Rome: the Santa Maria Del Popolo

Part II: Art Without Lines

Every time I hear that someone is traveling to Rome I get excited, find whatever there is to write on nearby, and quickly jot down my list of must-see art in Rome, art that most visitors to the city never even knew was there, right beneath their noses.
  
What you need to know is- much of the art the art in Rome is in situ, or in the place for which the artist was commissioned to execute it, as opposed to relocated to a museum.  And the best part is- the general public isn't typically aware of this art.  At these sites, you'll find the fewest crowds and no admission fees to see any of them.  

The Piazza del Popolo; 

entrance to the main streets of Rome

Another view of the Piazza del Popolo, a hangout spot

The Santa Maria del Popolo
Metro Line A; Flaminio
This is my number one favorite site in Rome because of the place it holds in art history .  The church is located in the city's central piazza, the Piazza del Popolo.  You may recognize the site as it was featured in Dan Brown's novel, Angels and Demons (it is the site of the "Earth" killing).  


Art for the Leisurely Traveler.  The four masters of art whose work can be viewed here are Bernini, Raphael, Carracci, and Caravaggio.  Raphael designed the Chigi Chapel for Agostino Chigi, the wealthy banker (and the owner of the Villa Farnesina which was a destination in Part I of this series), along with the mosaic design on the duomo, the Creation of the World, while Bernini finished it as well as designed the facade of the church. However, for me, the most important art to be seen here lies in the Cerasi Chapel.
Be sure to notice the various momento mori (a latin phrase meaning, Remember you must die) as you walk throughout the church.  To find them, look for skull motifs all around you.  This was the Catholic Church's way of reminding their parishioners of their mortality and that their sins must some day be accounted for.

Carracci's Assumption of the Virgin

(photo from the Web Gallery of Art)

The Founders of the Baroque Movement.
The Cerasi Chapel
In the 16th century, the Catholic Church initiated reforms known as the Counter Reformation, its answer to Protestantism's doctrinal separation from Catholicism.  As the church lost its parishioners art quickly become a tool through which to evoke Catholic sentiment and strong religious feeling in the viewer.  As a result, we have the Baroque period in art, a body of work that is highly dynamic and engaging, at times grotesque or base, yet incredibly thoughtful and deep.  
There are two major schools of Baroque art and the masters that founded them are Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio.  Caravaggio's art in particular has become especially coveted among art lovers.  His career was very short and so there are only six Caravaggio's in situ today, and two of them, The Crucifixion of St Peter and The Conversion on the Way to Damascus are in the Cerasi Chapel, where they (most art historians agree) work in a direct dialog with Carracci's painting, Assumption of the Virgin.  This site is of further importance as it is the only place the two masters' works hung in concert with one another during their lives. 

Caravaggio's Crucifixion of St. Peter

(photo from Web gallery of Art)

Be sure to take notice of the fact that the artists of these pieces specifically designed their paintings for this space.  Therefor, it is not a mistake, for instance, that the bottom of the man's feet are in your face as he hoists St. Peter up onto the cross.  This is part of the effect that the Counter Reformation had in art; no longer are images in the paintings flawless and composed in their demeanor or isolated to the picture plane.  The figures depicted aren't ethereal saints- they're almost naked in their humanity, relating to the audience in a way artistic imagery had never done before.  Furthermore, the figures reach out from the canvas into the audience's space, engaging the viewer at the height of the action and drama of the story being portrayed.

Tenebrism in Caravaggio's, Conversion on the Way to Damascus

(photo from Web Gallery of Art)

Be sure to take notice of Caravaggio's tenebrism (from Latin, tenebrae or darkness), a technique for which he is known.  The term refers to the dark voids in his composition, which are contrasted by illuminated forms.  This is not to be confused with Raphael's chiaroscuro, areas of extreme light and dark on the same canvass.  In Raphael's chiaroscuro, a light source gives form to the shapes in the dark.  In tenebrism, the darkness is void and there is no clear source for the light.  This is one way in which the Baroque artists portray spiritual experience, in the absence of halos or clouds parted by celestial beams of lights. 
For the Leisurely Traveler: As in all churches in Italy, one must act with decorum upon entering.  Be sure to wear covered shoulders and knees.


Info:
The Santa Maria del Popolo is open Mon-Sat from 7am-12noon & 4pm-7pm , and 8.00am-7.30pm on Sunday.