In the case of the chapel, according to Vasari, Annibale Caro, ratherthan Giovio, acted as the artist'sintermediary withtheCardinal. Caro's active and benevolent relationship with Salviati is documented in his correspondence, as is his with and faithin the artist'screativepowers. He was to suggestto one patron, familiarity for whom he had invented an impresa: he likes this one, get him to send for messer 'If number of sketches'.28 It is also likely that it was Caro who was responsible for coordinatingthe talentsof the painter withthe demands ofthe patron, and who was chiefly responsible forformulatingthe imagery of the chapel. The allusive, literaryand classicoincides withwhat is knownofCaro's talentsand tastes as an cizing styleofthe invenzioni iconographer.29 That such talents were called upon here becomes evident froma description of the chapel decoration (Fig. I overleaf). The altarpiece, modifiedand damaged, is now an Adoration withPope Paul III asJoseph and Cardinal Alessandro kneelingin ofthe Shepherds attendance. This is surmountedby a frescoof the Annunciation. altar is set in a niche The decorated with small panels of God the Father, Church Fathers and the Evangelists. There are stucco Victories, holding palms and wreaths,in the spandrels ofthe altar arch. Isaiah is painted in a stucco niche to therightofthe altar. Above in thelunette,divided by a window, are an unidentified sibyl (to the right) and the prophetJeremiah (to the left, identifiedby an inscription). On each side of the window frame,which slopes upwards, are illusionistically painted niches withpartiallyvisible statues: thatadjacent toJeremiah has a lyre and is presumably Apollo, whose logical and probable pendant opposite is

FrancescoSalviati,whowilldrawit withmoregracethanothers know;makehimdo a I

26 For this commission and his regretsabout the quality of its execution, see Vasari's autobiography (as in n. 4), viiu, pp. 678-81 and the Life of Perino del Vaga, v, pp. 626-27. For Giovio's supervision of the project, recorded in his letters to Cardinal Alessandro ( 5, 25 August, 25 October, 13 November 1546) and for the Cardinal's lukewarm reaction which Giovio reported to Vasari (18 December 1546), see Frey,Nachlass (as in n. 16),i, pp. 176-77, 181-82. 27 For Vasari's payment, see A. del Vita, II Libro delle Ricordanzedi GiorgioVasari,Rome 1938, p. 55. For Palazzo Farnese, see Uginet, Le Palais Farnise (as in n. 13), pp. 22 and passim.Although some Monteacuto documents survive in the Niccolini archive in Florence, I have not been able to trace their banking records in either Florence or Rome. I would like to thank the Marchesa Niccolini forgranting me access to the archive. For the Monteacuto firm, see J. et moitie' Delumeau, Vieiconomique socialedeRomedansla seconde duXVIsiicle, Paris 1959. se questa le piace fate che mandi per messer 28 ... Francesco Salviati, il quale la mettera in disegno con pidi grazia che altri ch'io conosca, facendogliene fare piii

29 For this see C. Robertson, 'Annibal Caro and the Visual Arts', University of London, Warburg Institute M.Phil. dissertation, 1981, particularly pp. 14, i86-88 for the suggestion that Caro devised the iconography for this chapel. See also C. Robertson, 'Annibal Caro as iconographer: sources and method', this Journal, XLV, 1982, pp. x6o8x.

o07.

schizzi.' Caro (as in n. I), II, 422, pp. 173-74 (Letter to Niccol6 Spinelli 13 August 1544). See also Caro, I, 218, pp. 294-96 forCaro's letter to Salviati (29 February 1544) in which he writes to the artist: 'per un virtuoso e per un amico quale io vi tengo', saying that 'sono andato continuando di far buoni offici a vostra giustificazione: ricordando chi voi siete, come i vostri pari s'hanno a trattare...' Caro's good officeshad saved Salviati from imprisonment by Pier Luigi Farnese, to whom Caro had apparently demonstrated 'l'utile, e l'onore, che sarebbe al padrone d'avervi appresso.' For Salviati's work for Pier Salviati (as in Luigi in the early 1540s, see Cheney, Francesco n. 8), I, pp. 13-41 and Convegno 198I (as in n. 8), pp. 305-

88
a. StJerome b. St Ambrose d. St Mark

PATRICIA RUBIN a b
Nativity ity

c. St Luke h.

e. Godthe Father

3
e

Isaiah Stue
g

h. StAugustine

f. St Matthew g. StJohntheEvangelist

j. Annunciation

i. St Gregory Great the

Jeremiah

Apollo

Minerva

Sibyl

Moses and Aaron

Beheading ofethea ofthe

Baptist

Janus receives receives

Saturn

olde Fl]e Age

Arms[7tDestr-i

uction uctotion

Destrucof

Idols
Isaiah I1.6-8

Temples

StLawrence

Martyrdom of

Mass

Jonah
Conversion Paul of

David

Door

FIG. I. Plan of the Chapel

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the Minerva, next to the sibyl. The vault panel over the altar shows Aaronbefore Tabernacle, a scene derived fromNumbers i6- 7. The Conversion Paul (Acts 26) is on the entrance of wall opposite the altar. David and Jonah are painted in stucco tabernacles flankingthis scene. In the lunette above the Conversion, Paul displays the Eucharist to a reverent St crowd, an illustrationofI Corinthians io- I. The vault paintingabove thisshows a forge where swords are being beaten into ploughshares, followingIsaiah 2.4. The other main wall panels are the Martyrdom StLawrence and the Beheading the of of Baptist.In the lunette and vault panel above the Martyrdom Lawrence scenes showing the destructionof are ofSt pagan temples and idols, events recorded by early church historians, Prudentius and Eusebius. In the lunetteabove the Beheading the of Baptist, Janus receives Saturn at Rome, an episode described in Ovid's Fasti, here enhanced with details fromVirgil's Fourth The vault panel above illustratesIsaiah's messianic prophecy(i 1.6-8) ofthe time Eclogue. when 'The wolfshall dwell with the lamb...' The decoration is not based on one text,or even one sortof text. Ovid and Virgil are paired withthe Old and New Testaments. There is no consistentplay on biblical typology in the structureof the scheme, although prophecy and prefiguration exploited. The are historicalassociation. The key images are linked by thematic,not by narrativeor directly to the scheme may be foundby consideringwhat seems the mostanomalous subject in the Saturn to chapel,Janusreceiving (P1. 26b). Taken fromOvid and embellishedwithreference Virgil, this representsthe Golden Age initiatedby Saturn's returnto Rome. This subject had an established meaning in Farnese iconography. It had been used in a 1539 festival carro and explained by a contemporaryas demonstrating securitybroughtto Rome by the the papacy; the double-headed figure of dellaSede ofJanus,representative the Typochetene embodied the gloryof ancient and modern Rome. Both the identification and apostolica, the interpretation this scene would surelyhave been quite clear - it had literallybeen of paraded throughthe streets.However current,it was also learned, elaborated by using a number of related texts. The incidental difficulties and novelties introduced by such quotations would have been appreciated by someone familarwith those textsand with a taste foringenious subject matter,like Cardinal Alessandro.30And the eruditeaccumulation of literaryreferencesseems typical of Caro, who devised images by consulting the books of buoni autori.31 The introductionof a classical scene into a chapel is in itselfcurious. It confirms the inventivenature of the decoration, its scheme based on invenzioni, novel and pleasing a combination of images and ideas, adapted to the site. Invenzioni must be unusual and appropriate, 'cose convenienti al loco e fuor de l'ordinario', as Caro was to write of anotherprogramme.32 a chapel decorum demanded scenes pertainingto religion,even In if they were not taken solely fromthe Bible or saints' lives. For Cardinal Alessandro religion was the Roman Church as championed by the Farnese: an institutiondivinely sanctioned, triumphantover infideland heretic,responsibleforthe blessings ofa Golden Age of peace and prosperity.The legitimatesacerdotal power vested in the Church was in in prefigured Aaron and confirmed Paul, both elected priestsby God and shown here at
o30 taste recorded in Cardinal Alessandro's praise fora A drawing ofJustice sent to him by Vasari. He congratulated Vasari: 'vedendovi uscire delle inventioni ordinarie', pleased as much by the 'novita dell'istoria come la bellezza delle figure', Frey, Nachlass (as in n. i6), I, p. LI, 125 (24 January 1543). a' Robertson, thisJournal,1982 (as in n. 29), pp. 164-66. 32Caro (as in n. I) III, 676, 2-3 about the Camera

dell'Aurora at Caprarola.

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the moments of their election. In the lunette above his conversion, Paul's mission of preaching the faithto the Gentiles is depicted in specificallyliturgicaltermsas he lifts up the Host beforea crowd of convertedpagans. The themeofconversionto the truefaithis taken up in the lunette and vault over the Martyrdom St Lawrence, whose death, as of described by Prudentius, was also 'in truththe death of the temples'; and above, the temples and idols of false religion are destroyed. The resultant blessings of peace are shown here according to both classical and biblical accounts ofthe Golden Age, messianic in John the Baptist, is also prophecies fulfilled the coming of Christ, whose forerunner, a representedhere at the momentofhis martyrdom, pendant to St Lawrence. The chapel in takes up the themesofthe power oftheChurch and the power ofthe familyset forth the Sala de'Cento Giorni. There, in a public room, these were detailed in termsof deeds, res gestae,duly inscribed, presenting a glorifiedrecord of the Farnese pontificate.In the Cardinal's private chapel theywere recast in biblical, patristicand classical forms,the past used as authorityfor the present in demonstratingthe moral, ecclesiastical and political supremacy of the Roman Church. The scheme's author, probably Caro, called upon to find things appropriate to religion, the cosedella chiesaand di casa of Cardinal Alessandro's correspondence,looked to fixedpoints in Farnese iconography (the imprese, being used to ofPaul,forexample) and to the textscurrently theJanusscene, the Conversion support the primacy of the Roman Church against its Protestantattackers,arrivingat a combination of scenes giving Cardinal Alessandro's pragmatic, politic piety a suitable devotional setting. While the subjects chosen for the chapel forma coherent,topical and appropriate personal ensemble, in many cases they also referto previous commissions by Salviati: Salviati had once designed a Moses scene fora tabernacle in the Badia at Florence, he had the earlierdecorated thechapel in Cardinal Salviati's palace in Rome withscenes from life of StJohn the Baptist, he had a finisheddrawing of the Conversion Paul which had been of in engraved by Enea Vico, and he had just come fromFlorence frustrated his hopes of painting the high altar chapel of San Lorenzo.33 Thus Salviati had a ready supply of 'many designs with various inventions'with which to temptCardinal Alessandro to the enterprise.It is possible that the scheme of the chapel's decoration was partly evolved fromor inspiredby these designs, an economical and intellectually engagingapproach to its composition, and one entirelyin keeping with Caro's stated view of the artist: 'both poet and painter' and recognitionthat 'in both the one and the other (i.e. poetry and painting) one's own concepts and ideas are expressed withmore love and zeal than other people's'.34 which A similar,notuntypicaleconomycharacterisesSalviati's designsforthefrescoes, and prestezza, to clearlyrefer studies made forotherworks.Salviati's acknowledgedfacilita qualities which undoubtedly recommended him to Cardinal Alessandro, depended on such adaptation. That his workswere more assembled than studied had been the basis of factional criticismof him at Duke Cosimo's court in Florence.35 But Salviati was an
see For 13, projects, Vasari (as inn. 4), vii,pp. o10, 33 these
3s Vasari (as in n. 4), vII, pp. 25, 26. The reaction of Duke Cosimo's court to Salviati's style and method of design is presently being studied by Melinda Schlitt of the Johns Hopkins University for her doctoral dissertation on Salviati.

30.

et l'una et ne l'altra con piu affettione con piiustudio

s'esprimono i concetti et le idee sue proprie che d'altrui'. Frey, Nachlass (as in n. 16), I, cxII, p. 220 (letter to Vasari, io May I548).

34 'Cosi poeta come pittore' and recognition that : 'ne

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considered by himselfand by others, inventive,not a repetitivemaster of self-quotation, Vasari tellsus, to be gagliardo and copioso inventione.36 kindofdesign fromrepertoire di This forapproval and discussion in a collaborative process, compatible withSalviati's taste for and letterate grand'uomini, with the kind of company and and consortingboth with persone conversationVasari reportsfromCardinal Alessandro's court,where painters,poets and grandees exchanged views and consulted on their projects: Giovio's Museumbecoming Vasari's Lives.37 It is not surprising,therefore, that the drawings which can be associated with the chapel can also be related to earlier projects. Thus, forexample, a drawing in the Lugt collection which has been identifiedas a studyforSalome in the Cancelleria Beheading of theBaptistwas adapted fromthe design made forthe figureof Psyche in the Worship of which Salviati painted in the Palazzo Grimani in Venice (P1. 27a, b, c).38 The Psyche of Worship Psycheitselfformed the basis of the composition, architectural setting and and inspired the arrangementof the figuresclustered figuresat the rightof the Beheading around the column at the left of the Martyrdom St Lawrence(Pls 27a, 25a).39 The of maidservantholding the salver to receiveJohn'shead in theBeheading developed from was a studynow in the Philadelphia Museum ofArtwhich was made forthefigure kneelingin the foregroundof a Joseph tapestrydesigned by Salviati forCosimo de' Medici in I548 (P1. 28a, b).40 A variant of this figureappears kneelingto the leftofthe tabernacle in the the vault panel of Aaronbefore Tabernacle (P1. 20a). The Dioscuri-derived group directly above the figurein the tapestrywas converted to St Paul's companion and horse in the chapel fresco(Pls 28a, i9b). A soldier standing at the rightside of the Medicean scene of

his made it possibleforSalviatito present ideas to hispatrons and advisers undoubtedly

36 Vasari (as in n. 4), vII, P. 33, similarly vII, p. 27. Vasari's appraisal of Salviati's facilityand giudizioin design contrasts with his criticism of the dry and obvious repetitions of Battista Franco (vI, p. 580) or the reliance on tried and true patterns by 15th-century artists like Perugino. See also J. Fletcher, 'Francesco Salviati and Remigio Fiorentino', Burlington Magazine, cxxI, I979, pp. 793-95 for a letter answering Salviati's request for 'invenzioni' for a figure of Fortune in which his learned friend comments on Salviati's 'ingegno . . . pieno di bellissime e vaghissime inventioni'. 37 Vasari (as in n. 4) vn, p. 42 forSalviati; vu, pp. 681-82 for Cardinal Alessandro's court. Salviati's friendshipwith men of letters is confirmed in the correspondence of Caro (see n. 28), Giovio and Aretino. The latter wrote to Salviati in August 1542: 'Son molte le cagioni che mi movono a ricordarmi di voi, spirito veramente pellegrino ed eletto. Ecco che mi constringe a ci6 il ben che a me volete, le cortesie usatimi, la gentilezza propria, la bonth che vi move, la conversazion dolce, la modestia, la umanith, e l'altre virtii, che vi adornano con uno splendore tale, che la pittura, nel cui studio site ammirabile, par quasi la minore' sull' artedi PietroAretino, ed. E. Camesasca, Milan (Lettere 1957, 1, CLIV, pp. 226-2 7). Salviati had painted a portraitof Aretino, which Aretino sent to Francis I of France, celebrating the giftand the artist in verse (December x539; al Capitolodi MesserPietroAretino Re di Francia). For Aretino and Salviati, see also Lettere sull'arte,I, LXXXIII,pp. I29-31 (letter from Aretino to Leone Leoni, II July 1539); II, CCXLVII, pp. 84-87, CCLIX,pp. Io00-0I, CCCXII, 137 (letters p. from Aretino to Salviati, August and October 1545 and ed. January 1546). For Giovio, see P. Giovio, Lettere, G. G.

