Lesson 2: Sixtus IV della Rovere: The Sistine Chapel Before Michelangelo

St. John the Lateran
When martin the 5th goes to Rome he goes to st. John the Lateran. The house of the popes are in shambles.
St. Peter’s was completely destroyed under the papacy of Julius the II. This is where the Pieta was commissioned. In 1450 this church gets more attention… The Pope tries to transfer his house from St. John to St. Peter’s.

Alberti, Urbanism (Axial streets, fortifications, symmetry in the borgo) 1450’s, patron Nicholas V
• The main projects concerns the access to St. Peter’s. The Borgo is a building that is close. This is where the rest of the priests live. is the bridge from Castel St. Angelo to St. Peter’s. Nicholas the 5th decided to more from the Lateran to the Vatican. This was in a military style. The tower on the side decribes the military. Straight axial streets.
• Alberti – On Painting, On sculpture, Restificatoria. These describe the link between modern art and the outside world. 1450, Albetri designed the streets around. He wanted the city to be monumental and big. He was as humanist.

Bernardo Rossellino, St. Peter’s apse, 1450s, patron: Nicholas V
• Bernardo Rossellino. – rebuilding st. Peter’s apse. Major renovation of event
• The shell is an ancient Roman structure.
• The use of the shell is in connection with Venus. The shell is actually the place where Venus was born. Alberti were aware of the use of shells in temples. Alberti wanted a rebirth of this. This is used in churches especially with the Virgin Mary because she is the new goddess of beauty.
o An example of this is at Santa Maria del Popolo. Bramante does this.

Private chapel of the pope. Image of St. Laurence and St. Peter’s. This is the first time in the ancient world that a real ancient structure is Christianized. Rome reappears in imperial forms. This is the way the St. Peter’s would have looked like.

The façade of St. Peter’s in the 16th century.
Francesco del Borgo? St. Peter’s Loggia of Benediction, 1460s, patron: Pius II
• It is a type of terrace. There are three loggia, one on top of the other. This is another ancient revival. This is the revival of an ancient building.
• What does this remind you of? The coliseum. Three arcaded loggias. It is even more coliseum-like if you were able to see this structure. Every arcade is supported by columns.
• 1st= Doric
• 2nd= ionic
• 3rd =Corinthian
• These are the three columns of ancient Rome on the façade of ST. Peter’s
• They created monumentality and precision.
• They used travertine to build this. It is a white stone. It is associated with the first emperor Augustus. He said that he found a city of bricks and left a city of marble.
• Who are the popes? The popes are the new emperors. They want to revive ancient imperial glory. They use travertine to do this.
• The Coliseum became in this period of time a query.
• The mixture between the revival of the ancient world and the defensive element.

They build a villa on the top of a hill. The were trying to revive the spirit of antiquity. Remember what it would have been to have a Villa. These people knew the structure. They knew that this is the place where emperors of ancient Rome built their homes. This is the first villa that a pope built. The Vatican hill was an echo of the palatine hill. They were constantly referring to the P Hill. Try to imagine the country sides with villas.

Pollaiuolo, Villa Belvedere, c.1490, patron: innocent VIII
• Villa Belvedere- this was visible to everyone in Rome.
• This looks like a medieval fortification= a castel.
o Crenelation
o Engaged pilasters support the brute of the villa.
o It is a tower and a villa at the same time.
o This is Roman Ranaissance architecture in the 15th century.
o Ancient roman structure as well. Later on this type of architecture will become more free.
• This would be on the countryside of the Vatican.
• They intellectuals and popes knew a lot about ancient Rome at this time. They were uses the same everything. = Proportions, materials etc.
• OTIUM- it is the concept of the sweet life. It is the kind of pleasure that was mixed with the intellectual side of the life. Surrounded by poets, artists and musicians.
• This is where artists hung out. It also became a prison later on under Innocent VIII
• The sultan of Istanbul had the lance that pierced the body of Jesus. He sent this important relic to the pope. The pope has a sculpture of himself holding the lance. This is the more impotant element of Christianity. While the ancient world is being Christianized important Christian elements re-arrive in Rome.
• The pope is the new emperor and Rome is the new capital of the religious world. It also must reflect the new role.

