Chapter XVI: The Vatican (3)

"There is a fine collection of Egyptian antiquities in the Vatican;
and the ceilings of the rooms in which they are arranged, are
painted to represent a starlight sky in the desert. It may seem an
odd idea, but it is very effective. The grim, half-human monsters
from the temples, look more grim and monstrous underneath the deep
dark blue; it sheds a strange uncertain gloomy air on everything--a
mystery adapted to the objects; and you leave them, as you find
them, shrouded in a solemn night."--_Dickens._

The Egyptian Gallery has an egress into the Sala a Croce Greca.

* * * * *

The windows of the Egyptian Museum look upon the inner _Garden of the Vatican_, which may be reached by a door at the end of the long gallery of the Museo Chiaramonti, before ascending to the Torso. The garden which is thus entered, called _Giardino della Pigna_, is in fact merely the second great quadrangle of the Vatican, planted with shrubs and flowers. Several interesting relics are preserved here. In the centre is the _Pedestal of the Column of Antoninus Pius_, found in 1709 on the Monte Citorio. The column was a simple memorial pillar of granite, erected by the two adopted sons of the emperor, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. It was broken up to mend the obelisk of Psammeticus I. at the Monte Citorio. Among the reliefs of the pedestal is one of a winged genius guiding Antoninus and Faustina to Olympus. In the great semicircular niche of Bramante, at the end of the court-garden, is the famous _Pigna_, a gigantic fir-cone, which once crowned the summit of the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Thence it was first removed to the front of the old basilica of St. Peter's. In the fresco of the old St. Peter's at S. Martino al Monte, the pigna is introduced, but it is there placed in the centre of the nave, a position it never occupied. Dante saw it at St. Peter's, and compares it to a giant's head (it is eleven feet high) which he saw through the mist in the last circle of hell.

"La faccia mi parea lunga e grossa
Come la pina di S. Pietro in Roma."

On either side of the pigna are two bronze peacocks, which are said to have stood on either side the entrance of Hadrian's Mausoleum.

"Je pense qu'ils y avaient été placés en l'honneur des impératrices
dont les cendres devaient s'y trouver. La paon consacré à Junon
était le symbole de l'apothéose des impératrices, comme l'oiseau
dédié à Jupiter celui de l'apothéose des empereurs, car le mausolée
d'Adrien n'était pas pour lui seul, mais, comme avaient été le
mausolée d'Auguste et le temple des Flaviens, pour toute la famille
impériale."--_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 212.

A flight of steps leads from this court to the narrow _Terrace of the Navicella_, in front of the palace, so called from a bronze ship with which its fountain is decorated. The visitor should beware of the tricksome water-works upon this terrace.

Beyond the courtyard is the entrance to the larger garden, which may be reached in a carriage by those who do not wish to visit the palace on the way, by driving round through the courts at the back of St. Peter's. Formerly it was always open till 2 P.M., after which hour the pope went there to walk, or to ride upon his white mule. It is a most delightful retreat for the hot days of May and June, and before that time its woods are carpeted with wild violets and anemones. No one who has not visited them can form any idea of the beauty of these ancient groves, interspersed with fountains and statues, but otherwise left to nature, and forming a fragment of sylvan scenery quite unassociated with the English idea of a garden. They are backed by the walls of the Borgo, and a fine old tower of the time of Leo IV. The _Casino del Papa_, or Villa Pia,[351] built by Pius IV. in the lower and more cultivated portion of the ground, is the chef-d'œuvre of the architect, Pirro Ligorio, and is decorated with paintings by _Baroccio_, _Zucchero_, and _Santi di Tito_, and a set of terra-cotta reliefs collected by Agincourt and Canova. The shell decorations are pretty and curious.

During the hours which he spent daily in this villa, its founder Pius IV. enjoyed that easy and simple life for which he was far better fitted by nature than for the affairs of government; but here also he received the counsels of his nephew S. Carlo Borromeo, who, summoned to Rome in 1560, became for several succeeding years the real ruler of the state. Here he assembled around him all those who were distinguished by their virtue or talents, and held many of the meetings which received the name of _Notte Vaticane_--at first employed in the pursuit of philosophy and poetry, but--after the necessity of Church reform became apparent both to the pope and to S. Carlo--entirely devoted to the discussion of sacred subjects. In this villa the late popes, Pius VIII. and Gregory XVI., used frequently to give their audiences.