Ferrero, Rome I956, I, Io8, I I, pp. 235, 238 (letters from Giovio to Aretino,January and 24 February 154o), n, 213, p. 19 (letter from Giovio to Cardinal Alessandro, II September 1545), "I, 254, 267, 286, pp. 78, 91, I16 (letters from Giovio to Vasari, 2 April, 8 July and Io December 3sJ. Byam Shaw, The Italian Drawings of the Frits Lugt Paris I983, no. 29, p. 37, pl. 40. Black chalk, 304 Collection, x 205 mm. The painting, the central octagon ofa ceiling in the Palazzo Grimani done in 1539, was removed in the I9th centuryand has disappeared, but the composition is known from a chiaroscuro woodcut (see for this I. H. Cheney, 'Francesco Salviati's North Italian Journey', Art Bulletin, Bartsch, ed. C. Karpinski, 1963, P. 341 and TheIllustrated 48, New York 1983, 26-I [125], pl.200oo). 39 The connection between the Grimani octagon and the is Beheading noted by Cheney, ArtBulletin,1963 (as in n. 38), p. 341, n. 30. All three compositions are ultimately derived fromRaphael's Martyrdom ofSt Cecilia done forLeo X's villa at Magliana and widely known through Marcantonio's print. For the print, see The IllustratedBartsch, 26, ed. K. Oberhuber, New York 1978, pl. 153, no. I17 (04). 4o Formerly Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, no. 79. For the tapestry, which is documented as 'consegnato in guardaroba' 16 May 1548, see the exhibition catalogue, e Florence Palazzo Vecchio:committenza collezionismo medicei, I980, no. 87, pp. 57-58. The drawing then in the PAFA, was first published by R. Bernheimer, 'A Drawing by Francesco Salviati', Pacific Art Review, II, 1942-43, PP. 23-27, who connected it with the Cancelleria Beheading. Cheney, Francesco Salviati (as in n. 8), II, p. 549 notes its previous use fortheJoseph tapestry.
I547).

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theSchoolmasterthe in of Falerians the Sala di Udienza ofthe Palazzo Vecchio founda place in the Farnese Martyrdom St Lawrence of (Pls 28c, d, 25a), and there is a drawing in the BritishMuseum which can be related to both frescoes.41 The harvesterbending over in the centre of the lunette frescoofJanusreceiving Saturnrecurs in a design fora tapestry depicting the month of August (Pls 26b, 29a); in this case the sequence of design is uncertain - the tapestrymight have followed the fresco- but the principle of selfreferenceremains, and is here important in confirmingSalviati as the author of the cartoons forthe lunettes.42 If expediencyis one aspect ofCardinal Alessandro's patronage met here by the artist and his advisers, delight in antiquarian opulence, copia and varieta, another equally is accommodated in this chapel. It is indicative of the artistic predilections of Cardinal Alessandro's circle that Salviati's sponsors were, on the one hand, an avid collector of of coins and gems (Caro), and, on the other,the most famousminiaturist the day (Giulio Clovio). It must be rememberedthatCardinal Alessandro's othercommissionsincluded reductionof Perino del Vaga's frescoesin the Massimi chapel to crystalplaquettes, the casket now at Naples and the Book of Hours illuminated by Clovio. The delightin rich surfaces, refined ornament and classical referencecharacteristicof those projects is evidentin the chapel as well. The frescoesare set into the walls and vault like gems into a in de in piece ofjewellery.The figures thepaintingsare depicted as a classicizingcorps ballet in an elaborate display of antique fancy dress, pirouetting,pointing and posturing graceful poses. Both fresco and stucco demonstrate Salviati's rapid acclimatization to thosedesigned by Perino Rome. The tabernacle framesforthe prophetsare adapted from dei Monti.43 The putti holding the masks and for the Massimi chapel at S. Trinitt garlands above the principal frescoes are stucco versions of those seated beneath the scenes in Perino's Sala Paolina at Castel S. Angelo.44 The stucco work in the ceiling pendentivesis suggestiveofthat designed by Daniele da Volterra forthe Orsini chapel at S. dei Monti.45 And the disposition of the vault compartmentsis modelled after Trinitt the volta dorata the Golden House ofNero.46The altarpiece is Roman too; its technique, at oil on peperino, been inventedby Sebastiano del Piombo and received,Vasari tellsus, had
41 British Museum black chalk, pen and 1946-7-13-54R, ink, brush and grey and brown wash, white heightening, 284 X 213 mm. This figure reappears, with other Cancelof leria motifs,in the Beheading theBaptist in the Oratory of the Decollato. The Decollato fresco, dated 1553 and now attributed to Salviati's pupil Roviale Spagnuolo, seems to be based largely on Salviati's designs, which suggests the possibility that Salviati had made drawings with the hope of receiving the commission to complete the entirecycle in the Decollato. How such hopes might have influenced the Cancelleria scheme is discussed below, see pp. 97-98. For the Beheadingin the Oratory, see Keller, Decollato (as in
n. 24) pp. I 14-22. 42 There is no documentation published regarding the

August tapestry. D. Heikamp, 'Die Arazzeria Medicea im 16. Jahrhundert. Neue Studien', Miinchner Jahrbuchder bildenden Kunst,xx, 1969, pp. 43-47, dates it c. 1550 on the basis of style. The bending figure is based on the man reaching into the water at the leftof Michelangelo's Battleof Cascina cartoon. A complete account of repeated motifsis not attempted here. I have mentioned only those related to drawings. Those drawings are all finished and pictorial, which not only explains theirsurvival, but is, I believe, also a feature of their function as portfolio drawings, resolved

motifs intended for presentation and re-use. To my knowledge, no other preparatory studies which can be associated with the chapel are known. See forthis definitely the catalogue ofdrawings in Cheney, Francesco Salviati (as in n. 8), n and H. Bussman, Vorzeichnungen Francesco Salviatis. Werk Freie Universitiit Studien zumzeichnerischen desKiinstlers, Berlin, Inaugural-Dissertation, 1969. 43J. Gere, 'Two late frescocycles by Perino del Vaga: the Massimi chapel and the Sala Paolina', Burlington Magazine, Ion, 196o, fig.16. This type of frame was used in the Landi chapel at S. Spirito in Sassia, which is unattributed, but whose stucco style suggests a member of Perino's shop working c. 1546-47. For a photograph, see Courtauld Institute,Conway collection, B642 1. Similar tabernacles, in fresco not stucco, frame the Virtues in the Sala de'Cento Giorni. (as 44 CastelSant'Angelo in n. 20), I, fig. I 14. 45 NOW destroyed; for a reconstruction,see B. Davidson, 'Daniele da Volterra and the Orsini chapel: Burlington n', Magazine, cIx, 1967, pp. 553-61, fig.2 (for a copy drawing afterthe vault stuccoes [Kunstbibliothek, Berlin]). 46 N. Dacos, La dicouverte la DomusAureaetlaformation des de London and Leiden 1969, fig.i i. grotesques la Renaissance, i

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with great enthusiasm by Sebastiano's Roman patrons, who had included Cardinal Alessandro.47 Equally suited to Roman, particularly Farnese taste, are the classical settingsgiven to many of the scenes. While some are fantasticand stagey, others show views of familiar Roman monuments, ancient and all'antica,such as Bramante's Temwhere Salviati pietto which is actually being torn down in the Destruction theTemples, of convenientlyadapted an instructiveview of the elevation to his destructivepurposes (P1. 29b, c). Careful and canonical citationsof buildings, bases and capitals suggest that Salviati consulted architecturaland archeological sketchbooks.48 Sketchbooksofthistype were certainlyknown in the Farnese circle, formembers of the Accademia della Virti, notably Tolomei, Vignola, Maffei and Cervini, all Farnese dependants and associates, had conceived ofa project ofcheckingVitruvius against survivingRoman buildings.49 In preparingthiselegant and informed display, Salviati looked to theart ofthe French court at Fontainebleau.s50Not only does the abundance of decorative motifsin various media parallel the Gallery of Francis I, but the pattern of the pictures and frames is reminiscentof that in printsafterworksin the Chateau, which Cardinal Alessandro had visited in December i544 (P1. i9a, b). The Conversion Paul is modelled quite closely on of Rosso's Dispute between Minervaand Neptune(P1. I9b, c). The shaggily bearded Christ recliningin a cloud bank is a sacred representationof the Olympian vision in the print. The tumblingpile ofputtiin the centreofthe engravinghas become the blinded saint, the figuresof Neptune and the rearing horse on the right-handside of the print appear as Paul's horse and equerryin the fresco.The quizzical Mercuryto the lefthas been adapted as a Roman soldier, the wings of the Victory above the god turned into a drapery flourish.s' The Rosso composition has been thoroughly romanized by Salviati, its

47 Vasari (as in n. 4), v, p. 579. Vasari also reports that Cardinal Alessandro had, in his 'guardaroba', a painting of 'una Nostra Donna, che con un panno cuopre un putto... cosa rara' (v, p. 574; now in Naples). Cardinal Alessandro was also instrumental in handling both patrons and painter in the dealings over Sebastiano's Pieth done on stone and shipped to Spain. For the commission and the correspondence, see M. Hirst, 'Sebastiano's "PietY" for the Commendador Mayor', Burlington Magazine, cxIv, 1972, pp. 585-95. Sebastiano's paintings on stone were framed 'con ornamenti d'altre pietre mischie' (Vasari, v, p, 579). This delight in multicoloured stones seems to have influenced Salviati's decorative scheme; it has emerged of during the recent cleaning that the basamento the chapel was painted in imitation of such variegated stones. There are also tapestry hooks, and although these cannot be dated, it is likely that there was some provision for wall hangings. This was the case in Salviati's previous commission in Florence where Duke Cosimo ordered a deluxe set of silk ornamental hangings to go beneath Salviati's frescoes (C. Adelson, 'Bachiacca, Salviati, and the Decoration of the Sala dell' Udienza in the Palazzo Vecchio', Le Arti del Principato Mediceo, Florence 198o, pp. I41-200, especially pp. 192-94). Such a solution to the basamento seems logical given its relatively great height in such a small and confined space. Other solutions typical of the period, coffers, caryatids and garlands (as in the Orsini and Massimi chapels) would have been both ungainly and obtrusive in this context. 48 This was pointed out to me by Dr Arnold Nesselrath who noted for example that the view of Bramante's Tempietto used in the lunette fresco of the Destruction the of

cited above (Pl. 29b, c) is to be found in drawings in Temples the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe (Farnesina, Rome, vol. 2510o,fol.42) and at Kassel (Kassel Codex, Folio A45, fol.42", section, fol. 42' elevation with coffering).I thank Dr Nesselrath forthis informationand forsupplying me with a photograph of the drawing in Rome. That such a view ofthe Tempietto was known in Cardinal Alessandro's circle is substantiated by its use in a preparatory drawing fora vault panel in the Sala d'Ercole at Caprarola showing Peasants dedicatinga Temple to Hercules (1568-69). The drawing (Louvre FZ 10678), which has been attributed to Bertoia (by Partridge) and Federico Zuccaro (by Pouncey) shows a Doric temple, cut open at the left,with scaffoldingstaking the place of the mouldings. As painted, the temple is simpler, squatter and less precise than eitherthe drawing or the Tempietto view inspiring it. For illustrations, see Partridge, ArtBulletin,197 I (as in n. 3), figs5, 18. 49 G. Zander, 'II Vasari, gli studiosi del suo tempo e l'architettura antica', II Vasari storiografo artista.Atti del e nel IV centenario della morte, Florence congresso internazionale 1976, p. 346. For the use of Fontainebleau school prints in the Sala 50so dell' Udienza and the desire of Italian princes to imitate French kings in their patronage, see Adelson, Arti del (as Principato in n. 47), pp. 160-64, pp. I93-94. stThis adaptation occurs with referenceto another print source, the Battle of Love engraved in Rome in 1545 after Baccio Bandinelli (P1. 23a) by Nicolas Beatrizet, see The IllustratedBartsch, 29, ed. S. Boorsch, New York 1982, pl. 302, no. 44, 262. I thank Dr. Roger Ward forsuggesting Bandinelli prints to me as a source for Salviati's compositions.

