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SignityiDg the Supematural: Ineffable Presence in Bemini'. Altieri Chapet
Morgan Currie Department of Art History McGill University, Montreal Marcb, 1999
A thesis submitted ta the faculty of graduate studies and research in partial fultiJJment of the requirements for the degree of Muter of Arts
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(c) Morlan Currie 1999
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Gianlorenzo Bemini's Altieri Chapel possesses an aesthetic splendour that continues to captivate modem viewers. However, despite the recent publication of Shelly Karen Perlove and Giovanni Careri's studies on this subject, its unique manner of signification continues to he elusive. In the former case, the author's dependence on a Melange of seventeenth-century religious notions reduces Bernini's choice of imagery ta mere theological illustration. On the other hand, Careri affirms the originality of the chapel, but his over reliance on a heuristic comparison with tilm montage limits bis appreciation of the viewer's role in this aesthetically charged space. The present study strikes a balance between its own contemporary subjectivity and Semni's historicity, locating the chapel's meaning making capacity in a hermeneutic oscillation between both its constituent elements and the participatory beholder. The resu1t is the recognition of a unique artistic statement, which avers the fundamental commonality between severaI postTridentine liturgical practices. The salvitic efticacy of these tenets is 8Sserted by an aesthetic signification of the divine presence which lies behind them. The spectator is drawn into a mimetic world, sutfused with Baroque Catholic ideology, and shown that Church doctrine is backlit with the radiance of ultimate truth. Of course, seventeenth-century viewing practices cannot be recreated, just as the feeling engendered by tbis artistic experience is beyond the descriptive powers of tbis or any other text. Nevertbeless, it is possible to provide a IUide to the spiritual references in Bernini's microcosm, for, while secular, modern viewers may no longer see with Baroque eyes, perhaps they can appreciaœ wbat those eyes saw.
Table of Contenta i. ü.
üi. iVe
1. 8. 24. 44.
Abstract Resume Acknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter fi Chapter m
50. 57. 72. 77.
84.
93. 102. 107. 111. 114.
125.
Chapter IV Conclusion Bibliop-aphy nlustrations
Predecessors The Pertinence of the Visual Signifier Figuring a Mystery i.. Sacred Space: The Composta in Situ ii. Pointing the Way: The Roly Family iii. Ludovica Albertoni iVe Golden Radiance: The Light of Grace Signs and Symbols: Emblemata and Other v. Elements vi. Bridging the Gap: The Altar and the Drapery vii. The Legacy of the Past: The Early Frescoes VlU. SeeiDg is Believing: Viewing the Viewer The Artist in the Work
ü.
La Chapelle Altieri du Bernin continue de captiver le spectateur contemporain en raison de sa splendeur. Cependant, malgré la r~cente publication de Shelly Karen Perlove et les études de Giovanni Careri sur le sujet, il semble que l'originalité de son 'mode de signification' reste insaisissable. Dans le premier cas en s'appuyant sur des conceptions religieuses du xvnème siècle, l'auteur réduit les choix du Bernin i de simple illustrations théologiques. Le second auteur aftirme l'originalité de la Chapelle cependant la comparaison faite avec le montage cinématographique limite l'appréciation du role du spectateur dans cet espace ordonnéesthé'tiquement. L'6tude suivante établit une ~quilibre entre la subjectivité contemporaine et l'époque historique du Bernin. Elle explique l'articulation de la Chapelle en des termes qui vacillent entre les él'ments qui la constituent et la participation du spectateur. Le r'sultat de cette approche provoque la reconnaissance de l'originalité de l'énonc~ artistique qui va 'll'encontre de la trivialité qui existe dans les divers elements de la liturgie post-Tridentine. L'éfticacit2 salutaire de ces principes est réalisée par la transposition esthétique de la présence divine qui 'mane de l'oeuvre. Le spectateur est attiré dans un monde d'imitation charge d'une id~logie Catholique Baroque. n lui est ainsi montrl que la doctrine de " l'Eglise est éclairée par un rayon de v'ri~ absolue. n est certain, que les methodes visuelles du xvn'ème siècle ne peuvent etre reconstitué'es. De même, le sentiment découlant de l'experience artistique est au-dela des pouvoirs de description de celui-ci, ou de tout autre 'texte'. n est cependant possible d'offrir un nfpertoire des allusions spirituelles qui constituent le microcosme du Bernin. Le spectateur contemporain qui en raison de sa secularittf ne peut plus voir avec les yeux de l'tpoque Baroque peut cependant apprkier ce que ces yeux pouvaient voir.
,
ili.
