Italian Baroque Art: Quirinal Palace Frescoes & Caravaggio
Italian Baroque Art: Quirinal Palace & Caravaggio
On the sides, there are several scenes:
Battle of Romans against Veienti and Fidenati (1598-1601)
In this battle scene, a huge diagonal line creates a foreshortened pyramid. The vanishing points vary from one extreme to another, and movement is highlighted in the main figure, possibly referencing Corvetto Palace (or a study of horses from the 15th century, perhaps by Florentine Floriano). Some figures wear transparent armor that reveals their detailed anatomy. Colors like orange and violet, favorites of this era, transmit a sense of coldness.
Duel of the Horatii and Curiatii (1612-1613)
This scene depicts the Romans killing the Albans. It features a circular composition, very Renaissance in its central protagonists, with a commander in the center and one figure with his back to the viewer. Again, transparent armor is used. The color mixture is unusual, with cold, natural colors that are not entirely mannered. Attitudes are cold, lacking life or force despite the dramatic subject. Proportions feature very small heads in relation to the body.
Quirinal Palace
Salone dei Corazzieri (Sala Regia)
Decorated between 1616 and 1617, this was the most important room. Agostino Tassi was involved, playing a significant role in establishing decorative painting and Roman fresco, particularly through the creation of quadratura or imaginary perspectives. The room originally featured frescoes in the upper frieze with scenes and architecture by two early Baroque artists: Lanfranco and Saraceni. The frieze beneath it rests on a frieze completed in the 19th century.
Upper Frieze Details
The upper frieze features architectural partitioning, with figures that engage the viewer within the room’s space, creating communication between the viewer and the artwork. The architectural framework resembles a large balcony, offering views of grand architectural backgrounds. Figures appear on the balcony, their arms extending forward into real space, seemingly pressing against the architecture. Some figures hang, while children sit on the edge of the rails. Curtains also hang in front of these figures, which appear to pass by us, creating an illusion of space and inviting us to participate in it.
Precedent: Mantegna’s Camera Picta
This work, located in the Ducal Palace in Mantua, features a small oculus in the center of a huge vault. It is painted as if the oculus were open to the sky, forming a kind of parapet for small, hanging angels.
Caravaggio (1571-1610)
Born in Milan in 1571, Caravaggio’s family returned to his father’s hometown, Caravaggio (Lombardy), due to the plague of 1576, where his father, an architect, died. Caravaggio himself died in Porto Ercole in 1610. His family environment was devout.
He began his training at thirteen in Milan, in the workshop of the Mannerist painter Simone Peterzano. This exposed him to the influence of Venetian painting (Bassano, the late Titian, and Tintoretto), particularly their use of light, color, and realism (a preference for realism was common in Northern Italy, influenced by Flemish painters). He developed a taste for naturalism, characteristic of the region and especially the workshop of the Campi family, and was likewise concerned with the effects of light. The recommendations of the Council of Trent and Saint Charles Borromeo (first) and Federico Borromeo (later) in Milan and Rome encouraged realism, which he embraced, arguably “exaggerating” it. His painting would eventually be accepted by the “cultured” nobility.
Between 1589 and 1592, possibly coinciding with the last years of his mother’s life, he arrived in Rome. He is believed to have led a complicated life, as documents exist regarding family assets used to pay his debts.
In 1592, he worked in various workshops, such as that of Giuseppe Cesari (only four years his senior), where he specialized in painting flowers and fruit. He sold “small works” on the street to survive. He was injured by a horse kick and hospitalized at La Consolazione, until 1595, when he began his relationship with Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte.
Early Roman Period (1593-1595)
In Rome (1593-1595), he focused on genre and still-life painting. These were completely new subjects, and their realism was not initially accepted by most people. From this point, he became a painter for a specific class, as only educated people appreciated his works.
A Radical Artist
Often labeled a ‘cursed artist,’ dissident, or radical, Caravaggio broke with traditional models of painting. Despite this, he was educated and came from a wealthy, Christian family connected with the Sforza in Milan, the Borromeo family, and the Marquis of Caravaggio.