PATRICIA RUBIN 94 in and classicalsourcesreasserted thebillowing massivemusculature elaborate drapery, which intensely is to armour hisfigures, createa work of and to all'antica, suited a collector and antiquarian suchas CardinalAlessandro. of the Having identified scenes and outlinedthe circumstances theirchoice and it composition, is now possible to examinethemin detail, to considerhow theyare have been understood CardinalAlessandro by groupedand linkedand how theymight and and his courtiers. The vault stuccoesseem to celebratethe Cardinal's liberality of promotion the arts (P1.i7). His arms are in the centrewith cornucopiain the in surrounds. with garlands,lamps and musical instruments the There are figures The of unicorn mounted putti. and flanked sea monsters a form marine by by pendentives, are of latter ornament, also a creatures, hybrid repertoire grotesque partofthestandard variantofa familiar Farnesedevice:theunicorn. They occurin otherFarneseprojects, at and suchas Paul III's additionto theVaticanloggie thelibrary Castel S. Angelo.The Farnese of unicorn had been glossedin I538 as 'an ancientimpresa the mostexcellent and the bands bracketing marinemonsters themusical Farneselilyis in thedecorative visiblestatuesin and thetwopartially These figures, alongwiththecornucopia figures. of alludeto thebenefits thatsecurity thewindow frame, Apolloand (probably)Minerva, as in theme Farnesedecorations, in the in theflourishing thearts.This was a consistent of whichCaro It frescoes. was a theme are Sala Paolina wherethere musesin theoverdoor of d'oro had elaboratedin a poem devotedto the secolo inaugurated the pontificate by
Paul III.5sa over the Destruction theIdols and Saturnreceiving of 'lily ofjustice' (its motto AIKHIKPINON) The family. . . meaning that virtui extinguishesfalsehood and gives birthto security'.52

the arches:the of are Imprese also placedin thecentre thestuccobandsbeneath lunette

and and the arrowover the MartyrdomSt Lawrence the Beheading the of Baptist of Janus its was was emblem, although invention latercredited (P1. I8c). The lilyofjustice a family Caro was was The toCardinalAlessandro.54 arrowlodgedin a target a personal impresa. laterto explain thisemblemand its GreekmottoBAMAA as: 'Homer's words... 'OYrrZ The that which mean"Strike thus",signifying one musthitthetarget spot-on'.55ss context in ofTeucer'sarchery BookviiioftheIliad,is oneof ofthequotation, praise Agamemnon's had commisof and defence a just cause. CardinalAlessandro actionagainsttheenemy a symbolof the successwhich medal withthosewordson the back, sioneda portrait of of In gracedhisundertakings.56 thecontext thechapel,placedoverthemartyrdoms St and the attacks withthevigorous in association Lawrenceand StJohnand uponidolatry successofthe of of coming theGoldenAge,it can be takenas emblematic theinevitable undertheFarnese. of and of reform theRomanchurch there-establishmentitshegemony on of in form thestucco This confidence givenconspicuous is figures Victories thearch to over the altar. These Victoriesprovidethe keynote the chapel's imagery(P1.2Ib),
52 'impresa antica della eccellentissima Casa Farnese... ss 'parole d'Omero ... che vogliono dire: Cosi ferisci,

la la denotandoche la virtil extingue fraudee parturisce securezza. B. Davidson, 'Pope Paul III's Additionsto Raphael's Loggie: His "Imprese" in the Loggie', Art LXI, I979, pp. 396-98. Bulletin,
63 Castel Sant'Angelo(as in n. 20), I, figs I36, I38. Caro, Rime,Venice i 569, pp. 49-52. Venice 1566, pp. 45-46. illustri, 54 G. Ruscelli, Le imprese

che significando si debba dare nelpunto'.Caro (as in n. I), II, 680, p. I45 as 'Invenzionedi Molza'. It is similarly Lyons 1562, imprese, explainedby P. Giovio,Le sententiose Art 1978 (as in n.5) p. 63. See also Partridge, Bulletin, PP. 497-98. 6 I. Affb, Zeccae moneta Parma La illustrata, Parmigiana
1788, p. 172, no. 105.

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introducing the themes of martyrdomand triumph. Their presence has the effectof turningthe altar niche into a triumphal arch. The focal point, dramatically lit, is the Infant Christ of the altarpiece. Celebrated here is the triumphof the religionborn with Christ. This is the triumphof the New Covenant prophesied by the pagan sibyls and Jewishprophetsrepresentedherein thelunettes(P1. 20b, c). On theleft isJeremiahwhose of Christ's coming were set in the contextof righteousauthorityand pastoral prophecies care, key themes of the chapel. Jeremiah warned: 'Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatterthe sheep ofmy pasture ... I will set up shepherdsover themwhich shall feed them: and theyshall fearno more ... I will raise unto David a righteousBranch, and a King shall reignand prosper,and shall executejudgement and justice in the earth' (23. I, 4, 5). The sibyl is not identified.Although the pairing of prophets and sibyls as dual witnesses to the messianic traditionwas the norm in central Italy since the late fifteenth century, there was no canonical order or association among them.s7 The Cumaean to prophecyofthe Golden Age is referred in one ofthevault panels (P1. 26a), but the sibyl here lacks definite attributes and seems to be generically rather than specifically identified.She is presentas a pagan witnessto the Christian triumph. The wreaths and palms held by the figuresover the arches, attributesofvictory, were also the traditionalsymbolsofmartyrdom; reward and crownoffered the soldiers of the to Christ. It was St Paul who first associated militaryand athleticimagerywith the defence and propagation ofthe Christian faith.Thus in II Timothy4, Paul exhortedhis followers: Preach theword . . . For the timewill come whentheywill not enduresound doctrine But ... watchthouin all things, of endureall affliction, thework an evangelist, do makefullproof thy of ... a I is there laid up for ministry I havefought goodfight,havefinished course... Henceforth my me a crown righteousness... of Paul was the name chosen by Cardinal Alessandro's grandfather Pope to express his as zeal. St Paul's conversionis one of the threemain scenes of the chapel. The reformatory other two are, significantly, martyrdoms.The Pauline ideal of Christian militancy is voiced in one ofAnnibale Caro's poems, indicatingits currencyin Cardinal Alessandro's circle: 'O you, who so worthilyadorn yourselveswith the purple . .. above everyhonour and grade True athlete of CHRIST,have the name and burden of Him who was its bearer'.s8 And in the Sala de' Cento Giorni the figureof Religione Cristiana stood on 'a large bunch ofpalms forthe foundationlaid in the blood ofholy martyrs'.s9 This imagery of religious heroism is one factorexplaining Isaiah's presence on the altar wall. Not only did Isaiah urge the faithful righteousbehaviour, promisingthat: to 'Thou shalt also be a crown of gloryin the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand ofthyGod' (62.3), but he was held to have been martyred theenemies ofhis faith: by an Old Testament precursorto the Christian martyrs. is shown here withthe attribute He of his martyrdom, the saw (P1. 2 Ib). Certainly Isaiah is also presentin conjunction with the Annunciation and the Nativityas a prophetofChrist's birth,a traditionalposition he
s7 A recent summary of the literatureon the development of sibyl iconography in central Italy is given by K. Oberhuber in the exhibition catalogue of Early Italian fromtheNational Gallery Engravings ofArt,Washington 1973, pp. 22-27. See also E. Wind, 'Michelangelo's Prophets and British LI, Sibyls', Proceedings Academy, I96o, pp. 47-84. ofthe 58ss voi si, che di porpora.. . degnamente v'ornate... 'O sovr'ogni onor, sovr'ogni grado/vero Atleta di CRISTO, il

avete'.Rime nome,e'l carco/Dilui,che fusuo portatore (as fattonel s 'un gran fasciodi palme per il fondamento As sanguedei santimartiri.' described Antonfrancesco by Doni in his letter about the Sala de' Cento Giorni, addressed to Lelio Torelli, Raccolta lettere pittura, di sulla scultura architettura, G. Bottariand S. Ticozzi, Milan ed ed.
1822, V, no. xxxvII, p. 158.

in n. 53), P. 32.

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enjoys in the Farnese hours as well, where he is shown on the page opposite the Annunciation (fols 47, 5'). Herald of the messianic era, whose vision of a Golden Age of reformed faithincluded the lilyas a symbol (35.1-2: 'let the desertrejoice and blossom as a lily'), his prophecies are the subject oftwo vault panels.60 The scene in the vault panel over the altar is not fromIsaiah however. It illustrates ofAaron's rod, instead an episode taken fromNumbers i6-I 7: the miraculous flowering proof of God's election of Aaron to the priesthood (P1. 20a). Aaron was the type or prefigurationof the consecrated priesthood. He is described as such by Paul in his (Hebrews v. I, 4): 'For everyhighpriestbeing takenfromamong teachingon the ministry both giftsand men is ordained formen in things pertainingto God, that he may offer but thathe is called of sacrificesforsins ... And no man takeththishonour unto himself, God, as was Aaron'. This established an uninterruptedline of clerical authorityin a priesthoodinstitutedby God in the Old Covenant and continuedin theNew Covenant by the papacy throughChrist's charge to Peter and the apostolic succession. It is forthis reason that the Pauline textis inscribedon the arch in the backgroundofthePunishment of of Korahin the Sistine Chapel, an integralpart ofthat chapel's illustration the concepts of and one undoubtedlyfamiliarto Cardinal Alessandro ecclesiae, primatus papae and potestas and his circle.61Aaron's election is a clear statement justifyingsacerdotal privilegesso Its hotlycontestedby Protestantreformers. placement over thealtar, theliturgicalcentre ofthe chapel, is particularlyapt. The flowering rod, the proofofGod's selectionofAaron, is visible throughthe curtain ofthe tabernacle. It is probably not coincidentalhere thatGod's miraculous confirmation ofAaron's authority was an answer to rebellion.As recountedin Numbers i6-i 7, Korah, Dathan and Abiram led an uprisingagainst Moses and Aaron, seekingthe priesthoodfor themselves. The Lord, as proofof his support of Moses, had the earth swallow up the dissidentsand then commanded that 'all tribesput rods into the tabernacle' saying 'that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom' and promisingthat 'I will make to cease fromme the murmuringsof the children of Israel, wherebythey murmuragainst polemical texts against usurping you'. Aaron was the hero of mid-sixteenth-century Protestantideas which denied thespecial powers ofthepriesthood.62 is also likelyin the It contextofthe chapel that the relativepositionsofMoses and Aaron were understoodand as exploited, offering theydid a neat parallel with the Pope, the head of the Church, and Moses was both kingand priest,through Cardinal Alessandro, his chiefexecutiveofficer: him Aaron received his powers, those ofpriestalone.63 The scene ofMoses and Aaron was suitablyplaced above the altar foranotherreason. of Not only was Moses seen as a prefiguration Christ, but the miraculous blossoming of Aaron's rod was seen as a typeforthe birthofChrist. It occurs as such in various editions for of the Speculum HumanaeSalvationis, example.64 Thus the descent of sacerdotal power
60 Translated from the Vulgate:'laetitibur deserta ... et florebit quasi lilium'. The inscription taken from Isaiah of 7. 4 in the cartouche of the soffit the altar arch, although appropriate, is not original. 61For the iconography of Aaron with particular reference to papal supremacy, see L. D. Ettlinger, The SistineChapel Oxford 1965, pp. 68-69, r ff. o4 andJohn before Michelangelo, in Shearman, Raphael's Cartoons theCollection Her Majesty of SistineCeiling,London I972, theQueenand theTapestries the for 48 and n. 19 forearly Christian and I6th-centurysources. p. 62 For example the treatise by Girolamo Negri, Aaronsive dated 1543. de institutione christiani ponteficiis, 63 Shearman, Raphael's Cartoons in n. 6;), p. 48. (as 64 See D. G. Heider, Beitraige christlichen aus zur Typologie des Bilderhandschriften Mittelalters,Vienna 1861, I, p. I2; HumanaeSalvationis.Beinga reproducM. R. James, Speculum Oxford tionof an Italian manuscript theFourteenth Century, of I926, ch. viii; and H. Cornell, Biblia Pauperum,Stockholm
I925,

PP- 254-55.