The sixteenth century was the golden age for the Vatican. Then the splendid court of Leo X. was the centre of artistic and literary life, and the witty and pleasure-loving pope made these gardens the scene of his banquets and concerts; and, in a circle to which ladies were admitted, as in a secular court, listened to the recitations of the poets who sprang up under his protection, beneath the shadow of its woods.

"Le Vatican était encombré, sous Leon X., d'historiens, de savants,
de poëtes surtout. 'La tourbe importune des poëtes,' s'écrie
Valérianus, 'le poursuit de porte en porte, tantôt sous les
portiques, tantôt à la promenade, tantôt au palais, tantôt à la
chambre, _penetralibus in imis_; elle ne respecte ni son repos, ni
les graves affaires qui l'occupent aujourd'hui que l'incendie
ravage le monde.' On remarquait dans cette foule: Berni, le poëte
burlesque; Flaminio, le poëte élégiaque; Molza, l'enfant de
Pétrarque, et Postumo, Maroni, Carteromachus, Fedra Inghirami, le
savant bibliothécaire, et _la grande lumière d'Arezzo_, comme dit
l'Arioste, _l'unique Accolti_. Accolti jouit pendant toute la durée
du seizième siècle d'une réputation que la postérité n'a pas
confirmée. On l'appelait le _céleste_. Lorsqu'il devait réciter ses
vers, les magasins étaient fermés comme en un jour de fête, et
chacun accourait pour l'entendre. Il était entouré de prélats de la
première distinction; un corps de troupes suisses l'accompagnait,
et l'auditoire était éclairé par des flambeaux. Un jour qu'Accolti
entrait chez le pape:--Ouvrez toutes les portes, s'écria Léon, et
laissez entrer la foule. Accolti récita un _ternale_ à la Vierge,
et, quand il eut fini, mille acclamations retentirent: _Vive le
poëte divin, vive l'incomparable Accolti!_ Léon était le premier à
applaudir, et le duché de Nessi devenait la récompense du poëte.

"Une autre fois, c'était Paul Jove, l'homme aux _ouï-dires_, comme
l'appelle Rabelais, qui venait lire des fragments de son histoire,
et que Léon X. saluait du titre de Tite-Live italien. Il y avait
dans ces éloges, dans ces encouragements donnés avec entraînement,
mais avec tact, je ne sais quel souffle de vie pour l'intelligence,
qui l'activait et qui lui faisait rendre au centuple les dons
qu'elle avait reçus du ciel. Rome entière était devenue un musée,
une académie; partout des chants, partout la science, la poésie,
les beaux-arts, une sorte de volupté dans l'étude. Ici, c'est
Calcagnini, qui a déjà déviné la rotation de la terre; là, Ambrogio
de Pise, qui parle chaldéen et arabe; plus loin, Valérianus, que la
philologie, l'archéologie, la jurisprudence revendiquent à la fois,
et qui se distrait de ses doctes travaux par des poésies dignes
d'Horace."--_Gournerie, Rome Chrétienne_, ii. 114.

* * * * *

The _Loggie of Raphael_ are reached, except on Mondays, by the staircase on the left of the fountain in the Cortile S. Damaso. Two sides of the corridors on the second floor (formerly open) are decorated in stucco by _Marco da Faenza_ and _Paul Schnorr_ and painted by _Sicciolante da Sermoneta_, _Tempesta_, _Sabbatini_, and others. The third corridor, entered on the right (opened by a custode), contains the celebrated frescoes, executed by Raphael, or from the designs of Raphael, by Giulio Romano, Pierino del Vaga, Pellegrino da Modena, Francesco Penni, and Rafaello da Colle. Of the fifty-two subjects represented, forty-eight are from the Old Testament, only the four last being from the Gospel History, as an appropriate introduction to the pictures which celebrate the foundation and triumphs of the Church, in the adjoining stanze. The stucco decorations of the gallery are of exquisite beauty; especially remarkable, perhaps, are those of the windows in the first arcade, where Raphael is represented drawing,--his pupils working from his designs,--and Fame celebrating his work. The frescoes are arranged in the following order:

_1st Arcade._

1. Creation of Light.[352] }
2. Creation of Dry Land. }
3. Creation of the Sun and Moon.} _Raphael._
4. Creation of Animals. }

_2nd Arcade._

1. Creation of Eve. _Raphael._
2. The Fall. }
3. The Exile from Eden. } _Giulio Romano._
4. The Consequence of the Fall.}

_3rd Arcade._

1. Noah builds the Ark. }
2. The Deluge. }
3. The Coming forth from the Ark.} _Giulio Romano._
4. The Sacrifice of Noah. }

_4th Arcade._

1. Abraham and Melchizedek. }
2. The Covenant of God with Abraham.}
3. Abraham and the three Angels. } _Francesco Penni._
4. Lot's flight from Sodom. }

_5th Arcade._

1. God appears to Isaac. }
2. Abimelech sees Isaac with Rebecca.}
3. Isaac gives Jacob the blessing. } _Francesco Penni._
4. Isaac blesses Esau also. }

_6th Arcade._

1. Jacob's Ladder. }
2. Jacob meets Rachel. } _Pellegrino da Modena._
3. Jacob upbraids Laban.}
4. The journey of Jacob.}

_7th Arcade._

1. Joseph tells his dream. }
2. Joseph sold into Egypt. }
3. Joseph and Potiphar's wife. } _Giulio Romano._
4. Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream.}

_8th Arcade._

1. The Finding of Moses. }
2. Moses and the Burning Bush.}
3. The Destruction of Pharaoh.} _Giulio Romano._
4. Moses striking the rock. }

_9th Arcade._

1. Moses receives the Tables of the Law. }
2. The Worship of the Golden Calf. } _Raffaello da Colle._
3. Moses breaks the Tables. }
4. Moses kneels before the Pillar of Cloud.}

_10th Arcade._

1. The Israelites cross the Jordan. }
2. The Fall of Jericho. }
3. Joshua stays the course of the Sun. } _Pierino del Vaga._
4. Joshua and Eleazer divide the Promised Land.}

_11th Arcade._

1. Samuel anoints David.}
2. David and Goliath. }
3. The Triumph of David.} _Pierino del Vaga._
4. David sees Bathsheba.}

_12th Arcade._

1. Zadok anoints Solomon. }
2. The Judgment of Solomon. } _Pellegrino da Modena._
3. The Coming of the Queen of Sheba.}
4. The Building of the Temple. }

_13th Arcade._

1. The Adoration of the Shepherds.}
2. The Coming of the Magi. }
3. The Baptism of Christ. } _Giulio Romano._
4. The Last Supper. }

"From the Sistine Chapel we went to Raphael's Loggie, and I hardly
venture to say that we could scarcely bear to look at them. The eye
was so educated and so enlarged by those grand forms and the
glorious completeness of all their parts, that it could take no
pleasure in the imaginative play of arabesques, and the scenes from
Scripture, beautiful as they are, had lost their charm. To see
these works _often_ alternately and to compare them at leisure and
without prejudice, must be a great pleasure, but all sympathy is at
first one-sided."--_Goethe, Romische Briefe._

Close to the entrance of the Loggie is that of

_The Stanze_, three rooms decorated under Julius II. and Leo X. with frescoes by Raphael, for each of which he received 1200 ducats. These rooms are approached through,--

The _Sala di Constantino_, decorated under Clement VII. (Giulio di Medici) in 1523--34, after the death of Raphael, who however had prepared drawings for the frescoes, and had already executed in oil the two figures of Justice and Urbanity. The rest of the compositions, completed by his pupils, are in fresco.