1 WÎsh to thank the faculty and staff at the Department of Art History for their etJorts on my behalf during my studies at McGill University. My advisor, Professor Thomas L. Glen has oifered me both the freedom to follow my varied pathways of inquiry, and guidance in their expression. Additionally, 1 am indebted to the overseers of the McGill Msjor Fellowships for their tinancial assistance. My good ûiends among the Art History graduate students provided a forum for numerous ideas as weIl as UDwaveriDg personal support. Finally, 1 wish to thank my wife, Trina, without whose encouragement and inspiration this project would not have happened.
iv.
1.
Gianlorenzo Hernini, The Altieri Chapel, Rome, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Giovamri Careri, Bernini: Flights of Love, the Art of Devotion (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995), no. 13.
2.
Scenic Altar Arrangement. (from J. Dubreull, La Perspective pratique, m, p. 100). Source: Per Bjurstrom, "Baroque Theatre an the Jesuits" in Rudolf Wittkower and Irma B. JatTe (eds), Baroque Art: The JeBuit Contribution (New York: Fordham University Press, 1972), no. 58a.
3a.
Baroque stage machine. Source: C. Thomas Ault. "Baroque Stage Machines Cor Venus and Mars from the Archivio di Stato, Parma." Theatre Survey 28, 2 (1987), no. 2.
3b.
Baroque stage machine. Source: Ault, no. 4.
4.
Scenic Altar Arrangement projected for the Gesu t Rome. (From A. Pozzo, Prospettiva de' Pittori et Architetti, n, p. 73). Source: Bjurstrom, no. Ma.
5.
C. Rainaldi, engraving of decoration for Quarentore, the Gesu, Rome, 165('. Source: Bjurstrom, no. 55.
6.
The decoration of fig. 5 iDserted into the interior of the Gesu, s. Sacchi and F. Gagli8rtÜ. Source: Bjurstrom, no. 56.
7.
Recess, Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Shelley Karen Perlove, Bernini and the Idealization of Deatla: The Ble••ed Ludovico Albertoni and the Alfieri Chopel (University Park, PA.: PeDD8Ylvania State University Press, 1990), no. 15
8.
Raphael, The Disputa, c. 1514. Fresco. Vatican, Stanza della Selllatura. Source: Deocleeîo Redig de Campos, The Stanze ofRaphael (Rome: Lorenzo deI Turco, 1968), no...
9.
Jacopo della Quercia, Creation of Adam, Relief. Florence, San Petronio. Source: Ottavio Morisoni. Tutti la Bculturo di Jacopo della Quercia (Milan: Rizzoli, 1968), no. 114.
10.
Andrea Pozzo, 1691. Fresco. Rome, Gesu. Source: Bernhard Kerber, Andrea Pozzo (Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1972), no. 55
Il.
Pietro da Cortona, Fresco. Rome, Palazzo BerberiDi. Source: Jorg Martin Merz, Pietro da Cortona. (Tubinpn: Ernst Wasmuth Verlar, 1991), no.407.
12..
Jacopo Gaulli, Virgin, Cl&ild and St. Anne, c. 1676. Oïl on canvas.ltome, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Giov8DDÏ Careri, Bemini: Flighttl ofLove, the Art ofDevotion (Chicap: The University of Chicaao Press, 1995), no. 16..
88
painted by .
n
v. 13.
Bernini, Beata Ludovica Albertoni ,Marble. Rome, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Frank H. Sommer, "The Iconography of Action: Bernini's Ludovica Albertoni", Art Quarterly 23, 1 (1970), no. 1.
14.
The Altieri Chapel, detail of the folds in the robe and the drapery. Source: Careri, no. 25.
15.
Bemini, The EcstCJBY of St. Teresa, 1644-52. Marble. Rome, Coronaro Chapel, S. Maria della Vittoria. Source: Rudolf Wittkower, Bernini: The Sculpta,. of the Roman Baroque (London: Phaidon Press, 1997), no. 128.
16.
Stefano Maderno, St. Cecilia, 1600. Marble. Rome, Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Source: Bruce Boucher, Italian Baroque Sculpture {London: Thames and Hudson, 1998), no. 20
17.
Bemini, S.. Andrea al Quirinale, 1658-65, interior. Rome. Wittkower, no. 62 (3).
18.
Melchiorre Cafa, St. Rose of Lima, 1665. Marble Lima, Sao Domelllo. Source: Boucher, no. 2.
19.
Bernini, The ECBta8y of St. Teresa, detail of St. Teresa, Coronaro Chapel, S. Maria della Vittoria. Source: Wittkower, no. 131.
20.
Bernini, The EcstaBy of St. TeresG, detail of the angel, Coronaro Chapel, S. Maria della Vittoria. Source: Wittkower, no. 130.
21.