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fromMoses could be linkedwiththegenerationsofChristand the transition fromthe Old Covenant to the New achieved throughthe birthofChrist- which is shown on the altar (P1. 2Ib). Whereas the scene ofMosesandAaronbefore Tabernacle be takenas emblematic of the can the positions of Paul III and Cardinal Alessandro as the legitimate administratorsof the illustratestheirsupportofthe divinelysanctioned authority, altar, in its presentform, Church. The Pope is shown as Joseph, holding the Infant Christ, with Cardinal Alessandro by his side looking outwards (P1.2Ic). The portraits are both additions, however -Joseph's head awkwardly attached to a female torso and Alessandro's body applied over a pre-existing layerofpaint.65The altarpiece originallyseems to have shown Mary washing the Infant Christ, with the Child held by one of the midwives. Derived fromapocryphal accounts ofChrist's infancyand deplored by StJeromeas lacking gospel authority,the traditionof the midwives' presence at Christ's birthsurvived in popular lore and mystery Christ's baptism.67 The plays.66 The washing was taken to prefigure subject ofMary washing the InfantChristhad a certainvogue in Italian paintingbetween There is some possibilitythat the choice ofthisscene forthe altar resulted,as withthe wall scenes, fromSalviati (and Caro) proposing and Cardinal Alessandro accepting an adaptation of an earlier composition. It is quite likelythat Salviati had made designs for the frescoof the Birthofthe Baptistforthe Oratory of the Decollato in 1538 beforehe was thwarted in this commission by Battista Franco. These projects were revived and ultimatelypainted in I55o, so that Salviati had themto hand, and in mind, on his return to Rome in 1548. The BirthoftheBaptist canonically included thewashing oftheinfantSt John, and a drawing by Giuseppe Salviati of this subject which probably records Francesco's ideas forthe Decollato shows a maidservantin a positionsimilarto Paul III's in the Cancelleria altar (P1. 21ia).69Moreover a group ofmaidservantsbathing the Infant Mary occurs in the foregroundof Sebastiano del Piombo's altarpiece of the Birth of the
65 I thank Mauriziode Luca for information. fact this The thatCardinal Alessandro'shead is paintedovera layerof varnish thathas slightly discoloured thatat leasta suggests fewyearshad passed. The figures ofJohntheBaptistand theshepherds theleft also apparently at are and subsequent possiblymuch later additions.It is to be hoped that a willsoon be preciseand detailedaccountofthealtarpiece publishedby the Vatican Museum. There is no way of was written after datingthe changes.Vasari's biography Salviati's death,presumably1566-68. Vasari (as in n. 4) mentions portrait Cardinal Alessandrosayingthat the of Salviatipainted:'in una tavoladi pietraa olio la Nativith di il Cristo,accomodandoin quell'opera,che fu bellissima, ritratto dettocardinale'(vII, 31), thusdatingthechange di to Salviati's lifetime.It is possible, but not strictly that the verb used, accomodando, indicatesthe necessary, change.While it can have thatsense,Vasari also uses it in frequently simplyto indicatethe inclusionof portraits historical religious or scenes. 66 See P.J. Nordhagen, 'The OriginoftheWashingofthe Child in the Nativity Scene', Byzantinische xLIV, Zeitschrift, Die des 1961, PP. 333-37; R. Frauenfelder, Geburt Herrn, Leipzig 1929, P. 334; and C. Musumarra, La Sacra della nella Florence italiana, Rappresentazione Nativiti tradizione 9 7, P. 3.

c. I52-50.68

ed. Ikonographie, E. KirschbaumS.J., Vienna Christlichen I970, I, p.99. 6In additionto thepainting Giulio Romano now in by Dresden (F. Hartt, Giulio Romano, New Haven 1958, pl. i25), there is one by Lorenzo Lotto in the Siena Pinacoteca (B. Berenson, Lorenzo Lotto,London 1956, Gallery).There is a drawingof the subjectby Schiavone (Courtauld Institute, Witt Collection 2452; F. L. Oxford 1980, cat. no. 181, Richardson,Andrea Schiavone, which fig.I i1) and a seriesof drawings Parmigianino by A. E. Pophamdatestoc. 1526,relating themtoan Adoration engraved by Caraglio with that date: Catalogue the of New Drawings ofParmigianino, Haven and London 1971, I,
pl. 128, pl. I29 shows a version in Florence, Ferroni

6 G. Ristow, 'Geburt Christi', Reallexikonzur ByzantiniKunst, Stuttgart 1971, i, p. 649 and Lexikon der schzen

p. 66, and no. 72, Uffizi; nos I88R, I89R, British Museum; no. 297, Metropolitan Museum; no. 366, Louvre; no. 522, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris; o.c. 49, Windsor (pls 145-48, 152). I am grateful to David Ekserdjian for bringing the examples by Lotto, Schiavone and Parmigianino to my attention. 69 Victoria and Albert Museum, Dyce collection no. 289. For this drawing and its connection with Salviati's hopes for the Decollato commission, see Cheney, ArtBulletin,1963 (as in n. 38), p. 337, n. 2. For the Decollato, see also Vasari (as in n. 4), vI, p. 579 (Life of Battista Franco).

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Virgin begun forthe Chigi chapel in S. Maria del Popolo. It was precisely this group which Salviati was to complete when he took over the Chigi commission. Although Salviati's work in the Chigi chapel probably dates fromthe I550s, there seems to have been revived interestin the Popolo chapel in January 1548, the date of an agreement between Chigi's son and Sebastiano's son, the respectiveheirs to the commission. It is possible thatSalviati was approached to complete thechapel at thistime,an involvement and/orinitiativewhich mighthave suggested the executionofa related subject as a form oftestpiece in the unusual medium ofoil on peperino.70 Even ifthe washing was an adapted invenzione could have been seen as particularly it appropriate to the Cancelleria altarpiece, for it added a baptismal, thus sacramental, association to the Nativity, a liturgical content taking up the sacerdotal theme of the Moses/Aaron scene of the vault. The administrationof the sacraments was one of the privileges of the priesthood debated by the Protestants.The final decree on the sacraments declaring Protestantbeliefsanathema had been passed at the Council of Trent in March i547. Of the thirtycanons, fourteenwere devoted to Baptism. The 'washing' version of the Cancelleria Nativitythus mighthave been taken to allude to a subject of currentinterest.Yet however suitable when first executed, such a Nativitywould soon become impolitic,even embarrassing. For during these years the question ofdecorum in religious imagery was increasingly discussed, and St Jerome's condemnation of apocryphal scenes such as the midwives was taken up by contemporarypolemicists. In a treatisepublished in 1552, De Cultu& Adoratione Imaginum, Ambrogio Catarino cited the representationof apocryphal scenes firstamong the abuses in sacred imagery." This censure was repeated by Giovanni Andrea Gilio in his dialogue dedicated to Cardinal Salva. e Alessandro, Degli Errori degliAbuside' Pittori . . , citing specificallythe Infantia Such arguments,increasinglypressing,suggesta strongmotivefor'correcting'the toris.72 it picture in order to transform into a more canonical scene: thus the rather ungainly conversionof a servingmaid to a man. This change not only made the altar's image moredecorous, it made it more direct.As Joseph, Paul III appears as the chiefsupportofthe newbornSaviour. Devotion toJoseph of as protector theChurch in timeofneed had been promotedin theearlyfifteenth century and by theologians at the Council of Constance. His cult expanded during the fifteenth early sixteenth centuries; Joseph, the elected bridegroom of Mary, was increasingly

70 M. Hirst, Sebastiano del Piombo, Oxford 1981, p. 140 points out that Salviati was in Rome at the end of 1547 and suggests that there may be some connection between the agreement and Salviati's visit. The agreement, published by G. Cugnoni, AgostinoChigi il Magnifico,Rome 1878, p. 142, no. 4, as evidence of work in the chapel, has since gone astray: 'Die 5a Januarii 1548. Compromissum inter D.Laur.m Chisium ex una, et D. Julium de Lucianis super pictura facienda in capella de gli heredi detti Chisi in Ecc.a S. Mariae de Populo Urbis F. I'. It is discussed by M. Hirst, loc. cit. and J. Shearman, 'The Chigi Chapel in S. Maria del Popolo', thisJournal,xxwv,1961, p. '3'. Politi Senesis Catharini R.P.F. Ambrosii 71 Enarrationes Campsaniin QuinquePriora Capita Libri Geneseos, Archiepiscopi Rome 1552, p. 143. Catarino was a member of the circle of reformers around Vittoria Colonna. He was sent to the

Council of Trent in 1545 as part of the papal party. For the question of religious imagery as related to issues of reform, see H. Jedin, 'Entstehung und Tragweite des Trienter Dekrets fiber die Bilderverehrung', Kirche des Glaubens, Kircheder Geschichte, Freiburg 1966, pp. 460-98, which I, dates widespread Catholic interest to the i550s (pp. 460-64). See also R. de Maio, Michelangelo e la controriforma, 1978, pp. 17-29 forthe period of the 1540os Bari and 1550s and Dolce's discussion of propriety, 'convenevolezza', in religious painting in L'Aretino (Venice ed. d'artedel Cinquecento, Published in 1564, see Trattati 72 P. Barocchi, Bari 1961, II, pp. 42-43, see p. 58 for further 16th-century literature condemning apocryphal sources and citing the midwives.
I557;

PP.

I I8-I9,

162-63).

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exalted as the patron ofChristian worship.73In the Mass celebratingJoseph'sfeastday in a Roman Missal published in 1550 as 'reformedand approved' by Paul III, Joseph is invoked as Patriarchainclyte and besought to lead the faithful'to the stars of heaven, throughChrist whom you held in your arms; you sat devotedly and joyfullyby the crib with the chaste mother, newly brought to birth', and thus he is shown here at the The portraitaddition probably dates fromthe early 155os and thus represents Nativity.74 a posthumous commemorationof the Pope in the figureofJoseph,the biblical Patriarcha holding the Infant merging with the historical, venerated patriarch of the Farnese family.7"In the Gospel of Matthew the list of Christ's ancestors ends in Joseph, and perhaps a parallel ofgenerationsis suggested here,withPaul III/Joseph as the mediator: those leading to the age ofthe New Covenant and those takingup the burden representing of defendingit. In any event the change to the altar directlyassociates the Farnese with the beginningofthe age ofredemption. The altar wall sets out the themes of divinely sanctioned power, of election and and itschampions whichare developed on theotherwalls. priesthood,ofthenew age offaith The development is not narrative,it depends on significant images, images relating to Farnese offices, interestsand activities,which are thematicallylinked and grouped. Not the therefore, Conversion surprisingly, ofPaulis one oftheprincipalscenes. It is painted over thechapel's entranceon thelong wall facingthealtar (Fig. I, P1. 19b). The Conversion was a staple oftheiconographyoftheFarnese pontificate: occurs in the Sala Paolina and was it chosen bythePope for one ofthewalls in his chapel in theVatican. It was also thesubjectofa and medal.76Alessandro Farnese's choice ofthename ofPaul, Roman apostle, vaselectionis soldierofChrist,was undoubtedlymeant to expresshis role as protector thefaithand his of withregardto thereform theChurch. This was theway itwas understoodbythe of sincerity commissionof cardinals he had appointed to studythe state ofthe Church. At the close of theirreport,the Consilium deemendanda ... Ecclesia,theywrote: You have chosenthenameofPaul: youwillimitate, believe, we Paul's charity. was electedas He thevesselwhichwouldcarry nameofChrist thepeople.We hope that the to youhavebeenelected to restore our hearts to and ouractionsthenameofChrist by forgotten thepeople . .. to curethe ills and to return one singlefoldthe lambs of Christand to preserve fromthe wrathof to us God...77

where 73For example Isidorus de Isolanis, Summade donis JuliusIII, was depictedas Josephin theAdoration S. Joseph, I522, Book 2. For thecultand relatedliterature, Cardinal Alessandro is included among the Magi, see see J. Seitz,Die Verehrung hi.Joseph ihrer des in L. geschictlichen Neppi,PalazzoSpada,Rome i975, p. 44. im bis Rome Freiburg Entwicklung zumKonzilvonTrient dargestellt, Romanorum, 76F. Bonanni, Numismata Pontificum The first church in Rome in Patronage Breisgau 1908, pp. 252-78. 1706,no.xxxvIii.See also F. Jacobs,Studies the dedicatedtoJoseph(S. Giuseppede'Falegnami)was built and Iconography Pope Paul III (534--549), Ph.D. thesis, of of the duringthepontificate Paul III, see A. Rossi,O.S.M., 'I1 Univ.ofVirginia,i979, pp. I79-83, for Conversion. cultodi San Giuseppea Roma e un disegnosconosciuto di speramus, 77Sumpsisti,tibi nomen Pauli; imitaberis, del Vaga', Studistorici ordine Servi Maria, caritatem deli' di dei Pauli: electus illeutvas,quod deferret fuit nomen Perin sviluppi Christiper gentes; te vero speramuselectumut nomen xvIII, 1968,p. 256 and G. Milone,'Originee primi San Giuseppe de Falegnami in Christi, dell'arciconfraternita di a in et iam oblitum gentibus... restituas cordibus in Roma', Cahiersdejosiphologie,xxv, 1977, pp. 691-749, who operibusnostris, sanes,oves Christi unum aegritudines also notesthatthree were ovile reducas, amoveasque a nobis iram Dei ... confraternities devotedtoJoseph founded in the 1540s. 'Consilium delectorumcardinaliumet aliorum praela'ad caeli sydera/ Per Christum cum torum emendandaEcclesia', Monumentorum de ad historiam 74 quem tractasti; casta puerpera,praesepio cum gaudio: devote reclinasti ConciliiTridentini collectio, ed.J. Leplat, Louvain 1782,1, ... Missale Romanum Lyons 1550, p. I76. See P. Tacchi Venturi, Storia di .. ' p. 604. dellaCompagnia Gesui .... 7 Pope Paul was to appear as Josephin the Flightinto in Italia, Rome 1950,,I, pp. I9-25 foran Italian translation in his palace (now and a discussion the'Consilium', of in submitted 1538. Egyptin CardinalCapodiferro's chapel Palazzo Spada). In that same chapel the current Pope,