"Raphaël se multiplie, il se prodigue, avec une fécondité de toutes
les heures. De jeunes disciples, admirateurs de son beau génie, le
servent avec amour, et sont déjà admis à l'honneur d'attacher leurs
noms à quelques parties de ses magnifiques travaux. Le maître leur
distribue leur tâche: à Jules Romain, le brillant coloris des
vêtements et peut-*être même le dessin de quelques figures; au
Fattore, à Jean d'Udine, les arabesques; à frère Jean de Vérone les
clairs-obscurs des portes et des lambris qui doivent compléter la
décoration de ces spendides appartements. Et lui, que se
réserve-t-il?--la pensée qui anime tout, le génie qui enfante et
qui dirige."--_Gournerie, Rome Chrétienne._

_Entrance Wall._--The Address of Constantine to his troops and the
vision of the Fiery Cross: _Giulio Romano_. On the left, St Peter
between the Church and Eternity,--on the right, Clement I. (the
martyr) between Moderation and Gentleness.

_Right Wall._--The Battle of the Ponte Molle and the Defeat of
Maxentius by Constantine, designed by Raphael, and executed by
_Giulio Romano_. On the left is Sylvester I. between Faith and
Religion, on the right Urban I. (the friend of Cecilia) between
Justice and Charity.

_Left Wall._--The donation of Rome by Constantine to Sylvester I.
(A.D. 325), _Raffaello da Colle_. (The head of Sylvester was a
portrait of Clement VII., the reigning pope; Count Castiglione the
friend of Raphael, and Giulio Romano, are introduced amongst the
attendants.) On the left, Sylvester I. with Fortitude; on the
right, Gregory VII. with Strength. _Wall of Egress._--The
supposititious Baptism of Constantine, interesting as pourtraying
the interior of the Lateran baptistery in the 15th century, by
_Francesco Penni_, who has introduced his own portrait in a black
dress and velvet cap. On left, is Damasus I. (A.D. 366--384),
between Prudence and Peace; on right, Leo I. (A.D. 440--462),
between Innocence and Truth. The paintings on the socles represent
scenes in the life of Constantine by _Giulio Romano_.

The _Stanza d'Eliodoro_, painted in 1511--1514, shows the Church triumphant over her enemies, and the miracles by which its power has been attested. On the roof are four subjects from the Old Testament,--the Covenant with Abraham; the Sacrifice of Isaac; Jacob's dream; Moses at the burning bush.

_Entrance Wall._--Heliodorus driven out of the Temple (Maccabees
iii.). In the background Onias the priest is represented praying
for divine interposition;--in the foreground Heliodorus, pursued by
two avenging angels, is endeavouring to bear away the treasures of
the Temple. Amid the group on the left is seen Julius II. in his
chair of state, attended by his secretaries. One of the bearers in
front is Marc-Antonio Raimondi, the engraver of Raphael's designs.
The man with the inscription, 'Jo. Petro de Folicariis Cremonen,'
was secretary of briefs to Pope Julius.

"Here you may almost fancy you hear the thundering approach of the
heavenly warrior and the neighing of his steed; while in the
different groups who are plundering the treasures of the Temple,
and in those who gaze intently on the sudden consternation of
Heliodorus, without being able to divine its cause, we see the
expression of terror, amazement, joy, humility, and every passion
to which human nature is exposed."--_Lanzi._

_Left Wall._--The Miracle of Bolsena. A priest at Bolsena, who
refused to believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation, is
convinced by the bleeding of the host. On the right kneels Julius
II., with Cardinal Riario, founder of the Cancelleria. This was the
last fresco executed by Raphael under Julius II.

_Right Wall._--Peter delivered from prison. A fresco by Pietro
della Francesca was destroyed to make room for this picture, which
is said to have allusion to the liberation of Leo X., while Legate
in Spain, after his capture at the battle of Ravenna. This fresco
is considered especially remarkable for its four lights, those from
the double representation of the angel, from the torch of the
soldier, and from the moon.

_Wall of Egress._--The Flight of Attila. Leo I. (with the features
of Leo X.) is represented on his white mule, with his cardinals,
calling upon SS. Peter and Paul, who appear in the clouds, for aid
against Attila. The Coliseum is seen in the background.

The _Stanza della Segnatura_ is so called from a judicial assembly once held here. The frescoes in this chamber are illustrative of the Virtues of Theology, Philosophy, Poetry, and Jurisprudence, who are represented on the ceiling by _Raphael_, in the midst of arabesques by _Sodoma_. The square pictures by Raphael refer:--the Fall of Man to Theology; the Study of the Globe to Philosophy; the Flaying of Marsyas to Poetry; and the Judgment of Solomon to Jurisprudence.