Bernini, Beata Ludovico Albertoni, detail, Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Wittkower, no. &6.
22.
Bernini, Tomb of Maria Raggi, Rome, S. Maria sopra Minerva. Source: Wittkower, no. 120.
23.
Bernini, Tomb of Mario Raggi, detail, S. Maria sopra Minerva. Source: Wittkower, no. 121.
24.
Vault in the recess with dove of the Roly Spirit, Altien Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 24.
25.
Boethius a Bolswert, enaraVÏDg for Pia DaideriG by Hermann HUIO. Source: Sommer, no. 2.
26.
The Altieri Chapel, pomegranates behind the foot of the sculpture, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Careri, no. 24.
27.
The Altieri Chapel, the roses on the vault, S.. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Careri, no. 23.
Source:
vi.
28.
Anton Wierix, Transverberation of St. Teresa, enaraving. New York, Metropolitan Museum. Source: Irving Lavin, Bemini and the Unity of the ViBuol Arts (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), no. 272.
29.
Jean Baptiste Barbe, Tra1l8verberotion. of St. Teresa, engraVÏDg. Brussels. Bibleotheque Royale. Source: Irving Lam, Bernini and the Unity of Visual Arts (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), no. 265.
30.
The Altieri Chapel, faces on the torch at the foot of the sculpture, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Careri, no. 21.
31.
After Jacques Stella, Putti Playing, detail, illustration in Les Jeux et plaisirs de l'enfance. Source: Anthony Blunt, NicolaB Poussin (New York: Bo1lingen Foundation, 1967), no. 257.
32.
The Altieri Chapel, t1aming heart, panel beneath the right window, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 25.
33.
The Altieri Chapel, angei heads, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Caren, no. 13.
34.
Domenichino, Last Communion of St. Jerome, 1614. Oil on canvas, Rome, Vatican Museum. Source: Stephane Loire, "Rome Domenichino" Burlington 139, 1128 (1997), no. 87.
35.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Miracles of St. Ignatius of Loyola, on on canvas, Vienna, Kunstbistorisches Museum. Source: John Rupert Martin, The Ceiling Paintings for the Jauit Church in Antwerp (London: Phaidon Press, 1968), no. 4.
36.
The Altieri Chapel, kneeting view, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 15.
37.
The Altieri Chapel, altar, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 12.
38.
Bernini, Memorial ta Alessandro Valtrini, 1839. Rome, S. Lorenzo in Damaso. Source: Wittkower, DO. 43.
39.
BemiDi, Memorial to Ippolito MarendCJ, 1640. S. Giacomo alla Lungarna, Rome. Source: Wittkower, no. 43.
40.
Bernini, Tomb of Pope Urban VIII, 1628·47. Rome, St. Peter's. Source: Wittkower, no. 106.
41.
BemiDi, Tomb of Pope Ale%ander VU, 1672·78. Rome, St. Peters. Source: Wittkower, no. 116.
42.
The Altieri Chapel, lighted beart in altar. Source: Perlove, no. 16.
vii.
43.
The Altieri Chapel, emblem of the heart set within the altar, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Careri, no. 22.
44.
The Altieri Chapel, Ludovico Albertoni Francesco a Ripa. Source: Careri, no. 18.
45.
Gaspare Celio, Musical Angela with God the Father, fresco of the dome and lantem, c. 1622. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 6.
46.
Assistant of Gaspare Cello, Santa Fronce.co Romana, fresco of the pendentive, c. 1622. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 7.
47.
Assistant of Gaspare Celio, Ble8sed Ludovico, fresco of the pendentive, c. 1622. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 8.
48.
Left lateral wall with inscription plaque and fresco of St. Charles Borromeo.. Alfieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no.. 9.
49.
Assistant of Gaspare Celio, Saint Charles Borromeo, fresco, c. 1622. Altieri Chapel, S.. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. Il.
50.
Roly Family and St. Anne. Print. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 10.
51.
Gaspare Celio, preparatory drawin. for Altieri Chapel altarpiece, c.. 1622. Florence, Uftizi. Source: Perlove, no. SOO'
52.
Ludovico Giving Bread to a Poor Pilgrim, fresco on the epistle side of the altar. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 13.
&3.
St. Clare holding a Monstrance, fresco on the evangelical side of the altar. Altieri Chapel, S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 14.
54.
The Altieri Chapel, Ludouica Giving Bread to a Poor Pilgrim aligned with altar S. Francesco a Ripa. Source: Perlove, no. 16
55.
Masaccio, Trinity, c. 1426-27. Fresco. Florence, Santa Maria Novella. Source: John T Spike, MtJBGCcio (New York: Abbeville Press, 1996), no. 1.
&6.