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This same 'imitationofPaul' was the subject ofAgostinoBonucci's dedication ofhis tract Conversio Pauli to Paul III: Since thisis so, by thewillofGod thenameof Paul has beengivento you,sinceyou have been createdthe Supremepontiff the highest of by providence the same God. . ; nor indeed is it without that celebrate conversion Paul, sincein thiscrucialand the of significance youreverently mostturbulent a timefor Christian conduct things also in your of and state,bothin yourgeneral the to backheretics to yourself be themannotonlytobring summoning Council,youhave shown the truefaith but to convert last infidel, been converted Paul, who,havingfirst every imitating himself Christ, converted innumerable by peoples.7" to Pope Paul's contemporariesgave a topical interpretation his choice of name, and it is of one which accords with a major themeof the frescoesin the chapel: the restoration the truefaith.Paul, like Aaron, was selected by God, his miraculous vocation a transmission of divine authorityto an appointed minister.In Ephesians Paul describes his conversion as the 'revelation ... WhereofI was made a minister, according to the giftofthe grace of Paul's ministry ended in God given unto me by the effectual workingofhis power' (3.3,7). Rome, site of his martyrdom, making that citydoubly apostolic. By takingthis name the of of Pope combined the authority Paul withthe office Peter.79 The conversionwas the momentofhumiliationand illuminationwhen a persecutorof the faith was chosen to be its chief promulgator. The turbulentintensityof Salviati's rendering of the event, with its blinding light, dazed, fallen saint, bolting horse and burst of attendants,links it emotionallywith the martyrdomsshown on the centrifugal otherwalls. The association of conversionand martyrdom made here repeats that of the Pauline chapel, where the conversion of Paul was paired with the martyrdomof Peter. The association of conversion and martyrdomwith the propagation of the faith was sanctioned by Paul who preached as one 'crucifiedwithChrist' (Galatians 2.20). This was to be taken up by the Church Fathers; thus Augustine, commentingon Galatians 6.14, wrote: in heart. thenations Let withthy mouth whatthouhastconceived thine SpreadtheGospel:scatter forth from blood of the let believe;let thenationsmultiply, theLord's empurpled spousespring And from how manyhave come already,how manymembers her have cleavedto the Martyrs. Head and cleave to Him and stillbelieve.8s A dazzling shower of yellow light bathes the scene of the conversion here. The of intensity thislightis a reminderofPaul's descriptionofhis conversionwhen he '. .. saw of on the way a lightfromheaven, above the brightness the sun, shininground about me and themwhichjourneyed with me', and when he was appointed by Christ to go among
78 'Quod cum ita sit, nutu Dei, Pauli tibi nomen inditum fuit, cum Pontifex maximus summa eiusdem Dei providentia creareris; neque vero temere tu Pauli conversionem persancte coelebras, cum iis summis ac turbolentissimis christianiae reipublicae temporibus, cum in gerendis rebus etiam in indicendo Concilio talem te omnibus, tumrn praestiteris, ut non modo haereticos ad orthodoxam fidem revocaturus, verum etiam infideles prorsus omnes sis conversurus, Paulum imitatus, qui gentes innumeras ad Christum, a quo prius ipse conversus fuerat, convertit.' Quoted fromM. M. Aldrovandi, 'Agostino Bonucci priore generale O.S.M. e la sua partecipazione al Concilio di dell'Ordinedei Servidi Maria, xm, 1963, Trento', Studi storici SanctiPauli (i 545) is p. I 18. The manuscript of the Conversio

in the Vatican Library and has a special Farnese binding. For this, see Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Legature papali da Eugenio IV a Paolo VI. Catalogo della mostra,Citti del Vaticano 1977, no. 88, Vat. lat. 3638. 79 For the importance of the idea of the 'joint foundation' of the Roman Church by Peter and Paul, the 'first architects' of the Church of Christ, both in establishing its authority and in bringing about peace, see Shearman, (as Raphael's Cartoons in n. 61), pp. 61, 74-81 and C. Pietri, 'Concordia Apostolorum et Renovatio Urbis', Milanges et LXXIII,I9g6I, 275-322. d'archiologie histoire, pp. Fathers of the A 80so Select Libraryof Nicene and Post-Nicene Christian New York 1888, Iv, p. 458. Church,

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theGentiles opentheir 'to thatthey from darkness light'(Acts26.13,18). to mayturn eyes, The spiralling contortions thesaintexpress of boththepowerofthisillumination the and actionof turning towardsthe light.Paul's complicated the position, focalpointof the a formal religious and in represents dramatic, expressing itsconvulsive painting, dificolta, the and conversion. is a demonstration artistic It of twisting dynamicof repentance and as formal religious themes which reinforced the are forces, powers wellas religious by David and Jonah (Fig. I, Pls I9b, 23b, c).8' David is composedin a flanking prophets foreshortened down towardsthe spiral,raisinghis hand upwards.Jonah serpentines mouth thewhale.One exultant, other of and penitential, the bothevokemoods cramped which appropriate are and to characteraccompaniments Paul's conversion totraditional izations thoseprophets. of The figure David, prophetand king,was one particularly of rich in association. Foremost he 'whosehouseand dominion were ofChrist, was theking amongtheancestors to stand forever'(ii Kings 7.I6), a dynasticpromiseundoubtedly appealing to the Farnese.Repentance muchas kingship a Davidictheme. as was The penitential psalmsin theFarnesehours, example, accompanied an illumination David kneeling for are of in by the is (fol. penitence dynamically, looking 64r). In thechapel,however, figure conceived whichblindedSaul. This is theDavid of the upwardsas though receiving illumination send'. The Psalms expressboth'affliction pain' at past sins,and confidence the and in Lord's mercy thosethatdo his covenant 'to keep and testimonies pure': a sureparallel withthe contemporary stateof churchaffairs.82 the Psalms,David - called by St In 'the 'the in and in Augustine mediator', strong hand' - bothexposeshisdistress rejoices hisconfidence ofGod's protection salvation. thisreasonDavid's repentance, and For his in seen to prefigure victories the Church the of triumph weakness,was traditionally Thus in hissermon Psalm26: 'The Lordis mylight on and salvation; againstitsenemies. whomshall I fear?... Thoughan hostshouldencampagainstme... shallminehead be lifted above mineenemies roundaboutme:And I willoffer histabernacles in sacrifices up saw David as representing rex a ofjoy',St Augustine Christ, etsacerdos,king'because he rulesand leads us; a priest, becausehe intercedes us', and thetabernacle the'Holy for as Church'.83 For Augustine, forotherChurchFathers, as David's prevailing againsthis enemies could be referred the 'honour of the Church,which prevailedover the to world-wide faith'.84 exegetical The tradition usedthe persecution herenemies by through of figure David to validate the fusionof sacred and secular power in the Christian the commonwealth, Church,defended God againstits foes:a conceptwhichwas by to and ambassadorand adminisvividly present CardinalAlessandro, politician prelate, tratorof that commonwealth, then beleagueredby the infidelTurks, the heretical
Psalm 24: 'Unto thee,Oh Lord, I lift mysoul ... Mine eyes upon the Lord continually up are set ... Turn unto me thyface ... Redemption, Lord, to Israel fromall his troubles

81 For contemporary appreciation of precisely this formof 'santa invenzione' see Aretino's ecstatic letter to Salviati writtenupon seeing Salviati's print of the Conversion ofPaul, where he marvels, for example, at the way in which the Apostle: 'precipita in gid con una si arguta ricadenzia che move a pieth a terroreinsieme' (August 1545: as in n. 37; e Lettere, CCXLvII,pp. 84-87). n, 82 In the following discussion, in order to maintain consistent referencesbetween early commentators and the

Biblical text, I have followed the numbering of the Psalms in the Vulgate, which is generally one number behind the Hebrew version. 83 'quia nos regit et ducit; sacerdos, quia pro nobis in interpellat.. .' Enarrationes Psalmos,Psalm xxvi, Enarratio series latina, xxxviim:Aurelius n. See Corpus Christianorum, Augustinus, Opera,x, I, Turnholt 1961, pp. 154-55, i6i. 84 Ibid., p. I62.

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to northerners and the 'foolish discord of Christian princes'.85 TheNations payinghomage Paul III in the Sala de' Cento Giorni illustratesCardinal Alessandro's confidencein the as benefitsof this order, the AUREUM SECULUM, does the jubilant David in this chapel, confident that 'Though war against me rise ... Even at thispresenttime,mine head shall liftedbe I Above all those that are myfoes . . .' (Psalm 26).*86 Jonah (P1. I9b) was also a repentantprophet,and likewiseforthe Church Fathers an Caro was to instance ofthe power ofGod's justice. GregoryofNazianzus, whose Orations fromGod: translate,wroteofJonah's attemptedflight in one Andtheoutcome itall is that whenGod wantstohaveand toholdsomeone His power, can of the confounds Him. He overtakes speedy, or from less flee defend oneself nothing easilythanfrom castsdownthe the theprudent, the humiliates proud,makesthedaring meek, overpowers strong, was Jonahknewhowstrong thehandofGod.87 powerful: The prophetsand Paul are thematicallylinked in theirrepentance,theirelection by God and in demonstrating both the mercyand thepower ofGod against theenemies ofthe true faith.The scene of Paul's conversion and its message of support forthe Church and its by divinelyinstitutedpower is thus doubly reinforced the Old Testament prophets. The lunettealso representsa conversion:frompagan to Christian ritual (P1. 22b). To idols and sacrificialvessels, while to the lefta priest the rightthereburns a pile ofcast-off holds up the Host to a worshipping crowd. The priest's dark hair and beard, strong featuresand balding head are traditionalin depictions of St Paul and it is likelythat this of scene illustratesI Corinthians Io-I I, a key Pauline textconcerningthe institution the is particularlygermane here,forit is an injunctionagainst Eucharist. I Corinthians IO-I6 idolatry preached specificallyin terms of 'The cup of blessing which we bless ... a communion in the blood ofChrist. The bread . .. a communionofthe body ofChrist'. In this letter St Paul contrasts true Christian sacrifice to things sacrificed by Gentiles, 'communion with devils' opposed to the communityof Christianityas expressed by the Eucharistic rite. The lunette follows an established traditionof illustratingthe text by showing 'Paul as a priest celebrating the Eucharist': the doctrinal points becoming dramatic actions.88Liturgical vestmentsand cult objects, the host,the paten, the chalice, St Paul's chasuble and the altar cloth, are emphasized here. The priest and his gesture, and enclosed by the elevation of the host, are literallyenshrined,raised up on a platform is more than an effective columns. This structure pictorial device, focusingon the ritual, itsformis thatofthe ciboriumsupported by fourcolumns which was over the high altar of

Venice 158 1, p. 146. del s85P. Giovio, Delle Istorie suo tempo, For this picture of the times, see also the 1542 Bull of Indiction of the Council of Trent, The Canonsand Decreesof the Councilof Trent,transl. T. A. Buckley, London 1851, central to Farnese policy and imagery. It is as king and priest that Paul III is celebrated in the Sala Paolina at Castel Sant'Angelo where the imagery is based on his names and titles: Alexander, the High Priest and Paul; see R. Harprath, Papst Paul III als Alexanderder Grosse. Das Berlin and der Freskenprogramm Sala Paolina in derEngelsburg, New York I978. See also Jacobs, Studies (as in n. 76) pp. 89-2Io for the Castel Sant'Angelo, and pp. 65, I22-23 forreferencesto contemporary textson papal absolutism.
pp. 1-12. 86 The ideal of'rex et sacerdos' represented by David was

87 'Et la sommadi tutto che quando Dio vuolhavere, et 6, cosa si puo manco tener uno in potestisua, da nessun'altra che da lui. Egli trapassi i veloci, ne fuggire, difender, fa i humilia altieri, sforza gagliardi, i confonde prudenti, gli manusuetigli audaci, deprime i potenti,sapeva Jona ed. quantoeraforte mandi Dio.' Due Orationi, G. B. Caro, la Oration the trs.A. Caro, Venice 1569,pp. 68-69, from first and the duties of of 'On his resumption the priesthood bishops'. 88 L. Eleen, TheIllustration the in Epistles French of Pauline and and EnglishBibles of the Twelfth Thirteenth Centuries, Oxford1982, pp. 128-31.

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St Peter's, the saint's tomb and the most sacred altar of the Roman church.s9 The importance given to celebrant and ceremonyhere develops the liturgicaltheme present elsewhere in the chapel: in the Moses and Aaron scene above the altar and in the ritual vessels forming part ofthe stuccoes above theprophettabernacles. Above David thereis a censer, overJonah an incense burner,over Isaiah a burninglamp (Pls I9b, 21Ib). In the frescothe instruments the Christian sacrificecover a pagan altar and are the focus of of rapturousattentionas the priestraises theHost, since thelate Middle Ages themomentof the Mass regarded as the heart ofthe mystery.90 This scene gives historical form to the Church's teaching about the sacraments, in recentlyreaffirmed the seventhsession of the Council ofTrent. There, in March 1547, the Protestantbeliefthat 'the sacraments are merelyoutward signs ofgrace or righteousness received throughfaith'had been systematically condemned.91Thirtycanons refuted the Protestant'errors' point by point,statingunequivocally that the sacraments produce theireffect and not through'faithalone in the operato)' 'throughthe act performed(exopere divine promise'.92 Thus in this scene the converted worshippers look up with ardent devotion at the altar, the Host, the chalice and the gestureofthe priest.Their desire is for salvation throughthe sacrament,not faithalone, an attitudeproclaimed at theCouncil.93 Paul is performing dual role of ministerand witness, the charge laid upon him by his Christ, as shown in his conversion below, and fulfilled his successors in the Church. by Paul was elected to preach the faithto the Gentiles 'that theymay receive the remissionof sins and an inheritanceamong themthatare sanctified faith'in Christ (Acts 26. 16-19). by It is throughPaul, thepriest,thevessel ofChristand not throughfaithalone, Luther's sola that these Gentiles have been moved to rejectfalse beliefsand accept redemptionin fides, Christ. Christian sacrifice,the sacrificeof Christ representedin the miraculous presence of the Blood and Body in the consecrated Host, has replaced pagan sacrifice. The Protestants had challenged the idea of the offeringof Christ's body in the Host, commemoratio representatio for in passionis the Mass, thereby substituting denyingthe special spiritual powers of the priesthood.94Paul's action here, and its placement in a formof tabernacle, a recurrentmetaphor forthe Church in Pauline and patristicwritings,is a clear statementof the Church's position: sacrament and Church are inextricablylinked and grace is given throughthe sacrament as administeredaccording to the approved rites of the Church.95 A scene showing the veneration of the Eucharist was not only topical, it was in particularlyapposite in the Cancelleria chapel: thefirst confraternity Rome devoted to
which Concilio di Trento e la riforma.Atti del Convegnostorico form thealtarin St Peter's, of 89For thetraditional was also theshrine thesaint'stomb,see I. Lavin,Bernini internazionale of 1963, Rome 1965, H, PP. 401-90o, especially andthe New York 1968,pp. 4-5 and figs pp. 417-26. E. C. Messenger, The Reformation, Mass and the ofSt Crossing Peter's, London 1946, p. 203. i5-i8. Paul was also associated with this shrine,it was thePriesthood, believed that he too was buried under the altar, see E. 9s Canons vini-ximi,Canons and Decrees (as in n.85), der Frankfurt- pp. 52-53. For the metaphor of the tabernacle as the Kirschbaum,SJ., Die Griiber Apostelfirsten,
Church, see for example Hebrews 8, 9 on the 'greater and more perfecttabernacle' of which Christ is the high priest; and St Augustine, Enarrationes p. 155. (as in n. 83), Psalm xxvi: Canon vI, Canons Decrees in n. 85), 12-1I3, pp. 161-62. For the Church's position on the and (as 91Quoted from A session,see H. Jedin, History p. 52. For theseventh ofthe Eucharist, see the discussion ofCatholic writersin F. Clark, Councilof Trent, and London 1g60, transl. E. Graf, Edinburgh 1961, n, S.J., EucharisticSacrifice the Reformation, and F. Lauchert, Die italienischen literarischen Luthers, Gegner P 370--9I. Canon vnm, Canonsand Decrees(as in n. 85), p. 52. Freiburg im Breisgau g1912. 93 Ibid., Canon Iv. in Messopferdekret 94 E. Iserloh, 'Das tridentinische am-Main 1959, PP. 219, 249, n. 65.

