Rome and the Vatican City - Assignment Example

How did the Renaissance popes in Rome add to the causes of the Reformation?
They appointed numerous leading reformers to the cardinal’s college, started the reform of the central administrative apparatus found in Rome, approved the founding of Jesuits, and convoked the Trent council which met occasionally from 1545 to 1563. The council succeeded in starting several administrative reforms and far-ranging ethics which was meant to set the tone and define the shape of Roman Catholicism.

2. San. Andrea Della Valle. What is trompe l’oeil painting. Where do we see it in this church?
Trompe I’oeil painting is a method of visual illusion, where the viewer’s eye is deceived into thinking the painting is a three-dimensional object, instead of a two- dimensional representation.

3. Palazzo Farnese. Farnese Gallery. What is the subject matter of the frescoes painted by the great Baroque artist, Annibale Carracci?
The subject matter of Annibale was the classic style. During his time he was seen as one of the main key painters to revive the classical style. He was able to incorporate revolutionary realism and classical renaissance art.
4. Piazza Navona. “The Piazza Navona is probably Rome’s most famous example of continuity in town planning.” Please explain.
Since it is built on the former stadium of Domitian, which Emperor Domitian built in 86 AD. The stadium was used for sporting and festival occasions.
5. What happened during the Sack of Rome?
It took place on August, 410. The Visigoth attacked the city, led by Alaric. During that time, Rome was not the capital city of the Western Rome Empire, since Ravenna had taken that position in 402. However, the city of Rome sustained a paramount rank as the eternal city and the center of the spiritual empire.
6. Il Gesu. What is the effect on the spectator of the frescoes by Il Baciccia in the church and of the Apotheosis of St. Ignatius by Andrea Pozzo in S. Ignazio du Loyola?
By the 17th century, the broad interior decorations were completed for the mother churches.

7. Caravaggio said, “There is nothing better than to follow nature.” What did he mean?
He meant every work despite who painted is nothing but childish trifles and bagatelles not unless they are painted and made from life.

8. Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne? Please describe how it is a Baroque work of art.
It came up during the late 16th century. It was Rome’s mode of expression

9. San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane by Borromini relies on a lively interplay of concave and convex walls that make it a Baroque masterpiece. Do you agree? Yes, I agree since the renaissance drew the power and wealth from there.
10. What are mosaics? Where did the technique come from? Who first equipped their houses with mosaics?
Mosaic is the art of forming images by grouping small pieces of colored stones or glass. The oldest popular mosaic comes from 8th BC. They were made from pebbles. The Greek manufacturers enhanced this technique. The oldest examples of mosaics that are made from various materials were found at a temple in Abra, Mesopotamia.

11. How does Michelangelo’s Moses compare with the two religious allegories adjacent to it?
They are both religious figures. It was set up after two years

12. Who was Lucrezia Borgia?
She was the daughter of Vanozza and Pope Alexander VI. She had three brothers Giovanni, Cesare and Gioffre. Her family arranged many marriages for her to powerful men in order to advance their political ambitions.
13. pp. 398-403. What purpose did the Catacombs serve?
Catacombs are underground cemeteries. The early Christians built them during the first centuries of the Christian church. The roman permitted the Christian to bury their dead in the catacombs. Hence, they were grounds for burial during the first three centuries.

14. Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Do you think the sculpture is “cruelly realistic”? No, I do not think it is cruelly Trastevere since it was devoted to Roman Martyr.

15. Raphael said that his Triumph of Galatea was painted “according to the notion of ideal beauty.” What does this mean? It means that the painter had fallen in love with a peasant servant.

16. St. Peter’s Square. What is the symbolism of this majestic space?
it symbolizes the church’s arm embracing the world.


17. Where did Michelangelo sign the Pietà? Why is the sculpture so powerful?
He signed it at St. Peters Basilica, in Vatican City. It is powerful since it shows the body of Jesus Christ on the lap of His mother after He got crucified.

18. Why did Pope Julius II (and other rulers) choose the Swiss as guards and mercenaries?
This is because they had a reputation of loyalty and discipline. Additionally, they were considered as the strongest troop in the 15th century, until their tactics got redefined in the 16th century by the Landsknecht.

19. What is the subject of the Laocöon?
The subject of Laoconhas has been the subject of tragedy. Laocoon was a priest who got murdered together with his two sons after they attempted to expose the trick of the Trojan horse by hitting it using a spear.

20. Where are Aristotle and Plato in Raphael’s fresco The School of Athens? How does it epitomize the Renaissance? It is found in Apostolic Palace. It epitomizes the renaissance since images of poetry law theology, and philosophy.