BerniDi, Sangue di Christo, 1677. Print. Source: lrviDa Lavin, "The Ar. Jloriendi and the Songue di Cristo" in George C. Bauer (ecI), Bemini in Perspective Œnglewood Clitrs, N. JO': Prentiee-HaIl, 1976), no. 1.
57.
BerniDi, Bust of the Sal/îoar, 1679. Marble. Norfolk, Va., Chrysler Museum. Source: Print. Source: lrviDa LaviD, -rhe Ar, ltloriendi and the 8a".ue di Cristo" in Georae C. Bauer (eci>, Bernini in Perspective Art in Modern Culture: An AntAolOD of Critical Ten. CNew York: Harper CoUina. 1991). 43. He arpes tbat ideoloPcal positions derive tbeir 181Ïtimaey ha .ppellin • to the Real. •
philOlOphica1 COD8truct remiDisceDt of Tillich'. uldmate reality or Heicletra.rs BeiD,.. 107 Rowan WUli.... Teresa of Avila ,2-8.
41. Memorial to a specifie life simultaneously demonstrates the the sacramental power ta transit metaphysicallevels of existence. What separates Baroque Catholic onto-theology !rom the hierarchical cosmology of the N eoplatonists is its dualistic structure. U nlike the inftnite number of layers separating the earthly from the One in classical thought, the Baroque world view is based. on two leveIs; the terrestrial and the celestial. 112 It is Tillich's Catholic substance, the insistence on a sacramental transparence to the divine, that reserves the right for the Church to Mediate between these two planes of existence. Just as elements of ecclesiastic rituaI provide a conduit for the entry of the divine inta the earthly sphere, participation in the faith enables the ascent of the souI after death. By this account, the unified elements of the Altieri Chapel can he seen as a progression from the earthly realm of the viewer, through the transitional figure of the reclining beata, and into the golden light ofthe heavenly realm beyond. Bernini's interest in transition, which has characterized bis oeu ure sinee the beginning of bis career resonates with theological importe The doctrine of puncturn temporis, or the pregnant moment, tirst used by Shaftsbury in his eighteenth-century discussion of Annibale Carracci's Hercules at the CroBBroacls, is exteDded beyond the transformations of this world. us Neither completely dead nor fully alive, the figure of Ludovica lies between the two worlds, sutfused with holy light, her soui about to ascend. In this way she suggests both the sacramental entry of the divine into this world, and the the promise of the believer's post-mortem exit from it. The notion of proll"ession shares certain qualities with narrative, in which elements are sequentially arrayed. Mieke Bal detines a fabula as series of logïcally or chronologically related events caused or experienced by an actor, and a !tory as a fabula presentecl in a certain manuer. Ut The assumption that the meaning of individual components are semantically determined by this metaphysical continuum depends on sueb a similarity. At the same time, the specifie qualities of visual signification enabie an easy polysemy; unliJœ the written text or cinematographic montage, the viewer is confronted with the Deleuze,29. '11 A. Kibedi Varp, -Staries Told by Pietures," Styk 22, 2 (SUJIUIler, 1988), 202. Be cliseuaee& the notion of peripeteÙJ~ the manDer in Baroque narrative art reduc:ecl the lubject to the moment where the protqoniet realiaes hil or ber chanp in condition. 114 Mieke Bal, NaJTtJtoltWY: Introduction. to tlle T1aeory of Narrative tr8ll8. Christine van Boheemen {Tonmto: Univenity ofToronto Preu, 1985>, 5. 1$2
_hi.