Vienna 1948, 1, Sollemnia, 90J.Jungmann, S.J.,Missarum

zu der seinenBeziehungen derKontroverstheologie Zeit',II

8

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the Eucharist had been located at San Lorenzo in Damaso, Cardinal Alessandro's titular church, which was annexed to the palace.'96 In the Farnese Hours, Paul III, who had the givenparticularencouragementto devotionto thissacrament,is shown carrying Host in an elaborate depiction oftheCorpus Christiprocession (fols72v-73). And in 1539,with the Bull Dominus Noster: .. thankingalmightyGod thatin our timesso many beneficial, '. necessary and useful works have been undertaken, and wishing that they always be continued', he instituted the Confraternitadel Sacratissimo Corpo di Cristo.97 This had confraternity extensivepowers, not confinedto a single parish, but including all the churches of the city,in order that: '. .. the divine sacrament . . . might receive its due homage of reverence and love'.98 The enraptured attitude of the crowd in the lunette seems to express such reverenceand love. The scene in the vault panel above (P1. 22a) is an illustrationof Isaiah's prophecyof the days when: out ofZion shall go forth law, and thewordoftheLord from the And he shalljudge Jerusalem. between and shall reprove swordsintoploughnations, manypeoples:and theyshall beat their nationshall notlift swordagainstnation, neither shares,and their spearsintopruninghooks; up shallthey learnwaranymore (2.3-4) Discarded armour lies at the foot of the anvil. The object forgedby the three men is obscured by damage, but a curved hook seems to be visible, as is the brokenhandle of a sword. In the background two oxen rest, presumably awaiting theirploughshare. The with scene, based on a textabout righteousauthorityand lastingpeace, accords perfectly Paul III's stated aims and cherishedhopes forpeace among theChristianprinces;a vision and a policy which Cardinal Alessandro was actively engaged in implementingas the Pope's ambassador. One wall of the Sala de'Cento Giorni is devoted to showing Paul III as peacemaker. And the passage fromIsaiah accords equally well with St Paul's mission, forhis was 'the gospel of peace' (Ephesians 6.I5), he preached 'the peace of Christ', to which Christians 'were called in one body' (Colossians 3.15). This rather unusual Old Testament scene has been given a quite familiarclassical form,that of the forgeof Vulcan, the artisttaking his cue fromthe activityratherthan workingout a more precise visual translationof the text. This mighthave been simple expediency. It might also have been intentional and rather ingenious, combining for topographicalallusion withbiblical illustration, theVulcanalia, thefestival honouring the armourer god, was celebrated in the Campo Marzio, the piazza adjacent to the

nelle romane 96 M. Maroni and A. Martini, Le confraternite loro chiese, Rome 1963, p. 20. See also G. Barbiero, Le del confraternite santissimosacramento prima del 1539, Turin 1944, PP. 191--92and P. Tacchi Venturi, Compagniadi Gesti (as in n. 77), I, pp. 220-21. 97 Venturi, op. cit.,p. 223. (as 98 Ibid. See also Barbiero, Le confraternite in n. 96), p. 142. It was also around this time that a chapel was built in Old St Peter's to house the sacrament. Until then,Vasari (as in n. 4) says it was 'per rispetto della muraglia poco onorato' (v, 625-26; built by Antonio da Sangallo 1542-45, decorated by Perino del Vaga, dedicated 1548, the tabernacle was by Donatello, see H. Caspary, Das in Sakramentstabernakel Italien bis zum Konzil von Trient,

Munich 1964, pp. I8, 182 n. 316). Interestingly Vasari described the Pauline chapel as the chapel 'dove si ha da mettere il Sacramento' (v, 466). Written for the 1550 edition this undoubtedly reflects the view of its primary function in Paul III's time, one which C. Gilbert has remarked upon, pointing out that until this time the chapel by Fra Angelico which was destroyed to make way for the Pauline chapel had simply been designated 'cappella parva' and only in Vasari's day was it called the chapel of the sacrament, indicating that 'the theological importance of the host as the centerofritual was growing' ('Fra Angelico's fresco cycles in Rome: their number and dates', Zeitschrift fir Kunstgeschichte, xxxvmII, 1975, p. 248).

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Cancelleria.99 This festivalalso coincided with the feastday ofSt Lawrence's martyrdom (Io August). is The Martyrdom St Lawrence the principal scene on the wall to the right of the of entrance (Fig. I, P1. 25a). It has quite directapplication to theCardinal, forthe churchof S. Lorenzo in Damaso was his titularchurch. St Lawrence was, moreover,'The Levite highest in rank . . . in charge of the safe-keepingof the holy things, with trustykeys managing the treasuryofthe heavenlyhouse ... '- a directparallel withthe Cardinal's and office-holder rank in the Church as Vice-Chancellor.aoo AnotherFarnese office may be referredto in this fresco as well. The young man at the leftlooking away fromthe martyrdom and out into the chapel can possibly be identified as one of Cardinal Alessandro's younger brothers, Ottavio or Orazio (P1. 25b). The turn of the head, creatingdirect contact with the viewer and contemporaryreality,suggests that this is a Farnese cast, withits high broad portrait.As a typethis oval-shaped face has a distinctly forehead,prominentnose and curlydark hair, and it resembles known portraitsof both Ottavio and Orazio, such as that of Orazio in Taddeo Zuccaro's fresco at Caprarola by ofRome PopePaul III (P1. 25d). The Caprarola scene and its showing OrazioMade Prefect protagonistsare identifiedby an inscriptiondating the event to 1538, which was actually in theyear ofOttavio's investiture withthatoffice. Orazio, bornin 1, was made Prefect 153 The putative age of the Cancelleria figureis closer to Ottavio's (born in I524), and I547. the face is similar to Salviati's portraitofOttavio (next to Charles V) in the Waragainst the Schmalkaldic Leaguein the Palazzo Farnese (P1. 25c).ao0 The Prefectof Rome was its highest rankingcivic official:he was, theoretically, the chiefadministratorofthe city.By the sixteenthcenturythe actual duties ofthe office were ceremonial, but its symbolic importance was absolute. Held to have been institutedby formeda direct link between Romulus, the legendary founderof Rome, the prefecture This unbroken tradition of Roman power, imperial power and papal sovereignty.1a2 secular and sacred, was stressed by the Farnese as it provided a historical basis forthe of supremacy and rule ofthe Roman church.And the continuity temporaland ecclesiastical authorityvested in the Church since biblical times is certainlyone of the principal themesofthe chapel, and it was one stressedon thiswall, which may explain theinclusion of the portraitin this scene (it is the only portraitin the wall frescoes). Here the Farnese prefect,the contemporaryRoman looking out at the spectator, is juxtaposed with the ancient Roman who sentenced the saint to death and is watching his martyrdom the of representative the pagan power superseded throughsuch sacrifices. While the martyrdomis an obvious choice for Cardinal Alessandro's chapel, its combination with scenes of destruction of temples and idols is not self-evident.The connectionis provided by Prudentius'sdescriptionofthe eventin the Crowns ofMartyrdom,

99 Schiavo, Cancelleria(as in n. 8), p. 175. Interestingly, Vulcan was also associated with Cardinal Alessandro's astrological sign, Libra. 100oo Prudentius, Crownsof Martyrdom, transl. H. J. Thomson, Cambridge Mass. and London 1953, n, Book nII, 109. p. See x1x also the portrait bust in the Metropolitan Museum ofArt showing Ottavio with a short beard and moustache as here, datable between 1542 and 1552;J. G. Phillips and O. Museum ofthe Metropolitan Raggio, 'Ottavio Farnese', Bulletin of Art, xu, 1954, PP. 233-40 (P1. 25e). Any reference to Ottavio in the chapel is likely to date before the autumn of

1549 when his rebellious refusal to obey the Pope and his attempts to secure Parma and Piacenza forhimselfand not the Church were responsible forbreaking Paul III's health, leading to the Pope's death on io November. It is a measure of Cardinal Alessandro's combined political concern and family feeling that, acting as mediator, he effected a reconciliation between his dying grandfatherand his greedy brother. o102 For this office,see Partridge, Art Bulletin, 1978 (as in n. 5), PP. 507-o9 with further references.

PATRICIA RUBIN Io6 wherehe demonstrateshow St Lawrence's death prepared theway forChristian triumph. He writes:'From that day forwardthe worshipofthe base gods flagged... The death the holy martyrdied was in truth the death of the temples'.o3 Prudentius describes the momentof the saint's martyrdom depicted here: on After long-continued has burned sideaway,Lawrence hisownparthailsthejudge his the heat 'This partofmybodyhas beenburned and addresses himbriefly from gridiron. the longenough, has turn roundand try it whatyourhotgod offire done'.'04 in St Lawrence, like St Paul, was martyred Rome, and Prudentiusinvokesthecityand the Church: of but now givenup to Christ,Lawrencehas led thee to Rome, thouancientmother temples, in and overbarbarous Thou hadstalready kings heldnations haughty victory conquered worship. idols... All (theChurch's)members check;nowthoudostlaytheyokeofthy poweron unnatural of The worldit has subduedgrowspeaceable. are everywhere now allied in theconfession faith. in far May she see thatcountries apartare uniting one stateofgrace.xs05 Here the end of 'barbarous worship' and the enduringpeace that followsare combined in witha statementofRoman power and authority a mannerwhich conforms exactlywith the currentideals ofreform promulgatedby Cardinal Alessandro. as are Above themartyrdom scenes showingthetemplesand 'unnatural idols' being torn down and destroyed. The scenes chosen represent the 'death of the temples' which of marked the end ofpersecutionand pagan rule and the triumph truefaithunder thefirst Christian Emperor, Constantine (P1. 24a, b). It was throughthe conversionand reignof were combined to establish the Christian and sacerdotium Constantine that imperium commonwealth. Constantine, according to Prudentius,taughtthe Roman world 'how to in have power foreverlasting a supremacythatis from heaven'.o6 Indeed the argumentof Prudentius's Reply to Symmachus that God had sanctioned the 'great successes and is triumphsof the Roman power' to prepare the way forChrist's coming, 'determiningthat all the civilized world should be harnessed to one ruling power' that there might be and Rome was convertedinto thepax Christi peace. 107With Constantine thepax Augusta to forsookthe 'bloodstained altar' ofJupiterand devoted herself Christ,that 'her earthly stars ofthe great realm' mightextend 'beyond the lofty firmament'.,0s Eusebius describes how 'by guidance of the In his Orationin praise of Constantine Supreme God and through the agency of the sovereign' the 'terribledelusion' of false of beliefwas exposed and 'the instruments wanton errorwere broken up'. Shown in the vault is how, according to Eusebius's description,the 'gods of hoary mythwere [made] captive, surrounded by braided rope and led away'. The hidden recesses of the temples were opened, and the 'lifelessidols' were taken fromtheirniches and pedestals. Eusebius says 'what seemed usefulof theirmaterial, theytested ... in meltingpots and fire'and 'what was superfluous and useless they left as memorial to the superstitious

o03Prudentius, Crowns of Martyrdom (as in n. Ioo), pp. 137-39. For the study of Prudentius in thisperiod, see R. W. Gaston, 'Prudentius and Sixteenth Century Antiquarian Scholarship', Medievalia et Humanistica,n.s. 4, 1972, pp. 161-76. o04Prudentius (as in n. Ioo), p. 133. 105os Ibid., pp. o109, 135.

o106 transl. to Address A ofSymmachus, Prudentius, Reply the H.J. Thomson,Cambridge Mass. and London 1953, 1,

Book il,11.539-43, P. 391. 1o7 Ibid., 11. 619-22, p. 57; vol. ni, Book ii, 11. 583-97,

pp. 53-55.