_Entrance Wall._--"The School of Athens." Raphael consulted Ariosto
as to the arrangement of its 52 figures. In the centre, on the
steps of a portico, are seen Plato and Aristotle, Plato pointing to
heaven, and Aristotle to earth. On the left is Socrates conversing
with his pupils, amongst whom is a young warrior, probably
Alcibiades. Lying upon the steps in front is Diogenes. To his left
Pythagoras is writing on his knee, and near him, with ink and pen,
is Empedocles. The youth in the white mantle is Francesco Maria
della Rovere, nephew of Julius II. On the right, is Archimedes,
drawing a geometrical problem upon the floor. The young man near
him with uplifted hands is Federigo II., Duke of Mantua. Behind
these are Zoroaster and Ptolemy, one with a terrestrial, the other
with a celestial globe, addressing two figures which represent
Raphael and his master Perugino. The drawing in brown upon the
socle beneath this fresco, is by _Pierino del Vaga_, and represents
the death of Archimedes.

_Right Wall._--"Parnassus," Apollo surrounded by the Muses, on his
right Homer, Virgil, and Dante. Below, on the right, Sappho,
supposed to be addressing Corinna, Petrarch, Propertius, and
Anacreon; on the left, Pindar and Horace, Sannazzaro, Boccaccio,
and others. Beneath this, in grisaille, are,--Alexander placing the
poems of Homer in the tomb of Achilles,--and Augustus preventing
the burning of Virgil's Eneid.

_Left Wall._--Above the window are Prudence, Fortitude, and
Temperance. On the left, Justinian delivers the Pandects to
Tribonian. On the right, Gregory IX. (with the features of Julius
II.) delivers the Decretals to a jurist;--Cardinal de' Medici,
afterwards Leo X., Cardinal Farnese, afterwards Paul III., and
Cardinal del Monte, are represented near the pope. In the socle
beneath is Solon addressing the people of Athens.

_Wall of Egress_.--"The Disputa," so called from an impression that
it represents a Dispute upon the Sacrament. In the upper part of
the composition the heavenly host are present;--Christ between the
Virgin and St. John Baptist;--On the left, St. Peter, Adam, St.
John, David, St. Stephen, and another;--On the right, St. Paul,
Abraham, St. James, Moses, St. Laurence, and St. George. Below is
an altar surrounded by the Latin fathers, Gregory, Jerome, Ambrose,
and Augustine. Near St. Augustine stand St. Thomas Aquinas, St.
Anacletus with the palm of a martyr, and Cardinal Buonaventura
reading. Those in front are Innocent III., and in the background
Dante, near whom a monk in a black hood is pointed out as
Savonarola. The Dominican on the extreme left is supposed to be Fra
Angelico. The other figures are uncertain.

"Raphaël a bien jugé Dante en plaçant parmi les Théologiens, dans
la _Dispute du Saint Sacrement_, celui pour la tombe duquel a été
écrit ce vers, aussi vrai qu'il est plat:

'Theologus Dantes, nullius dogmatis expers.'"

_Ampère, Voyage Dantesque._

The chiaro-scuros on the socle beneath this fresco are by _Pierino
del Vaga_ (added under Paul III.) and represent, 1, A heathen
sacrifice; 2, St. Augustine finding a child attempting to drain the
sea; 3, The Cumæ Sibyl and Augustus.

"Raphael commenced his work in the Vatican by painting the ceiling
and the four walls of the room called _della Segnatura_, on the
surface of which he had to represent four great compositions, which
embraced the principal divisions of the encyclopædia of that
period; namely, Theology, Philosophy, Poetry, and Jurisprudence.

"It will be conceived, that to an artist imbued with the traditions
of the Umbrian school, the first of these subjects was an
unparalleled piece of good fortune; and Raphael, long familiar with
the allegorical treatment of religious compositions, turned it here
to the most admirable account; and, not content with the
suggestions of his own genius, he availed himself of all the
instruction he could derive from the intelligence of others. From
these combined inspirations resulted, to the eternal glory of the
Catholic faith and of Christian art, a composition without a rival
in the history of painting, and we may also add without a name; for
to call it lyric or epic is not enough, unless, indeed, we mean, by
using these expressions, to compare it with the allegorical epic
of Dante, alone worthy to be ranked with this marvellous
production of the pencil of Raphael.