42. entirety of the sequence at once. Rather then witness the onto-theological stations in succession, they are presented in unison, and differentiated by choice of medium. The result is a microcosmie juxtaposition of the twofold reality and its ecclesiastic linkage, iDfused with Eucharistie salvation symboüsm at every levei. No strictly liDear media could suggest the fondamental union of differences inherent to the Catholic world view, by representiDg, no, re-presenting the consistency of the Christologieal miracle throughout in. BerniDi's unique art form, the compoBto J is able to at once graft the notion of Christian proeression in the world to the fixed and eternal truths manifest in sacramental theology, in one persuasive fusion. Narrative theorist James Phalen argues that texte are also the imitation of an experience that is dynamie in at least two ways; experienced u a movement of narrative through time and a multi-layered engagement of the reader's intellect, emotioDs, judgments and ethics simultaneously.UI However, even if the visceral emotionalism inherent in the plastic arts is temporarily set aside, the all at once immediacy of the chapel is a far superior medium for the combined articulation of the salvation process, and the ultimate reality at its base. No matter how the work is approaehecl, in every level of the coprltive and emotionaI leaps described by Careri, the viewer is also coDfronted with a suitable aftirmatioD of the metaphysical importance of Eucharistie theology. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the composto, is the absorption of the viewer into its signifying matrix, thereby binCÜDg their actuaI lives, space and rituaI practices into the mimetic sphere of the chapel. Wusionistically suaestive of the divine effect, the Altieri Chapel seeks 10 reveal the miraculous onto-theological apparatus behind the commUDicant's receipt of the host. BerniDi recasts the death of Ludovica into a more generalized phenomenon; framed by the accessible sacrament of the Eucharist, the promise of salvation is Dot merely the province of the saindy, but open to all believers. Bal deftnes an event as a transition from one state tD another state, within a narrative, that is caused or experienced by aeton. ua To semoticians, the 8ip il an event, not a thiDg, situated in bistorically and socially specitic circumstances, and pvemecl by codes beloJllÎD& to them. U7 Lilœ the sacramental ritual of the Church, the chapel il a specifie form of signifier, one that transmits a ftS
James
Phalen. Narrative eu Rlaetoric: Technique. Audience., EtAie., IdeolOlY
(ColumbUl: Ohio State University Pree., 1996), 90. 116 Bal, Narrt.ltoltcY, S. t rt Bal and Bryion. 207.
43. complimentary message of salvation, and the neeessity of divine agency in briDling this about. CODsidering the composta as a participant in its historieal horizon, it can provide insight into the bellef systems in place at the time of its production, Binee, as Moxey has observecl, signs are ideologically produeed. ua It is interestinl that BerniDi has presented bis Eucharistie message through the commemoration of a saintly female mystic, thereby rhetorically reworkiDg a standardized hagiographie form. CODsequently, the particularities of her own life are lost; like the authors of the vite and the panegyric, the sculptor presents ber as a sort of stock character to further another agenda. In 80 doine through this particular interactive visuaI medium, BerniDi assures that representation will maximize its compelliDI impact. Edmund Husserl's principle of all principles, the primitive epistemological modality "bieh is the ftrst imperative of a phenomenological analysis of literary experienee questions how literature is taken as an 8ctual presentation of reality. ut The Altieri Chapel, with its ability to actually ineorporate the viewer iDto a mimetic world suftUsed with religious ideology is a powerful illusion of reality iDdeed.
ms
UI
Mouy, 990.
Il'
StaIIlbovaky. 81
44. Chap"DI: Pipriq aMptery i. Sacred Space: The CompoBto in Sit6 ."the world'. nothiDg but a play, then Graziano'. the !ou! of the world" Gianlorenzo Bemini The ImplWClrio
The Christian promise of salvation is founded on the miracle of the Incarnation in which the infinite hypostasis of the Son assumes a localized material existence within the peraon of Jesus Christ. Thus, the most profound of mysteries is rounded on a paradox: in the words of Saint Bernardino of Siena: eternity appears in time, immensity in measurement, the Creator in the creature...the unfigurable in the figure, the unnarratable in discourse, the inexplicable in speech, the uncircumscribable in the place, the invisible in visioD. 8)
As discussed in Chapter n, the Christian conception of time is teleologîcal, casting the historical structure of the Bible as the matrix in which the divine purpose is actualized. The etemal stands over and above earthly time, yet sustains the temporal order, working in and throulh it towards the ultimate purpose of God. la Conversely, the time form hides the etemal, and the presence of God remains invisible; even in redemptive aet ms transcendent glory is veiled. .. While temporality May he direeted towards the fUl6J1ment of the divine plan, its ultimate cause remains beyond the apprehension of those within its continuum, resulting in the need for paradoxical signifiers. Foremost amonl these is the Incarnate Christ, in whom the infinite directlyenters terrestrial reality, and assumes a perceivable visage, which simultaneously conceals its true nature. The Precedinl appHes to ail earthly symbols of the divine, from Old Testament apparitions such as the BurDing Bush, throulh the exegetical figures of Scriptural esepsis tD miraculous rituais such as the EuchariSt. As Frank Dilley bas argued, -'e speù aftirmatively and negatively of God at the same time;assertînl the malogy as lenerally revealing, while remainiDg aware of its
