MEDIEVAL, BYZANTINE AND MODERN ART DEPARTMENT

Pinturicchio, Appartamento Borgia: La Sala dei Santi

This room is being restored thanks to the generosity of the Patrons of the Arts Chapters of Philadelphia and Michigan.

The “Sala dei Santi” is one of several rooms located in the Borgia Apartment, which takes its name from the Spaniard Rodrigo de Borja y Doms, Pope Alexander VI from 1492 to 1503. Today the name Borgia Apartment is used to indicate the private rooms which the Borgia Pope had decorated by Bernardino Betti, better known as Pinturicchio. He decorated the secret rooms at a dizzying pace between 1492-94, assisted by members of his workshop. Written documents state that the Pope himself suggested ideas for the decoration to the creative and eclectic painter. So what we appreciate today is the fruit of the suggestions of a Pope and the creativity of a Master. Thus, the Sala dei Santi has very significant historical and artistic importance. The name of the room comes from its principal theme: the lives of the Saints and Martyrs that are painted on the walls. The ceiling is shaped as a double cross vault with golden stuccoes and it is divided into two halves by an arch which rests on two pilasters. The marble cornice decorates the room and serves to separate the frescoes from the lower half of the walls. The lives of the Saints and their martyrdoms are painted within the lunettes while the stories of Iside and Osiride are painted in the dome vaults. The storytelling style used by Pinturicchio reaches here the highest expression and it is even more real because of the three-dimensionality effect given by the stuccoing and decorative additions. The richness, luxury and elegance of the rooms makes one feel as if you are brought back in time to the court of Pope Alessandro IV. He is remembered for his expanding of Catholicism to the New World. The technique used by Pinturicchio is tempera “a secco”. This means that the wall is used like a wooden support and the artist paints on a dry (“secco”) surface and not a wet (“fresco”) like the technique Michelangelo used in the Sistine Chapel. This technique enabled Pinturicchio to correct the other members of his workshop where needed and to reach minute perfection of the painting. However, the “dry technique”(where the color is layered on a preparation of chalk and glue on a pre-existing plaster), is less resistant than fresco, thus the restoration is difficult and delicate. The methods of restoration needs a continuous adjustments according to the different surfaces and pigments of the walls. The scientific ground work and collaboration realized during the preparatory stage was fundamental to enable the restorers to distinguish Pinturricchio’s work from that of his Spanish and Italian collaborators. New studies and research are continuing in order to recognize the different artists who worked with Pinturicchio. Besides the tempera “a secco” style, there are other totally original techniques used by Pinturicchio to embellish the painting. Such elements as sculpture, marble and stucco, leather, gold, paper, wood, Spanish tile and wax are all used together with unique harmony in order to give the luxurious interior unity and warmth. Today we can say that we are in a good position to comprehend the techniques used and thus able to finish the restoration in a professional and efficient manner. The team working on the restoration is made up by: restorers Federica Runco and Federica Cecchetti. They are led by the Maestro Restauratore Maria Ludmila Pustka of the Vatican Museum, who has already worked at the restoration of the “Sala dei Misteri” and formerly on Pinturrichio in the Sistine Chapel.

Two Lions by Peter Wenzel

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Marist College in New York

This year the Painting Restoration Labs are pleased to present two works of art by the most famous painter of animals of the XVIII and XIX century: Peter Wenzel (Karlsbad 1745 – Rome 1829). Wenzel was born and raised in Vienna, but he soon came to Rome where he worked with Cristoforo Unterpergerin in 1778 for the decoration of Villa Borghese. However, since the beginning of his career, he manifested a particular interest for animals and their representation both standing and in motion, thus his nickname soon became the “the animal painter”. In 1831, after his death, Wenzel’s daughter, Marianna asked Pope Gegory XVI to buy some of the artist’s work. Thus, eleven canvases of the artist are now part of the Vatican Museums collection, among them, these two wonderful lions. In these twin canvases the artist depicted two lions: male and female. The male lion is represented lying quietly after his meal with a very focused and content expression. His fur is beautifully represented with minute and delicate brushwork. The majesty of his body and the rendering of the muscles are brilliant, which is evidence of the high artistic technique achieved by Wenzel. The lioness is seated near a small spring of water. It seems that she has just finished drinking and she is still breathing heavily from the heat.

The Holy Trinity with Saints

Being restored thanks to the generosity of the Ohio Patrons

This breathtaking painting was completed by the Florentine painter Agostino Ciampelli (Florence 1565 – Rome 1630) in 1600 for Mr. Cesare Corcelluto, who was the Trinitario and Canonico for the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Corcelluto asked Ciampelli to represent the Holy Trinity in the upper part of the canvas leaving the central part to the Virgin Mary and Saints. He was particularly devoted to the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, as well as the Guardian angel, John the Baptist, and St. Andrew. In the lower part: Sts. Cristopher, Agostine, Nicholas, Catherine, Orsola and her companions. Ciampelli, who was an apprentice of Santi di Tito (a significant painter during the Counterreformation in Florence), prepared this painting when he was already at the top of his career. Nonetheless, the altarpiece reveals the influence of the master Santi in the conservative and devotional style in the rendering of the characters. The composition is perfectly balanced, the quality of the colors is fine-looking and the dresses and clothes are rich and decorated with precious jewels.

Saint Peter in Prison

Being restored thanks to the generosity of Mr. Richard Smith

This is a beautiful copy by an anonymous artist of the fresco made by Raphael in the Room of Pope Julius II the Room of Eliodorus. The room of Eliodorus was the private waiting-chamber for guests visiting the Pope. It is worth mentioning that, after the restoration, this painting will be displayed in the Patrons Office in the Vatican and all the patrons visiting us will be able to appreciate its beauty from up close. In this canvas the freedom of Saint Peter is represented without the bars of the prison in the foreground (possibly due to the small size of the painting), nonetheless the divine light in the background is warm and St. Peter appears asleep while the angel is gently releasing him from chains.