"And let no one consider this praise as idle and groundless, for it
is Raphael himself who forces the comparison upon us, by placing
the figure of Dante among the favourite sons of the Muses; and,
what is still more striking, by draping the allegorical figure of
Theology in the very colours in which Dante has represented
Beatrice; namely, the white veil, the red tunic, and the green
mantle, while on her head he has placed the olive crown.

"Of the four allegorical figures which occupy the compartments of
the ceiling, and which were all painted immediately after Raphael's
arrival in Rome, Theology and Poetry are incontestably the most
remarkable. The latter would be easily distinguished by the calm
inspiration of her glance, even were she without her wings, her
starry crown, and her azure robe, all having allusion to the
elevated region towards which it is her privilege to soar. The
figure of Theology is quite as admirably suited to the subject she
personifies; she points to the upper part of the grand composition,
which takes its name from her, and in which the artist has provided
inexhaustible food for the sagacity and enthusiasm of the
spectator.

"This work consists of two grand divisions,--Heaven and
Earth,--which are united to one another by that mystical bond, the
Sacrament of the Eucharist. The personages whom the Church has most
honoured for learning and holiness are ranged in picturesque and
animated groups on either side of the altar, on which the
consecrated wafer is exposed. St. Augustine dictates his thoughts
to one of his disciples; St. Gregory, in his pontifical robes,
seems absorbed in the contemplation of celestial glory; St.
Ambrose, in a slightly different attitude, appears to be chaunting
the Te Deum; while St. Jerome, seated, rests his hands on a large
book, which he holds on his knees. Pietro Lombardo, Duns Scotus,
St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Anacletus, St. Buonaventura, and Innocent
III. are no less happily characterised; while, behind all these
illustrious men, whom the Church and succeeding generations have
agreed to honour, Raphael has ventured to introduce Dante with his
laurel crown, and, with still greater boldness, the monk
Savonarola, publicly burnt ten years before as a heretic.

"In the glory, which forms the upper part of the picture, the Three
Persons of the Trinity are represented, surrounded by patriarchs,
apostles, and saints: it may, in fact, be considered in some sort
as a _resumé_ of all the favourite compositions produced during the
last hundred years by the Umbrian school. A great number of the
types, and particularly those of Christ and the Virgin, are to be
found in the earlier works of Raphael himself. The Umbrian
artists, from having so long exclusively employed themselves on
mystical subjects, had certainly attained to a marvellous
perfection in the representation of celestial beatitude, and of
those ineffable things of which it has been said that the heart of
man cannot conceive them, far less, therefore, the pencil of man
pourtray; and Raphael, surpassing them in all, and even in this
instance while surpassing himself, appears to have fixed the
limits, beyond which Christian art, properly so called, has never
since been able to advance."--_Rio. Poetry of Christian Art._

The _Stanza of the Incendio del Borgo_ is decorated with frescoes illustrative of the triumphs of the Church from events in the reigns of Leo III. and Leo IV. The roof has four frescoes by _Perugino_ illustrative of the Saviour in glory.

_Entrance Wall._--The Victory of Leo IV. over the Saracens at
Ostia, by _Giovanni da Udine_, from designs of Raphael. The pope is
represented with the features of Leo X.; behind him are Cardinal
Giulio de' Medici (Clement VII.), Cardinal Bibbiena, and others.
The castle of Ostia is seen in the background. Beneath are
Ferdinand the Catholic and the Emperor Lothaire, by _Polidoro da
Caravaggio_.

_Left Wall._--The "Incendio del Borgo," a fire in the Leonine City
in 847. In the background Leo IV. is seen in the portico of the old
St. Peter's arresting with a cross the progress of the flames, on
their approach to the basilica. In the foreground is a group of
fugitives, by _Giulio Romano_, resembling Æneas escaping from Troy
with Anchises, followed by Ascanius and Creusa. Beneath are Godfrey
de Bouillon and Astulf (Ethelwolf), the latter with the
inscription: "Astulphus Rex sub Leone IV. Pont. Britanniam Beato
Petro vectigalem fecit."