RecoWltecl fa Didi-Hubermm. 35. E. c. Rut, ne CANna" UratlerllGruling 0( Hiatory . Baroque An: The Jauit Col'IIriblltiOIl (New York: Fordbam Univenity Press. 1972), lM. 132
Papen
48. elaborate lliusionistic stage settings on the high altar. In this manner, the beholders were symbolically made aware of the spiritual realities behind the liturgy, while the emotional impact made by the dazzJing effects approximated the awesome vision of the divine unveiled. Per Bjurstrom notes that one important ditference between the conventional Baroque theatre and the theotrum sacrum is found in the lighting; the former is uniformly illuminated by artificial means, while the latter combines real and artmcial sources. Consequently, in a playhouse, the audience has a greater sense of unity with events on the stage, sinee both are lit with the same tonalities, ditrering only by degree. In the church, the scenographie architecture blocked the apse fenestration, requiring manmade illumination for the staged proeeedings, while the audience was naturally lit. The result is a sense of separation, despite the use of shared space, as the ambient weak light of the altar sUilest! the encounter with an "alien" world III In this manner, the viewers are simultaneously shown the miraculous nature of the Mass, while being reminded of the fundamental difFerenee between earthly and heavenly reality. The lighting in the Altieri Chapel can also he cODsidered to distinguish between such spheres, although it does so difTerently. It is the viewer's space which is dimly lit, while Bernini's liberal use of gilding and hidden windows create a sense of otherworldly radiance. (Fig. 7) This golden luminosity is far more suggestive of heaveniy sublimity then the twilit apparitions of the theatrum sacrum. According to Mireea Elide, the sacred always manifests itself as a reality of a wholly different order from naturaI realities, and is expressed with ontological terminology that points beyond human experience." Visually, Bernini sugests the holy presence in bis composto with the use of light, whose golden tint and lack of visible source aIludes to that which is beyond description. The chapel is successfu1ly delineated from the earthly, albeit holy space around it in a manner which causes the viewer to consider the miraculous presence that supports this edifice. In bis discussion of Baroque metaphor, Maiorino writes "the intellect understands more then langullle can verbalize, and the concetto supplies what words fail to cODvey.- • The viewer is thU8 presented with a simulated encounter with heavenly space, and an emotional aftirmation of lU
Bjuntro. 107. ,1
Di..,.
Miree. Eliade, The StJCl'fId ond tAe Pro(ruae: T1ae Nature of RelÏ6ÏOIl traDl. WWard ft. TnIk (Sm Ne. York and London: Harcourt Braœ and CA.: 1969). 10. 116 MaioriDo. 99. ISS
49. sacramental ritual. Historians Colleen McDannell and Bernhard Lang have observed that an utterly separate idea of heaven and earth had developed by the seventeenth century. While death remained a transitional event, the afterworld was, in general, no longer considered a perfected version of life on earth. lm In earlier centuries, the presence of heavenly space would have likely been presented in a more explicit manner, with the supematural realm resting naturally atop the terrestrial. One Deed only consider such disparate works as Raphael's Disputa, where heaven and earth are stacked and circumscribed, or Jacopo della Quercia's Creation of Adam, where an anthropomorphized Gad the Father is distinguished Û'Om the human actors by his triangular halo, W see the difference in the Baroque presentation of the supematural. (FilS. 8, 9) This development has its most important representational implications in depictions of the interaction between the earthly and heavenly spheres. Implicit in Raphael's composition is the notion that the supematural reality is comprehensible in terms applicable ta our own. By the end of the seventeenth century, this is clearly no longer the case, as worka such as the Altieri Chapel or the apotheosis frescoes of Pietro da Cortona and Andrea Pozzo present the manifestation of the heavenly as a miraculous break in the natural order. (Fip. 10, 11) 118 In all ofthese cases, the presence of the divine is aIluded to tbrough the use of otherworldly üghting. The break in the homogeneity of ordinary space, and the revelation of the absolute reality beyond it is referred to as a hierophany , or manifestation of the sacred. .. As Gad himself said to Moses: "Do Dot come Dear; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standiDg is holy ground.· (Exodus 3: 5) Every sacred space implies this pheDomenoD; the possibility of communication with heaven and the resultiDg movement from ODe mode of being to another. The
Lan,.
137 Colleen McDannell and Bernhard Beauera: A Biatory (New Haven and LoDdon: Yale UDivenity Press, 1988), 118. t,. Thom.s Buser. -rhe Supernatural in Baroque ReliPOUI Art,· Gazette da Beauz·Arts 108, .. (1988), 40. He links tbi. clevelopment ka eummt theololical clehate. on the uture or II'8ce between the Jesuitl and AupBtinims and later the Janlelliltl. He parallel between the notion tbat ,race is atrintic ad thereCore .uper4Jdded. and the repreaentatioll of heaveD1y preeenœ as • katal dïllUption of the natural arder. Wbile Goclstill appean ÏIleeventA!eDth-ceatury repnBelltatioDI, IUm a. Pietro da Cortona'a Trillity ill Glory. hi. onto-tbeolOlieal distance i. averrecl tbrouah the use of liabtiDa and other vi.ual etreeu; a vilioD partly obecured by the interveniDc layen of beaveD1y lUJDiDelcenc:e. It ia important to cliatiDpish tbia from the wom of artialUch .. Caravagio. wh. . the intervention of the diYine ÎI alluded to tbroqh the QIIlbolic uae of eeem inl1y naturallilht. While tbia tipift. the .upematural qeney at work in everyday nality, it does DOt evoke the 8eDR of ewe, the emotiOD8liatic 8U1181tîon orheavenly presence. .. Eliade, Il.
