The paintings and frescoes, which were executed between 1492 and 1494, drew on a complex iconographic program that used themes from medieval encyclopedias, adding an eschatological layer of meaning and celebrating the supposedly divine origins of the Borgias.[2] Five of the six apartments include frescoes painted in the vault. The upper register of the vaults contain paintings, while the lower registers are decorated with tapestries and gold.[1] Recent cleaning of Pinturicchio's fresco The Resurrection has revealed a scene believed to be the earliest known European depiction of Native Americans, painted just two years after Christopher Columbus returned from the New World.[1]
The Borgia Apartments includes six rooms: Room of the Sibyls, Room of the Creed, Room of the Liberal Arts, Room of the Saints, Room of Mysteries, and Room of Pontiffs. The Room of Sibyls and the Room of Creed include frescoes of the Old Testament prophets and sibyls. These rooms also pay homage to the planets.[1] In the Room of Liberal Arts, Pinturicchio has represented the liberal arts as female figures through his frescoes in the vault. The Room of Saints consists of frescoes detailing the lives of seven notable saints, including Barbara, Catherine, Anthony, Paul, Susanna, and Elizabeth.[1] Pinturicchio's last room, the Room of Mysteries, contains frescoes with New Testament subject matter, including the Nativity, Ascension, Adoration of the Magi, and other scenes.[1]
The Room of the Pontiffs was erected before all the other buildings, between 1277 and 1280. Built between 1447 and 1455, the Room of the Liberal Arts, Saints, and Mysteries were referred to as "secret rooms" by Pope Alexander VI's master of ceremonies, Johannes Burchard.[3]
When the Borgia family fell out of favor after the 1503 death of Pope Alexander VI, the apartments were little used for centuries. The following pope, Julius II, abandoned the apartments and moved his daily responsibilities to the upper floors, which are now called the Raphael Rooms.[3] When Julius II vacated the apartments, they fell into disrepair. The paintings were removed in 1816, and the rooms were turned into a library.[4] Only in 1889 did Pope Leo XIII have the rooms restored and opened for public viewing.[5] The works in the apartment are now considered part of the Vatican Library.
The works were restored by repairing the plaster and stucco, cleaning the frescoes, and reworking the surfaces.[4] The lower half of some of the walls in the Borgia Apartments had to be removed, but some decorative remnants are still open for viewing.
The upper part of the walls and vaults, covered with paintings, are further enriched with delicate stucco work in relief.[6] Much of the decor of the apartment was perhaps inspired by the forgeries of the humanist and Dominican friarAnnio da Viterbo, master of the palace.[3] The main subjects of the five rooms completed by Pinturicchio are:
Some of the remaining rooms were painted by Perin del Vaga.
The Room of the Sibyls
The Room of Sibyls, which makes up the defensive portion of the Apostolic Palace, consists of twelve depictions of Old Testament prophets, or sibyls.[7] Pope Alexander VI ordered the Borgia Tower to be built for functionary purposes. Pinturicchio delineated the sibyl by representing them with scrolls that signify the coming of Christ.[7] He paints the prophets on top of a deep blue background. The twelve sibyls represented are: "Isaiah-Hellespontine Sibyl, Micah-Tiburtine Sibyl, Ezekiel-Cimmerian Sibyl, Jeremiah-Phrygian Sibyl, Hosea-Delphic Sibyl, Daniel-Eritrean Sibyl, Haggai-Cumaean Sibyl, Amos-European Sibyl, Jeremiah-Agrippine Sibyl, Baruch-Samian Sibyl, Zechariah-Persian Sibyl, Obadiah-Libyan Sibyl."[7]
On the ceiling, Pinturicchio represents the seven planets as Roman divinities pulled by a chariot of animals. Each animal is matched to the planet of their zodiac, and the celestial influence of the planets onto Earth is shown. For example, Mercury is pictured with merchants and Saturn is represented alongside charity.[7] As a tribute to the patron, Pope Alexander VI, Venus is pulled by a herd of bulls, the Borgia coat of arms.[8] Astrology, which was a significant topic amongst many of the Renaissance popes, is depicted at length in the Room of Sibyls.[9]
The Room of the Creed