1os Ibid., vol. I, 11.587-90, p. 395-

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worshippers'.109Here a precious idol is being beaten into coins, while worthless fragments lie strewnbeneath the anvil (P1. 24a). The lunette shows how 'those who to this timewere unrestrainedlearned by the threatofimperial action to show moderation'- an viewers- as 'a military importantlesson forsixteenth-century force'... deputized forthe purification'of a sanctuary zealously hacks away at a group of temples, urged on by an angel ofvictory, sign ofthedivine guidance inspiringtheirwork. Illustratedhere (P1. 24b) is an instance ofConstantine's particular care: . . lestsomewhere shouldoverlook he somehiddenremnant error, of (he) searchedwitha royal awful eye.And... saw at a glancea certain trapofsoulsunnoticed amongthePhoenician people. This was a sanctuary within grove... Here was a regular a schoolfor the vandals..,. he ordered with entirety, itscultobjects,to be razed to thefoundations."10 Here is shown the vigilance and vigour needed to defendthe Church against its enemies, rooting out false belief, so that 'the entire breed of . . . antagonists, both visible and invisible' may be destroyed and peace take hold 'in the habitations of all mankind' in Cardinal Alessandro's day as it did in Constantine's.111 Where the Paul wall shows the aim of reform the conversionto the true faithand in beliefin its rites,and the Lawrence wall shows the method ofreform the destructionof in falseidols, the thirdwall shows its effect the achievementofthe new age. The principal in scene is the Beheading the of Baptist(P1. 27c). Another Farnese titlemighthave prompted the inclusion of the Baptist here. Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, Alessandro's younger and archpriestofS. Giovanni in Laterano in brother,had been made Grand Penitentiary The Lateran was a Constantinian basilica and, most significantly, site of the I547.112 Constantine's baptism by Pope Sylvester.The sacrament of baptism as defined by the Church had been subject to Protestantattack and reference it would seem appropriate to in a chapel so dedicated to statementsofCatholic orthodoxy.The Baptist's presence here the mightallude to thatsacrament,but following patternofshowingheroes ofthefaithon the chapel's walls, he is depicted at his death. The Beheading takes up the themes of and victoryof the faithestablished by the stucco figurespresiding over the martyrdom altar wall. The Baptist is presenthere as he is celebrated in the Mass forthe Feast of the of Decollation, as martyrand as the forerunner Christ. It was he who proclaimed the advent ofthe Kingdom ofHeaven and who fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy,being 'the voice of one cryingin the wilderness,"Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight"' (Matthew 3-3). In Salviati's composition the headless body of the Baptist is set in the centreforeground a strongperspectivalrecession,focusingon both sword and sacrifice, of and creatinga markedly'straightpath' to the horizon. Violence gives way to peace in the scenes above, whose subjects are the advent of the Kingdom of Heaven as expressed in classical and biblical terms:the poetryof Saturn's reignand the prophecyofthe messianic era (P1. 26a, b). In the lunette,Janus,guardian of
o109 Eusebius, In Praise of Constantine, transl. H. A. Drake, 62-68, 78-86, discussing The Nations Paying Homage to Berkeley 1976, chap. viii, pp. 78, 97-98. For this incident Paul III and the scene celebrating the Treaty of Nice in the see also the account by the early 5th-century historian Sala de'Cento Giorni - painted, it should be remembered, Sozomen in his Ecclesiastical ed. History, S. Bagster (The Greek while Cardinal Alessandro was himselfin Germany seeking to restore the rebellious Germans to the fold. Ecclesiastical London 1846, Iv), Book ni,chapter 5, Historians, 112 storiche in n. 2), Iv, p. 282. One of Cardella, Memorie (as Cardinal Alessandro's own titles was that of S. Sabina, 3. P. 1Eusebius, op. cit., p. 98. 11 Ibid. For the theme ofthe ofpeace achieved in whose feast day coincided with the Decollation blessings the Farnese pontificate,see Jacobs, Studies(as in n. 76), pp. (29 August).

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the Temple of Peace, receives Saturn at Rome. This marks the beginningof the Golden Age of Virgil's Fourth Eclogue,the Cumaean song, which proclaims 'redeunt Saturnia the returnofSaturn's reign.According to Virgil's account ofRoman history the in regna', Aeneid(viii: 319-25), Saturn returnedto Rome: 'fleeingbeforethe arms ofJove... He it was that gathered into a state that..,. race..,. and gave them laws... Under his sway passed those ages that men stylegolden: in such serenityof peace he ruled the nations'. Saturn's arrival is described in Ovid's Fasti (i: 233-49) much as painted here: In a shipthesickle-bearing cametotheTuscan river after over god wandering theworld... Myself the whoseleft sideis lapped bysandyTiber'sglassywave.Here,where (Janus)inhabited ground nowis Rome,green forest and stoodunfelled, all themighty was for kine. region buta pasture a few folk bymyname,and whichthepresent dothdub call My castlewas thehillwhichcommon age I in in movedfreely the Janiculum. reigned dayswhenearthcouldbearwithgods,and divinities abodesofmen..,. toilthere nottoexpoundtheright righteous was to men.I had nought do with to war:guardianwas I ofpeace and doorways, these(thekeys)be thearmsI bear.113 and Salviati's renderingofthisscene is also strikingly similarto a festival carro designed forthe Marzio (rione the Farnese palace and the Cancelleria) forthe Carnevale of ofCampo rione of 1539 which had: Saturnnude,witha scythe who comesto meet the overhis shoulder Janus,who descendsfrom to Janiculum welcomehim; and, withone leg in the boat and theotheron land, he reverently stretches forth hand toJanus...114 his This descriptionis so close to the lunettethat it suggeststhat Salviati or his adviser knew the carro its programme.A contemporaryaccount ofthe carro or explains the significance ofthe scene to sixteenth-century viewers: in IN thismeanssecurity Rome.Janus,withtwo TUTUS ORIS; By theboat is thetitleHISAGITABIS of heads and twokeysin his hand in a gesture pietyand hospitality, demonstrates charity the the and to See. The twoheadssignify pastand thepresent, appropriate typologically theApostolic theglory ancient of and newRome.11s Janus was understoodas the typeforSt Peter and his successor the pope. The keyshe held were St Peter's attributeand the papal arms. The Carnevale descriptionemphasises recommended to Paul III in the charity,the same virtueof compassion and forgiveness Consilium the means to reform. as This virtue,along withthe pontificalassociations ofthe figure, explains Janus's superior position and kindlyattitudeas he seems almost to lifta supplicant Saturn from the boat. Combined here are traditional Roman gestures of came as a ruler, thus in this submission and concord."16 Saturn, as told in the Aeneid,

Apostolica. Le doi teste significan provvidenzadel la e passato,e del presente, la gloriade Roma anticae nova.' Ibid. in R. Gesture Rank Roman Copenhagen and Art, Iano, chedescendedal Ianiculo,a riceverlo benignamente, 116 Brilliant, e lui con una gamba in la barca, e l'altra in terra, 1963, PP. 18-21, 189-98. For Salviati'sconsciousadaptain see Farnesecommission, C. venerabundoprotendela mano ad Iano ...' Cited by tionofsuchgestures another e V. Forcella,Torneigiostre, Dempsey, 'Mythic Inventionsin Counter-Reformation efeste trionfali carnevalesche ingressi The sotto inRoma PaoloIII, Rome 1885, 74. Painting',Romein theRenaissance: Cityand theMyth. p. AnnualConference theCenter for of 1s 'Presso a la barca il titolo HIS AGITABIS TUTUS IN ORIS, cid Papersof the Thirteenth vuoldirela sicurezzain Roma. Iano condoi teste, condui Medieval Renaissance and ed. e Studies, P. Ramsey, Binghamton mostra N.Y. 1981, p. 62 on the osculatio e chiaviin manoingestohumanopietoso, hospitale, pacis exchanged by quella caritache si convieneal Typo che tenedella Sede CharlesV and FrancisI in theSala de' FastiFarnesiani.

113Ovid, Fasti, transl. SirJ.G. Frazer, Cambridge Mass. and London I976, Book I, 11.233-49, p. 19. 114'Saturnonudo, con una falcein spalla qual arrivead

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

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frescoregnum sacerdotium and meet,withJanuspredominant. arejoined as these twofigures This configurationexpresses exactly the combination and relationshipof temporal and ecclesiastical power which the Church saw as proper to the Christian commonwealth, with monarch subservientto pope. This ideal of papal sovereignty was proclaimed on a medal cast forPaul III showing Alexander beforethe High Priest and inscribed OMNES REGES SERVENT EI; it was also undoubtedly the basis of Paul III's projects for the decoration of the Sala Regia."l7 The clasped arms of the figuresexpress the strengthof their bond, a unity of power which would bear fruitin peace. Pope Paul's activities towards bringing about such peace, closing the doors to Janus's temple, had been in repeatedlycelebrated in the imageryofhis pontificate: thefrescoesin the Sala de'Cento Giorni, forexample, and in the decorations forPaul's triumphalreturnfromconcluding peace between Charles V and Francis I in Nice in 1538.118 In the Carnevale carro between classical and Christian and in the frescothe continuity Rome is stressed, 'la gloria di Roma antica e nova', imperial imagery becoming papal. The river god and the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus at the rightrecall a similar in combination of references a verse by Molosso honouringPaul III: 'so that we may see to you placed on theseat ofRomulus, worthy feedthesheep ofPeter,bearer ofthekeys'."19 Romulus established the political entitythat was to become the Roman empire which at the time of Constantine became Christian.120 Paul III, Peter's successor, was the guardian ofthatpower, the keeperofthe keys.The flockto therightofJanusis a reminder of the pastoral duties of the Church. In the Sala de' Cento Giorni all thenations oftheworldpay homage to Paul III, who is SECULUM. flanked by Cardinal Alessandro, in a frescowhose inscriptionreads AUREUM
CONDIT.

tion between the Farnese pontificate and the Golden Age is recast in mythologicalterms. This is the Golden Age as described by Ovid in Book I of the Metamorphoses when: 'The peoples of the world, untroubled ... enjoyed a leisurelyand peaceful existence ... The earth itself. . . produced all thingsspontaneously,and men were contentwithfoods that grew without cultivation', gathering the fruitsand crops thus easily and abundantly produced, as shown here. Illustrated here as well are the flowers freely growing, unthreatenedanimals, unyoked bullock and grapes hanging in purple clustersofVirgil's Fourth which celebrates Saturn's return.Salviati literallyquotes Virgil in a bizarre Eclogue and learned detail taken fromthis eclogue. The multicolouredflockin the foreground corresponds to Virgil's description of this era when: 'wool shall not be taught to counterfeitvaried hues, but of himself, as he feeds in the meadows, the ram shall transform fleece,now into a lovely purple dye, now into saffron his yellow - of its own will, scarlet shall clothe the lambs as theygraze'.121

QUI RECTO

AEQUABILIQUE

ORDINE.

CUNCTA

DISPENSAT.

In the chapel this connec-

Tornei(as in n. I 14), pp. 57-58. 119'Ut te Romulea videamus sede locatum/Clavigeri meritumpascere ovile Petri'. Cited by F. de Navenne, Rome, le Palais Farniseetles Farnkse, Paris 9I14,p. 180. 12oFor this view of historyin connection with a defense of see for example, R. Pole, De Summo papal supremacy, Christiin terrisVicario..., Lyons I569, pp. I 9-2 . Pontifice

n. I2), pp. 416-19. 11s SeeJacobs, Studies(as in n. 76), pp. 78-84 and Forcella,

117 For the Cesati medal and what is known about the Sala Regia programme, see B. Davidson, ArtBulletin,1976 (as in

The figure of Romulus was placed between those of Pope Paul III and Charles V on the arch in the decorations at Porta Capena done for Charles V's entry in 1538 to commemorate 'il primo re ... onde sono poi derivati questi due Imperi Spiritualee Temporale ...' (F. Cancellieri, Storia de' Solenni Possessi de' Sommi Pontefici, Rome 1802, p. 96, quoting froma pamphlet of Paul III's time). 21 The PoemsofVirgil, transl. J.Conington, London I902, 'Fourth Eclogue', 11.41-45. This was noted and discussed C. Robertson, M.Phil. diss., 9g8I (as in n. 29), p. 187. by

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PATRICIA RUBIN

The Golden Age oftheFourth is Eclogue alluded to in thevault as well (P1. 26a). Virgil's verses not only predictSaturn's reign,but theyalso herald the birthofa miraculous child markingthe beginningof: The lasteraofthesongofCumae[which] comeat length; grand oftheagesis beingborn file has the at a the is too anew;at length virgin returning, ofSaturn; length newgeneration returning thereign is descending from of heavenon high.Do butthousmile. .. on thebirth theboywhoshallat last the bring raceofironto an end,and bid thegoldenracespring all theworldover(lines4-10o) up with Virgil's propheticvision ofthenew age had long been associated byChristianwriters the birthof Christ, and linked with the beginningof the messianic era. 122 The Emperor to Constantine, himselfa convert,convertedthe pagan references Christianin his Address tothe St HolyCongregation ofBelievers.123 Augustine quotes thesibyllineprophecyin the City of God and elsewhere as proof that Christ's coming was foretoldby both Gentile and Jewish prophets.'24 The sibylline oracles were in general regarded as foretellingthe advent of Christ, the time when 'dragons shall sleep with infants'.'25The remarkable similarityof the classical imagery to Isaiah's prophecies (Ii1.6-8) had also long been Isaiah's Since the Baptist was regarded as fulfilling recognised by Church writers.126 messianic prophecies (Matthew 3.3) and since Isaiah is included in thechapel, itis logical that the scene in the vault over the Baptist's death should illustrateIsaiah's words: The wolf also shalldwellwiththelamb,and theleopardshalllie downwiththekid;and thecalf And thecow and the childshalllead them. and theyoung and lionand thefatling together a little like and bearshallfeed; their onesshallliedowntogether: thelionshalleat straw theox. And young thesuckling childshallplayon theholeoftheasp, and theweanedchildshallputhishandon the Cockatrice's den. The pairing of the classical illustrationin the lunette with the biblical one in the vault Virgil and the sibylsnot only provided gives both scenes the resonance ofcross-reference. Roman gloss to the messianic a stock of Golden Age motifs, allowed fora distinctly they the withpax Christi made herewas one confirming tradition.The association ofpax Augusta ofan empirewithoutbounds or limitsin time,thepagan empirewhichConstantine power made Christian, so that, as Prudentius wrote paraphrasing Virgil: 'the valour of Rome should never grow old, nor the gloryshe had won know age'.'27 The combination of classical referenceswith biblical and patristic sources in the chapel is not surprising as its decoration is the product of an ambience in which the antique was pursued as avidly as the holy. Thus in a letterconcerninghis dealings with dissident northerners,Cardinal Marcello Cervini could also congratulate Cardinal
122 See for chr6tiennesde this, P. Courcelle, 'Les ex6ghses LIX, 1957, la Quatribme Eglogue', Revuedes itudesanciennes, pp. 294-319 and K. Priimm, 'Das Prophetenamt der Sibyllen in kirchliche Literatur mit besonderer Riicksicht Iv, auf die Deutung der 4. Ekloge Virgils', Scholastik, 1929, PP. 54-77, 22 1-46, 498-533. 123'Oratio ad Sanctorum Coetum', chapters xix-xx in Migne, Patrologia Latina, viii, cols. 455-62. See for this H. Mattingly, 'Virgil's Fourth Eclogue', this Journal, x, 126 Courcelle, 'Les exegeses' (as in n. 122), p. 294, dates the beginning of this tradition to the 4th-century writer Lactantius. 127 See T. E. Mommsen, 'St. Augustine and the Christian Idea of Progress: The Background of the "City of God"', Journal of the Historyof Ideas, xn, I951, p. 367. See also H.Jedin. 'Rom und Romidee im Zeitalter der Reformation und Gegen reformation',Kirchedes Glaubens(as in n. 71), I, pp. 143-52.