_1.
50. world of BerniDi's work is, therefore a mimesis of the essence of a hierophany, an attempt to sugeat the veracity and effect of the divine presence at work in its ecclesiastic setting. The representation of a mystery is beyond the capacity of human communication; it belongs to the realm of the inetTable. RituaI practice signifies it through the designation of sacred space. documentation of the miraculous, Biblical history and tradition, and the use of signs that are also presences. Visual representation is uniquely able ta imitate aesthetically its awesome character and emotionally fill the viewer with a sense of wonder. At the same time, its easy polysemy ie able to aftirm simultaneously this supernatural experience, and directly allude ta the real world, the actual, current day church of the beholder. The result is a powerful and evocative event which leaves little doubt of both the efficacy and eschatological importance of ecclesiastic mediation through sacramental participation. The analysis of the Altieri Chapel should tberefore begin with the viewer's entry into San Francesco, since its sanctitied space establishes the onto-theological superstructure within which the chapel articulates its meaning. ü. Pointing the Way. The Holy Family "On doit considerer un tableau comme un seene, ou ehaque figure joue son role"
Ro,er De Piles Eleme1l8 de peinture pratique
Located Aboye the recumbent Ludovica is Gaulli's painted altarpiece, depicting the Virgîn, Child and St. Anne. (Fig. 12) This image plays a pivotai role in shaping the greater meaning of the composlo, while having its own theological resonance interactively fixed as weil. It has been noted that this picture 'lias added to the chapel after its completion, although preparatory drawiDp clearly show that Bernini was involved in its plADning stages. 1«) Thus, the painting Dot only impacts the viewers Apprehension of the wider assembly; its composition is integral to the designers original concetto. The decision to view the chapel as a progression from the terrestrial plane of the viewer to the heavenly realm, suggested by the light, crestes a continuum which 8eems ta exclude the altarpiece. As discussed earlier, however, interpretative models derived from literary criticism are of limited. usefulne8s, and here the notion of metaphysical procression does Dot function identically to a narrative. This is the basic ttaw in a 1-'
Caren, 52.
51. study such as Hibbard's, in which he seeks to account for the painting within a historically consistent account of Ludovica's last days. 141 While the commemoration of the beata is the ostensive subject of BemiDi's work, it is in no way bound to the specificity of her vito. At most it relies on ber status as a celebrated figure of piety, and ensconces this particular paragon of Christian virtue within an imagistic signification of the onto-theological reality in which she participates. Careri's analysis of the altarpiece is useful in that it addresses the way it signifies within a montage-like framework, rather then searching for its narrative implications. 141 Both its content and Corm are meaningful; the two dimensional medium of ail painting, as much as the depicted subject, shape the way this image functions within the composta. Considering it first in isolation, Gaulli bas depicted the Virgin in the process ofhanding the Child to her mother, who reaches out to embrace Rim. The action of receiviDg Christ is at the root of both the salvation implicit in Ludovica's saintly death, and the viewers' participation in the rituaI of the Mass. In bis discussion of visual storytelling, Varga refers ta the notion of peripeteia, the manner in which Baroque art reduced its subject to the critical moment when the protagonist realizes a fundamental change. MI Although St. Anne bas not yet received the Saviour, that inevitable outcome is clearly suggested by the poses of the figures. Karen-edis Barzman has argued tbat this sort of composition, where the moment of divine union is not yet achieved, suspends the narrative climax, and represents the figure in a state of permanently unfultilled desire. Mt This is compelling, in tbat the impliecl, yet Dot depicted completion of the action creates a sense oftemporality; that thÏs pun.ctum temporis is not a statie moment, but an ongoiDg process. Like the Eucharistie rituaI it presages, the saIvitic event is never complete in this world; Christ is desired in the here and now, but only received in the golden sphere beyond. Similarly this sense of suspended union applies to the Jiminal figure of Ludovica who thouP assured of her etemal reward, is still suspended between the eartbly and heavenly realms. The manner in which the holy figures of the painted altarpiece are Hibbard. 222. Canri. 58. V.... 202. 'M Kann-edis Banm8Jl. -Devotion &Del Delire: 1he Reliquary Chape1 or Maria Maddalena de'Paai: Art Hiatory 15. 2 (1992). 172. Rer basic premile Î8 that in repretl8DtatioDS oltbia IOn. myatical UDion is dilplaœd with deeire.