Sistine Chapel

Nicholas the 5th built a building for the private rituals. This is for the Vatican court. Pentacost, Emaculate conception. These arethe private liturgies of the Vatican court. It was used less than 50 time per year. There were private meetings for a war, a victory etc. This type of chapel existed in the past. There was a private chapel in the Lateran where the popes of the Middle Ages met. The chapel built by Nicholas V was destroyed.

Who is Sixus the 4th?
• He was one of the greatest thinker of his time.
• His real name is Francesco della Rovere. Rovere is a type of wood = oak. “Francesco of the oak tree.” The Rovere family comes from the coast of northern Italy. As a young child he prayed to the virgin Mary. He became a Franciscan monk and he studied in Padua. Padua was one of the most important universities. It was famous for the study of rhetoric and the ancient world. He taught as a professor, he became a cardinal and then a pope. He was a very pious man. The first thing he did after he was pope was that he restored the library.
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Melozzo da forli, Sixtus IV, his Nephews (Giovanni Della Roverere, Giroamo Riario, Giuliano della Rovere, Raffaele Triario) and the Librarian (Platina), c. 1482, originally in the Vatican laibrary, now Vatican museum, Rome

• It represents Sixtus the fourth sitting down and his relatives.
• Platina is the most important scholar of the Pope. He is wearing blue robes with red sleeves. Is he pointing to his feet or to the inscription? Probably heis pointing to he pope. He is pointing to his shoes. These shoes, people would kiss. He is also pointing to the inscriptions. The inscription praises what the popes have done for Rome. “ He is the greatest builder of the 15th century who restored many areas buildings, streets, aqueducts, piazzas etc.” These had all been rebuilt.
• The nephews are also important. The tallest man is face to face with the pope. All of the other nephews do not look at him. Only the man in the center (in red) looks at him. Giuliano della Rovere become pope later on. He became cardinal during this time, looks at the pope and is painted bigger.
• What is going on in the picture? Why the pope and his nephews? Nepotism- the promotion of family. This was practiced for power. If his nephews have power then the pope can create a dynasty. This is almost a miracle if you have another pope with the same name. in this case you can have a successor to the pope. He becomes cardinal, but he still is very important.
• The space/context- What can we say? The background looks like a ancient Roman building. Huge pilasters made of marble, incredible capitals and everything is covered in marble. The dark green with different marbles. The whole building is a box. You can retrace the perspective. This is a manifesto of perspective order. This must be seen in relationship to characters. There is a focal point is the column in the back.
• Decorations- Blue with gilding acorns with entwined with oak. There are symbols of the oak tree and symbols of the family. This shows the imperial family.
• While he was building the Sistine chapel he built many other things.

Sixtus 4th made a series of medals.
• He is wearing the papal hat =tiara and it is profile image. The image also has an oak tree. The keys.
• The main project is the Sistine chapel.
• The Sistine chapel looks like a box. It is in the typical architecture that we have seen before. It has crenellation, buttresses, a rectangular box. What is the architecture so important? What is this box so important? Is there any other important building in the ancient world that was like a box? 40 meters by 20 meters.
o It is described in the old testament. It is the temple of Solomon. This is represented in the plan for the Sistine chapel. The temple of destroyed many times. It was rebuilt and then it was destroyed again by emperor Titus. They wanted to recreate the temple in Rome. This would make the builder the new Solomon. Rome becomes the new Jerusalem. There is a lay section and a secular section.
• The temple of Jerusalem was divided too. In the center of the Sistine chapel there is a marble screen with a door in the center. You can still see where it was located originally. This gate is extremely important to see what is going on this place.
• If you see where he gate ends up on the ceiling. All the of the scenes with god are up inside the gate and all of the scenes without god end up on the other side of the gate.
o Above the gate would be the “Expulsion of Adam and Eve.” It is the difference between paradise and hell, god and humanity.
• The seat of the pope, nobles of Rome would sit in special places.
o The pope sits on the left side of the Sistine chapel.
o The pope never celebrates mass, there is always someone else. The priest celebrates mass.
• Who are the gatherers?
o Some of them are generals, masters of ceremonies. They organized the liturgy. There were orators who were the most incredible intellectuals of renaissance. These people would sit in the center.
o Look at the image? What is going on? The people in the picture are perfectly ordered. They are seated on different benches. (Nobles) On the side of the lay people it is very chaotic. This gate banished the world of the lay people out of paradise. This is the most sacred space of Christianity. The door today is called extraomnias (only the main people).