The Room of the Creed is also part of the Borgia Tower and is arranged in a similar composition to the Room of Sibyls. The frescoes in this room narrate the verses of the Apostle's Creed on the scrolls held by the twelve closest followers of Christ. The Apostle's Creed is a proclamation of beliefs consisting of the main tenets of Christian teachings.[10] This room acts as a bridge between the Old and New Testament material commissioned by the House of Borgia. The pairs of Apostles are as follows: "Peter-Jeremiah, John-David, Andrew-Isaiah, James the Elder-Zechariah, Matthew-Hosea, James the Younger-Amos, Philip-Malachi, Bartholomew-Joel, Thomas-Daniel, Simon-Malachi, Thaddaeus-Zechariah, and Matthew-Obadiah."[11]
The ceiling in the Room of the Creed is decorated with geometrical figures. The renderings of the apostles, both in the Room of the Creed and in the Room of Sibyls, are more formal and angular.[8] Some of Pinturicchio's classic details, including the folds of the figures' robes and head-dress, are evident in the frescoes of the Apostles.[4] The windows in the Room of the Creed also include fantastical ornamentation; natural imagery such as fishes and deer intermingle with cupids and metaphorical representations of music.[4]
The Room of Liberal Arts
The Room of Liberal Arts contains Pinturicchio's allegorical depictions of the seven Liberal Arts, which are Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic (Trivium) and Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, and Astronomy (Quadrivium). Pinturicchio represents each of these figures as celestial women, accompanied by human figures paying tribute and praying to each of them.[12] For example, Cicero accompanies Rhetoric and Euclid extols Geometry.[8] Furthermore, the Room of Liberal Arts also includes a female portrayal of Justice on a throne, holding a sword and a balance.[12] Justice is depicted on the median arch that divides the decorative ceiling from the narrative cycle on the walls.[8] Some of the biblical episodes on the walls include Jacob Fleeing from Laban and Trajan and the Poor Widow.[13] The ceiling details the deeds and the coat of arms of the House of Borgia in stucco, including a double crown for the kingdoms of Aragon and Sicily, a crimson flame and an ox, and a sun.[13]
While the function of the room is still subject to scholarly debate, it is commonly known as the study for the prominent members of the Borgia family. Two of the smaller halls adjoining the Room of Liberal Arts may have been used as a bedroom and bathroom.[3]
Art restorers began extensive work in the Room of Liberal Arts in 2016, uncovering a damaged painting of Pinturicchio's "The Resurrection," which illustrated Native Americans in Europe and the United States.[13] Pinturicchio's work was done with dry plaster instead of wet, which made it more amenable to damage or ruin.[13] His fingerprints and those of his assistants were found in the fresco cycle, and his signature appears underneath the lunette of the personification of Rhetoric.[14] It is believed that Pope Alexander VI wanted Pinturicchio to paint allegories of religious origin stories, many from Egypt and Ancient Rome.[13] The restorers uncovered intense hues of blue, red, and green. In the panel associated with the personification of Music, Pinturicchio painted musicians with Spanish influence as an homage to Pope Alexander VI's home.[13]
The Room of Saints
The Room of Saints portrays episodes from the lives of seven saints in the Bible, along with the largest and finest illustration of the Borgia coat of arms, the bull. The seven saints included are Elizabeth, Anthony, Barbara, Susanna, Sebastian, Paul, and Catherine.[12] Pinturicchio paints notable scenes such as The Visitation, depicting Saint Elizabeth, and Susannah and the Elders, depicting Saint Sebastian.[8] By associating the bull with the lives of saints, Pope Alexander VI ties his reign to divine blessing. The eight ceiling frescoes narrate the story of Isis, Apis, and Osiris, adding to Pope Alexander VI's interest in Egypt.[15] The ceiling is divided into triangular vaults. The first three vaults showcase Osiris's teachings, succeeded by his marriage to Isis, and finally Typhon's murder of Osiris.[15] The Room of the Saints, one of the "secret rooms" of the Borgia Apartments, may have been used as a private space for the Pope.