52. represented is also interesting in that little regard is paid to Biblical accuracy. Anne is clad in the garb of the Poor Clares, while the action occurs in a murky and indeterminate setting. This is Dot totally inconsistent with the postTridentine demand for accuracy in religious pictures; as was noted in Chapter l, certain liberties could be taken with the bistorical record in order to further the greater ends of the Church. 145 In his Dell'Arte Historica, the Jesuit trained Agostino Mascardi argued for the primacy of theological clarity over adherence to the particular details of the historical record, a position accepted by his Barberini patrons. Thus Anne is presented rhetorically, ber anachronistic costume referring to the similarly clad figures in the sixteenth-century frescoes, and the recumbent Ludovica helow. The events in the composta are thus legitimated through this pictorial association with Scriptural history, simultaneously evoking the miracle of the sacrament and its narrative genesis. As Walter BerYamin has written, "the mystical instant becomes the now of contemporary actuality; the symbolic becomes distorted into the allegorical," and the eternal is separated from the events of the salvation story, leaving a living image open to the revisions of the interpretative artist. 148 Thus the story of the lüe of Christ forms the narrative core of a typological hagiography, yet Baroque allegoresis can transform Christian mythologies from the transcendental meaning to which all historical events refer, to a network of received images able to allegorize current events and mundane occasions. 147 ln semiotic terms, the life of Christ moves from transcendent signified to arbitrary signifier, backlighting events of the saeculu m with their Christological significance. le The holy family is thus pulled out of its Biblical context and is reconfigured to signify the religious significance in both the Mass and the Christian death of Ludovica. Berqamin's notion of allegory does not try to compensate for the historical viewer's position within the socially generated matrix of onto-theological ideology where the mystical instant retains its supematural resonance, yet remains useful for the interpretation of the altarpiece. This is not the representation of the nature of divine union; recounting Biblical narrative fixes its origin, yet the underlying mystery never cesses to exist. What the painting provides is an appeal to Christian tradition by
..
lC1
,
See Warwiek.. BeIQ8DlÎD, The OrigiFl of German Tra.fic Drama, 183.. Lupton, 27. ibid., 29.
53. associating the miracle of union with its historical prototype, while reciprocally assertiDg the supernatural quality of the ecclesiastic precedent through the aesthetic sipificatioD of the underlying ultimate reality. This allegorization of the boly family is facilitated by the indeterminant background, as its lack of spatio-temporal rlXÎty makes it more easily assimilated into the viewer's particular contexte The idea of tradition wu very important to Catholics during and after the Counter Reformation, 8S a means of establishing the historical primaey of the laith. The Protestants trumpeted a retum to apostolie Christianity, shom of the extraneous trappings accumulated over the intervening centuries. The Council of'Trent defended such liturgical practices by arguing that Jesus' gospel was only partly contained in Scripture, with the remainder found in the unwritten apostolic tradition, passed on tbrough the mediation of the Roly Ghost. In these instances, eontinuity would be used to determine the validity of a particular theological aspect. III The Jesuit Robert Bellermine turned to the exegetical character of the Old Testament, and argued for ~e historica1 priority of tradition before Scripture, tbereby making faith and the Churcb predate the birth of Christ. By detiniDg tradition as that which is Dot private, the legitimacy of Catholicism was not based in the private and individual experience 8ssociated with Protestantism. JID Gaulli's altarpiece seems to participate in a simüar conception of hîstory, by dressÙlg St. Anne in the clothing of a contemporary order. In this fuhion, the institution of the Church is superimposed on a figure older then the Saviour; the salvation of mankjnd itsel! is brought about through the same linesge that prefigures the saintly individuals of the seventeenth-c8ntury. Furthermore, the allusion to the real presence in the Mus is similarity hestowecl with historieal authority; traeing its origins back through sixteen hundred years of practice to St. Anne, who bec:omes a supreme mode! for the faithful to follow. The relative elevation of the Virgin is sUllestive of the Eucharistie emphasis of the chapel 88 a whole, as the spatial relationsbip between her and her mother recalls that of the priest and the communicant during the administration of the sacrament. Anne reaches out, demonstrating her active participation, and the Christ child responds, perhaps implyin, that salvation ,. 74.
Hubert JediD. A Hillory of tu CoulICil of 7l-e1lt (ù)Ddon ad Toronto: Ne"', 1957-81),
ISO Gabriel Kotùen t Time aM 7'rrJMcelldence: Seeular H~tory. tM Catlaolic Reaction aM the Retliaeouery of t1&e Future