The heavenly court, god, Jesus, Mary etc. where imagined in paradise. The pope with the court tried to imitate that order and perfection. Every single area is important. There is another plan of the floor of the Sistine chapel. There is a room called the room of Keys. After the election of a pope, the newly elected Pope goes into that room to cry. The room is called the room of tears. After the election, the pope goes into a room and cries. To relieve the stress. After this they bless the world and the city of Rome. After this be blesses the crowd Urbis e Orbis – the city of Rome and the world.
Even the ground floor of the Sistine chapel shows the division of heave and hell. Round shaped marble is on the floor. Every single marble is meaningful. Red marble on the ground in Sistine chapel = marble from ancient Rome and from Egypt. This snot taken from Egypt, but it is from ancient Rome. This belonged to the Pharohs, the emperors, than the pope. This marble is the hardest to carve in nature. This is why Pharaohs and popes used this stone. This symbolizes that power. This is Christian, imperial, and ancient.

Everything in the Sistine chapel takes on a magical element. See all of the little stones taken from ancient Rome. This marble does not exist in Italy. The popes are using thisto create ground floor of a new imperial space.

Various artists (probably directed by Perugino) Sistine Chapel Before Michelangelo.

Perugino – designed the whole cycle of frescoes. The frescoes were only on the lateral walls. The ceiling was left as a blue sky dotted with gilded stars. Michelangelo destroyed the sky and designed frescoes of Genesis. The altar wall was decorated by Perugino also. We do not know exactly what was there in the 15th century because Michelangelo changed that too. What did Perugino intend?
• On the main altar there was the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
• Below there St. Francis and St. Peter. Presenting Sixtus the IV the the Virgin Mary. This is similar to the Karafa Chapel.
• Just above there is the Finding of Moses and the Nativity of Christ. The pairing of Christ and Moses.
o Why do we have this?
o Who are Moses and Christ and who would they represent? The open up a whole group of meanings. The protagonist and of the old and the new testament. Infinite possibilities. The old and new testaments were constantly paired.
o Moses was the leader of the Jews. He lead them to the promise land. He is called Tempus Legis – the time of Law Christ is seen as grace and Moses is seen at law. Why is Christ seen as grace and Moses seen as Law?
• In the old testament, how do we know God?
o The ten commandments. They were placed in the arch of the covenant. This was located in the temple of Solomon. In the time of Moses god was known for the law.
• How do we know God in the time of Christ?
o Through Christ himself. We are graced by the fact that Christ has graced himself in the flesh. In the human form of Christ.
The decoration starts with a cycle of Moses and a cycle of Jesus.
• Why do we have a circumcision and a baptism?
o The baptism of Christ
• Christ is in the center
• This is a very orderly set up. It is shaped in a V
• Jesus is in the painting three times
o The Circumcision of the son of Moses
• Moses is on the side. The wife of Moses.
• This is a bit more difficult
• Circumcision has an alliance with god.
• The way painters paint is interested. Theologians become advisers.
o The chaos vs the order.
o The coming of Christ and the history of Christianity.

Punishment of Korah by Botticelli 1480-82
• Botticelli
• They are right at the entrance. Entering the Sistine chapel- Life of Christ on the right. Life of Moses at the left.
• What happened at the punishment of Korah in the bible?
o Moses descends from Mount sihni. When he came back with the 10 commandments some people did not believe him. Many people were punished and died. The earth swallowed them. Only one is saved. Old guy with a white beard. There is one man with incense. It is as if he does not care about what is happening. His name is Aaron. He is the successor of Moses. This shows that the power is going to Aaron. The inscription is saying that the power is passed on. He appears dressed in blue and gold, almost in the guise of Sixtus the 4th. Keep this in mind.

Perugino, Christ Consigns the Keys to St. peter 1480-82
• Christ is giving two keys to Peter. One is made of iron and one is made of gold. Christ is saying that peter is his successor. The represent spiritual and secular power. Christ tells Peter “You have to find the Church.” All of the popes are successor of Peter.
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• Moses gives power to Aaron. Christ gives power to Peter.
• The pope is the successor of Aaron