The Room of Mysteries
The Room of Mysteries holds the fresco cycle representing the mysteries of the faith, which were thought to have influenced Raphael's Disputation of the Holy Sacrament.[1] The biblical scenes displaying the mysteries of faith are painted to inspire a sense of piety in the viewer. Pinturicchio's work in this room is ubiquitous, meant to act as a holy teaching for beginners in religious education. The figures in this room are more restricted in their emotion and motion.[16] The Room of the Mysteries includes The Annunciation, The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Resurrection.[17] Pope Alexander VI was a devotee of the Virgin Mary, which is why many of Pinturicchio's episodes in this room were dedicated to her life and legacy.[18] Pope Alexander VI is represented on this fresco cycle, within The Resurrection painting, kneeling at Christ's feet.[8]
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.
Luca Signorelli was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the Last Judgment (1499–1503) in Orvieto Cathedral are considered his masterpiece.
The Vatican Museums are the public museums of Vatican City, enclave of Rome. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the most well-known Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employs 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V, in honor of Pope Sixtus V, who built most of the present form of the palace.
Il Sodoma was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of the provincial Sienese school; he spent the bulk of his professional life in Siena, with two periods in Rome.
The Creation of Adam, also known as The Creation of Man, is a fresco painting by Italian artist Michelangelo, which forms part of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, painted c. 1508–1512. It illustrates the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to Adam, the first man. The fresco is part of a complex iconographic scheme and is chronologically the fourth in the series of panels depicting episodes from Genesis.
Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art.
Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio, also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian Renaissance painter. He acquired his nickname because of his small stature and he used it to sign some of his artworks that were created during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The four Raphael Rooms form a suite of reception rooms in the Apostolic Palace, now part of the Vatican Museums, in Vatican City. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome.
San Pietro in Montorio is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the Tempietto, a small commemorative martyrium ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante.
The Disputation of the Sacrament, or Disputa, is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1510 as the first part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. At the time, this room was known as the Stanza della Segnatura, and was the private papal library where the supreme papal tribunal met.
The Meeting of Leo I and Attila is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted from 1513 to 1514 as part of Raphael's commission to decorate the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. It is located in the Stanza di Eliodoro, which is named after The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple.
Cesare Mariani was an Italian painter and architect of the late-19th century, active in Rome and Ascoli Piceno.
The Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art is a collection of paintings, graphic art and sculptures in the Vatican Museums.
The Renaissance in Rome occupied a period from the mid-15th to the mid-16th centuries, a period which spawned such masters as Michelangelo and Raphael, who left an indelible mark on Western figurative art. The city had been a magnet for artists wishing to study its classical ruins since the early 15th century. A revived interest in the Classics brought about the first archaeological study of Roman remains by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and the sculptor Donatello, both Florentines. This inspired a corresponding classicism in painting and sculpture, which manifested itself in the paintings of Masaccio and Uccello. Pisanello and his assistants also frequently took inspiration from ancient remains, but their approach was essentially cataloguing, acquiring a repertoire of models to be exploited later.
The Carafa Chapel is a chapel in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, known for a series of frescoes by Filippino Lippi.
Jacopo Ripanda was an Italian painter of the Renaissance era.
The Vatican Historical Museum is one of the sections of the Vatican Museums. It was founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, and was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987 it was moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran and opened in March 1991.
The Hall of the Saints or the Sala dei Santi is a room in the Borgia Apartment of the Vatican Palace, frescoed by the Italian Renaissance artist, Pinturicchio. It dates to 1491–1494 and was commissioned by Pope Alexander VI. The frescoes depict scenes from the lives of the saints. The ceiling fresco, which depicts myths related to the ancient Egyptian gods Osiris and Isis, has been the subject of much scholarly attention. The iconographic program reflects the humanistic interests of Alexander and was likely designed by his secretary, Giovanni Annio of Viterbo.
The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome, a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on these rooms (pp.100–104)
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