Diploma Lecture Series 2012 Absolutism to enlightenment: European art and culture 1665-1765

Art in Rome after 1650

Christopher Allen

8 / 9 February 2012 Lecture summary: We are much more familiar with art in Rome in the first half of the seventeenth century than in the second: everyone knows the work of Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci and Bernini, and to a lesser extent that of Guido Reni, Domenichino and Pietro da Cortona. The two great French artists who dominate the field of painting in Rome around the mid-century, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, have never ceased to be celebrated. But the painters of the later decades remain shadowy figures – whether the academic Carlo Maratta or the Baroque decorators Baciccio and Andrea Pozzo. This obscurity reflects among other things the rise of France, enjoying a golden age of literature, art and philosophy under the reign of Louis XIV and imposing itself as the new cultural centre of Europe. The result, in Rome itself, is a polarization between artists who emulate the French model to a certain extent, and those who pursue an unbridled form of Baroque in the service of religious expression. After the death of Louis XIV and with the decline of French power, Rome would regain its position as pre-eminent capital of European art in the mid-eighteenth century, although increasingly as a centre of postgraduate study rather than of contemporary practice. Slide list: 1. Andrea Sacchi, La Divina Sapienza, 1629-33, Ceiling fresco; Rome, Palazzo Barberini. 2. Pietro da Cortona, The Triumph of Divine Providence, 1633-39, Fresco; Rome, Palazzo Barberini 3. Andrea Sacchi, The Vision of St Romuald, c. 1631, oil on canvas, 310 x 175 cm; Vatican, Pinacoteca 4. Andrea Sacchi, Marcantonio Pasquilini crowned by Apollo, 1641, oil on canvas, 244 x 194 cm; New York, Metropolitan Museum 5. Andrea Sacchi, Scenes of the life of St John the Baptist (oil on canvas) 1641-49; Rome, San Giovanni in Fonte 6. Giacinto Gimignani, Constantine sees the sign of the Cross, fresco; Rome, San Giovanni in Fonte 7. Andrea Camassei, The Battle of Constantine, fresco; San Giovanni in Fonte 8. Andrea Camassei, Entry of Constantine into Rome, 1641-49, fresco; Rome, San Giovanni in Fonte 9. Andrea Sacchi, The Death of St Anne, 1648-49, oil on canvas; Rome, San Carlo ai Catinari 10. Pietro da Cortona, Aeneid cycle, 1651-54, Fresco; Rome, Palazzo Pamphilj 11.Nicolas Poussin, Self-portrait, 1650, oil on canvas, 78 x 94 cm; Paris, Louvre 12. Nicolas Poussin, Rebecca at the Well, c.1648, oil on canvas, 118 x 199 cm; Paris, Louvre 13. Poussin, The Woman taken in Adultery, 1653, oil on canvas, 122 x 195 cm; Paris, Louvre

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14. Nicolas Poussin, Annunciation, 1657, oil on canvas, 104.3 x 103. 15. Claude Lorrain, View of the Campagna, ink and wash; London, British Museum 16. Claude Lorrain, Landscape with shepherds, the Ponte Molle, 1645, oil on canvas, 74 x 97 cm; Birmingham, City Art Gallery 17. Gaspard Dughet, Elias anoints Azaël, 1647-51, fresco; Rome, San Martino ai Monti 18. Charles Le Brun, Portrait of Louis XIV, oil on canvas 68 x 57 cm ; Versailles, Palace 19. Charles Errard, Rinaldo abandoning Armida, c. 1646, oil on canvas, 242 x 337 cm; Bouxwiller, Musée 20. Carlo Maratta, Giovanni Pietro Bellori, after 1672, oil on canvas 87 x 69.6 cm 21. Charles-François Poërson, Union de l’Académie Royale de Paris et de l’Académie de Saint Luc à Rome, 1682, oil on canvas, 136 x 178 cm; Versailles 22. Carlo Maratta, Self-portrait, 1684, red chalk on paper; London, British Museum * 23. Carlo Maratta, The Triumph of Clemency, 1674-75, ceiling fresco; Rome, Palazzo Altieri 24. Carlo Maratta, Apollo and Daphne, 1681, oil on canvas, 221.2 x 224 cm; Brussels, Musées royaux des beaux-arts * 25. Carlo Maratta, Assumption and Doctors of the Church, 1689, oil on canvas; Rome, Santa Maria del Popolo * 26. Nicolas Dorigny, Engraving (1702-03) after Carlo Maratta’s drawing (1680-82) of an Academy of painting 27. Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Il Baciccio, Self-portrait, c. 1662; Ariccia, Palazzo Chigi 28. Annibale Carracci, Pietà, 1599-1600, Oil on canvas 156 x 149 cm; Naples, Capodimonte 29. Baciccio (G.B. Gaulli), Pietà, 1667. Oil on canvas, 183 x 116 cm; Rome, Palazzo Barberini 30. Baciccio (G.B Gaulli), Allegories of Prudence and Providence, 1668-71, pendentive frescoes; Rome, Sant’Agnese * 31. Baciccio (G. B. Gaulli), Triumph of the Name of Jesus, 1676-79; Rome, Gesù 32. Andrea Pozzo (known as Padre Pozzo), Self-portrait * 33. Andrea Pozzo (Padre Pozzo), Allegory of the Jesuit missions, 1688-94; Rome, Sant’Ignazio Reference: Giovanni Pietro Bellori. The Lives of the Modern Painters, Sculptors and Architects, translated by Helmut and Alice Wohl with an Introduction by Tomaso Montanari. Cambridge University Press, 2005. Rudolf Wittkower. Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750. Pelican History of Art, 1958 (frequently reprinted). Ellis Waterhouse. Roman Baroque Painting: a list of the principal painters and their works in an around Rome. London: Phaidon, 1976.

Carlo Maratta, The Triumph of Clemency, 1674-75, ceiling fresco; Rome, Palazzo Altieri

Carlo Maratta, Assumption and Doctors of the Church, 1689, oil on canvas; Rome, Santa Maria del Popolo

Nicolas Dorigny, Engraving (1702-03) after Carlo Maratta’s drawing (1680-82) of an Academy of painting

Baciccio (G. B. Gaulli), Triumph of the Name of Jesus, 1676-79; Rome, Gesù

Andrea Pozzo (Padre Pozzo), Allegory of the Jesuit missions, 1688-94; Rome, Sant’Ignazio

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