124Prfimm,Scholastik, 1929 (as in n. 122), pp. 67-76. 12s M. Monteiro, 'As David and theSibylssay': a sketch the of oracles,London and Edinburgh 1905, Sibylsand theSibylline pp. 121-23.

1947,

p. 19.

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Alessandro: 'on the antiquities you have received and particularlymy head of Hadrian, which you must indeed accept as a thing of mine, otherwise I intend to quarrel with you'.12s Cervini's correspondence fromthe Council of Trent, where he representedthe as papal interests legate, also documents the range and depth ofcontemporary knowledge ofpatristicliteratureand itsfundamentalrole in defending authority theChurch. In the of I547-48 Cervini wrote to his secretaryGuglielmo Sirleto in Rome requesting, among de' many otherthings,a translationof'a series ofGreek Fathers ofthe Church' (unacatena PP. Greci)on Isaiah, a commentary (esposizione) St Jerome on Jeremiah, the ruling of of (autorita) Nazianzus, Augustineand Chrysostomon baptism,Tertullian on theprimacy ofthe Roman Church, and SS. Irenaeus, Ignatius Martyr,Dionysius the Areopagite and Tertullian on the Eucharist.129In order to satisfy these demands, which he did by return post, Sirleto frequentlyconsulted Cardinal Alessandro's library, also undertaking to some ofthe Cardinal's more obscure patristicbooks and manuscripts.13 Respect identify forand knowledge of early Christian writerswas respect forHoly Mother Church (Sta madre chiesa) itself.There were projects, originatingin Cardinal Alessandro's circle, to translateand publish theworksoftheChurch Fathers,an endeavour which laterincluded Caro's translationsof two orations by St GregoryNazianzus, encouraged by Cervini and dedicated to Cardinal Alessandro.Y31 This was the same circle which formedthe Accademia della Virtii,which sponsored the first edition ofVasari's Livesand discussed the compositionofGiovio's Museum. was It one in which classical and ecclesiastical culture were easily combined. It is this context which explains the mixtureofpoetryand sacred history the chapel. Heterodox, but not in at all heretical, it would neverthelesssoon be outdated as Church reformers sought to definea more rigorouslyorthodox order of religious thoughtand behaviour. Even in the 1540os,some like Ambrogio Catarino had denied the applicabilityofthe Horatian utpictura poesisto the painting of religious subjects: 'In mattersofreligionit is not acceptable that audiendi (as somebody once said), "Pictoribus atque Poetis: Quidlibet fuit aequa semper And thisdivisionofgenreswas thebasis ofGilio's Degli Errori degli e potestas" (Horace)'.132 Abuside' Pittori... which he dedicated to the Cardinal in 1564 'acci6 con quel rettissimo e The of and of giudizio... la possa giudicare correggere'.133 type invention style religious in historia the Cancelleria representsthe culminationof classical humanism.
12s 'delle antiquith che ha havute, et in particulare della testa del mio Adriano, con che per6 si degni accettarla come cosa mia, ch'altrimenti intendo di litigare con Lei'. Nuntiaturberichte in n. 2), x, p. 397 (2 July 1548). (as 129Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat. lat. 6I 77, part I: no. 4, fols 8-Io (9October 1548); no. 12, fols 23-35 (18 August); no. 15 (31 August); no. I6 (8 May); no. 2o, fols (29January); no.22 4-43 (i6January 1547); no.2I (2 February). 130MS Vat. lat. 6177, part 2, fols. 225r and 285' and MS Vat. lat. 6I 78 fols69 ff. In x31 a letterto Sirleto dated I6 September 553 (MS Vat. lat. 6177, part 2, fol. 353), Cervini mentions his encouragement of Caro who had already begun the translation, but had 'anchora xxx carte' to translate. In a letter dated 19 February 1547 Cervini writes to Sirleto about Niccol6 Ardinghello's project of printing patristic works. See for Cardinal Ardinghello, a correspondent and companion of both Caro and Cardinal Alessandro, M. Rosa, Dizionario bio rafico degliItaliani, Rome 1962, Iv, pp. 3-34. 32 'Non ... in causa religionis probatur quod quidam dixit: Pictoribus atque poitis quidlibet audendi semper fuit aequa potestas' (Horace). F. Ambrosius Catharinus Polisanctorum tus, De certa gloria, invocationeet veneratione catholicae adversus atqueassertationes disputationes impios,Lyons 1542, P. 73. In his later treatise Catarino admonished those clerics who would collect and enjoy 'picturae et sculpturae ... prophanae' (Enarrationes, 1552, as in n. 7 , p. 140; forthis as seeJedin, Kirchedes Glaubens, in n. 71,p. 473). d'artedel Cinquecento, P. Barocchi, Milan and ed. 133 Scritti Naples 1977, I, pp. 834-35 for Gilio's dedication and P. Barocchi's useful notes on the background to Gilio's treatise. For 'poetic history' in mid-i6th-century painting, see C. Dempsey, 'Mythic Inventions' (as in n. pp. 55-75. The change in tenor in the religious lifeof IX6), was Italy so drastic during this period that, as P.M.J. McNair notes:'... you could say things in the market-place in 1540 that you would not dare whisper in 1580' ('The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Renaissance Italy', Religion and Humanism,ed. K. Robbins, Oxford 1981, p. 152). And you could certainly not lightlyturn into poetry things that ought to be preached. The debate on images took place during Session xxIv of the Council ofTrent (I I November3 December 1563).

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PATRICIA RUBIN

While there is no contemporaryexplanation of the chapel's imagery comparable to Vasari's and Doni's accounts of the storie and imprese chosen by Paolo Giovio forthe Sala de' Cento Giorni or Caro's lettersabout his own ideas forCaprarola, the thinking behind its composition may be compared to that documented in Caro's lettersabout Paul III's tomb.134These show Caro acting as arbiterand authority, coordinatingthe opinions of cardinals and sculptors.3s5At one point he rejected allegories of the seasons (originally proposed by Paul III) as being 'neitherecclesiastical nor moral matters...' and noted concerning those selected 'I have made the descriptionsaccording to how the ancients portrayedthem'.'16 His concern was to arriveat a scheme which was as correctas it was beautifulin order to do honour to his patron,Cardinal Alessandro.s37 It is likelythat a similar procedurewas followedhere: one of collaboration in order to arriveat descrizioni for culled from appropriate textsby buoni autori thepatron's satisfaction and the painter's transcription. Such a process is in accord withCaro's respectforSalviati and Salviati's own taste forgentlemanlydiscourse.3s8And it is Caro's sense of decorum, the finding proper measure ofthe 'moral and ecclesiastical', the suitable and the striking, which is evident here, selectingforillustrationheroic deeds and propheticpassages that demonstratedthe authority, Strength gloryand power oftheChurch. Victory,Authority, and Peace are the figures Paul III past the templeofJanus which Doni describes carrying in the Sala de' Cento Giorni - a power at that time vested in Paul III as Pope and administered by Cardinal Alessandro as his Vice-Chancellor. The organization of the in theirdisposiztione the compartmentsof the wall and ceiling does not depend invenzioni, and upon a singledeterminedsequence, but on cross-reference correspondence.It can, for example, be appreciated or understoodas radiatingfromthevault whose images ofpeace of (Isaiah 2.4, I.6-8), sacerdotal election (Aaron) and destruction idols, carried through in the lunettes, are exemplified in the saints and resolved in the age of redemption promised in the altar. But the compartmentalizationof the scenes in elaborate stucco which can be appreciated framesactually emphasizes theirseparate identitiesas exempla and enhance independentlyor linkedand grouped in numerouscombinationsto reinforce theirmessages. Such a scheme, with its wealth of associations and varietyof experience, was designed to engage the mind as well as aid the devotion of a learned cleric and Christian gentlemanlike Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.
COURTAULD INSTITUTE

a134 For For the tomb see Caro (as in n. I), ii, 368, pp. 00oo-o2 138as Caro and Salviati see above p. 87 and n. 28. as (letter to Cervini); n, 372, pp. 104-07 (letter to Antonio Salviati'sreputation one who was 'd'animonobile,& di alla & & Elio, Bishop of Pola, 5 August I55I). For Caprarola see grandespirito, vivendo, vestendo Signorile... piui nelle buone lettereinstrutto'was Caro, mii,676, pp. 131-40 (letter to Taddeo Zuccaro, che mediocremente who also Armenini, II November 1562); iir, 764, 765, PP. 237-4' (letters to recalledin 1587 by GiovanniBattista & that:'si discopriva continuamente Onofrio grave, co'grandi Panvinio,i5 May and 9June I565). For theSala wrote

de'CentoGiornisee Vasari (as in n. 4), vii,pp. 679-8o; and di sottilissimo ingegno,& in moltescienzeuniversale ... della pittura, di and S. Ticozzi,Raccolta lettere bellissimo parlatore era' (De'veri precetti for (as Doni, M. G. Bottari Ravenna 1587, pp. 16-17). L.Domenichi, on the other in n. 59), v, 1822, pp. 149-62. 3s Caro hand, recordsSalviati as having 'un poco del satirico', (as in n. 1) n, 368, p. Ior; 372, pp. 104-06. 136 Ibid., p. 107. Facezie, Venice 1584, p. 303. le secondoche gli antichi 'ho le he selected fatte descrizioni
figurano.' Ibid. s137 'cose ecclesiastiche ne morali', also noting that forthose

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

'7

i_: -:_ :i:i i-i?ii

?_i--

PhotoAlinari

Francesco Alessandro Farnese.Rome,Cancelleria(pp. 82-112) Salviati, Vault,Chapel ofCardinal

18

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

Photo GFN,Rome

a-Stucco (detailofPl. 17) (P. 85)

b-Francesco Salviati, Uffizi Study. Florence, (p.85)

Photo GFN,Rome

c-Arrow impresa (detailofPl. 17) (P. 94)

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

19

..........:

.........

:,!ii.

a-Antonio Fantuzzi, after RossoFiorentino, ofaMountain View Landscape, print 93) (p.

b. Salviati, b--Francesco Rome, Conversion ofPaul. Cancelleria(pp. 91, 93, 99-I 03passim)

c-Antonio Fantuzzi, after RossoFiorentino, Dispute Minerva Neptune, and between print 93) (p.

20

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA FrancescoSalviati.Rome,Cancelleria

Musei Vaticani,Archivio Fotografico

the a--Aaron before Tabernacle (detailofP1. 7) (P. 96)

/!

Musei Vaticani, Archivio Fotografico

Photo GFN,Rome

( p. b--Jeremiah 95)

c-Sibyl (p. 95)

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

21

for Birth a-Giuseppe Salviati,Study The ofthe Baptist. London, Victoria Albert and Museum(p. 97)

b--FrancescoSalviati,altarwall.Rome, Cancelleria(pp. 94f, 97, I03) 95,

Photo GFN,Rome

c-Adoration 2 ofthe (detailofP1. Ib) (p. 97) Shepherds

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FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA FrancescoSalviati.Rome,Cancelleria

Musei Vaticani,Archivio Fotografico

a-Isaiah 12.3-4 (detail ofP1. I17) (p. 104)

Photo GFN,Rome

b-Institution Eucharist ofthe (pp. 85, i02)

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

23

Battle after Baccio Bandinelli, print 93, n. 51) ofLove, (p. a--Nicolas Beatrizet

i) b,c DetailsofPl. 9b (p 11)

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FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA FrancescoSalviati.Rome,Cancelleria

Musei Vaticani, Archivio Fotografico

a-Destructionofthe Idols (detail ofPl. 17) (PP. IoI, Io6f)

of b--Destruction theTemples (pp. 86, I o6f)

Photo GFN,Rome

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

25

a-Francesco Salviati, ofSt Martyrdom Lawrence. Rome,Cancelleria (pp. 86,9If, Io5) (p. P1. Io5) b---Detailof 25a c-Francesco Salviati,War the against detail.Rome, Schmalkaldic League, Palazzo Farnese(p. Io5)

Photo Rome GFN,

Photo Nevi

Photo Anderson

d-Taddeo Zuccaro,Orazio Farnese made Prefect ofRome. Caprarola,Villa Farnese(p. io05)

e-Attr. toFrancesco Pastorino of bronze.New Farnese, Siena,Ottavio Museumof York,Metropolitan Art, BequestofMaryStillman Harkness o105, IoI) n. (p.

26

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA FrancescoSalviati.Rome,Cancelleria

MuseiVaticani, Archivio FotograJico

a-Isaiah II. 6-8 (detail ofP1. I7) (pp. 95, o07, Io)

Photo GFN,Rome

Saturn (pp. 89, 92, I07) b-Janus receiving

FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

27

print(p. 91) Psyche,

a-Antonio da Trento, after of Salviati,Worship

Salviati, Studyof b--Francesco Fondation Custodia. Psyche. Paris,Institut Nierlandais(p. 91)

Custodia Courtesy

c-Francesco Salviati, Beheading Baptist. ofthe Rome,Cancelleria(pp 91, o07)

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FARNESE CHAPEL IN THE CANCELLERIA

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