_Right Wall._--The Justification of Leo III. before Charlemagne, by
_Pierino del Vaga_. The pope is a portrait of Leo X., the emperor
of Francis I.

_Wall of Egress._--The Coronation of Charlemagne in the old St.
Peter's. Leo X. is again represented as Leo III., and Francis I. as
Charlemagne. This fresco is partly by _Raphael_, partly by _Pierino
del Vaga_. On the socle is Charlemagne, by _Polidoro da
Caravaggio_.

_A Fifth Chamber_ has been decorated under Pius IX. with frescoes by _Fracassini_, in honour of the recent dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Proclamation of the Dogma; the Adoration of the image of the Virgin; and the Reception of the news by the Virgin in heaven, from an angelic messenger, are duly represented!

From the corner of the Sala del Constantino, a custode, if requested, will give access to the

_Cappella di San Lorenzo_, a tiny chapel covered with frescoes executed by Fra Angelico for Nicholas V. in 1447. The upper series represents events in the life of St. Stephen.

1. His Ordination by St. Peter.
2. His Almsgiving.
4. He is brought before the Council at Jerusalem ("his accuser has the
dress and shaven crown of a monk").
5. He is dragged to Execution.
6. He is Stoned. Saul is among the spectators.

"Angelico has represented St. Stephen as a young man, beardless,
and with a most mild and candid expression. His dress is the
deacon's habit, of a vivid blue."--_Mrs. Jameson._

The lower series represents the life of St Laurence.

1. He is ordained by Sixtus II. (with the features of Nicholas V.).
2. Sixtus II. delivers the treasures of the Church to him for
distribution among the poor.
3. He Distributes them in Alms.
4. He is carried before Decius the Prefect.
5. He suffers Martyrdom A.D. 253.

Introduced in the side arches, are the figures of St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. John Chrysostom, St. Athanasius, St. Leo--as the protector of Rome, and St. Thomas Aquinas--as painted by the Dominican Angelico, and for a Dominican pope Nicholas V.

"The Consecration of St. Stephen, the Distribution of Alms, and,
above all, his Preaching, are three pictures as perfect of their
kind as any that have been produced by the greatest masters, and it
would be difficult to imagine a group more happily conceived as to
arrangement, or more graceful in form and attitude, than that of
the seated females listening to the holy preacher; and if the
furious fanaticism of the executioners, who stone him to death, is
not expressed with all the energy we could desire, this may be
attributed to a glorious incapacity in this angelic imagination,
too exclusively occupied with love and ecstasy to be ever able to
familiarise itself with those dramatic scenes in which hateful and
violent passions were to be represented."--_Rio. Poetry of
Christian Art._

"The soul of Angelico lives in perpetual peace. Not seclusion from
the world. No shutting out of the world is needful for him. There
is nothing to shut out. Envy, lust, contention, discourtesy, are to
him as though they were not; and the cloister walls of Fiesole no
penitential solitude, barred from the stir and joy of life, but a
possessed land of tender blessing, guarded from the entrance of all
but holiest sorrow. The little cell was as one of the houses of
heaven prepared for him by his Master. What need had it to be
elsewhere? Was not the Val d'Arno, with its olive woods in white
blossom, paradise enough for a poor monk? Or could Christ be indeed
in heaven more than here? Was He not always with him? Could he
breathe or see, but that Christ breathed beside him, or looked into
his eyes? Under every cypress avenue the angels walked; he had seen
their white robes,--whiter than the dawn,--at his bedside, as he
woke in early summer. They had sung with him, one on each side,
when his voice failed for joy at sweet vesper and matin time; his
eyes were blinded by their wings in the sunset, when it sank behind
the hills of Luni."--_Ruskin's Modern Painters._

* * * * *

The same staircase which is usually ascended to reach the Stanze (that on the left of the fountain in the Cortile S. Damaso) will also lead, by turning to the left in the loggia of the third floor, to:

_The Gallery of Pictures_, founded by Pius VII., who acted on the advice of Cardinal Gonsalvi and of Canova, and formed the present collection from the pictures which had been carried off by the French from the Roman churches, upon their restoration. The pictures have, to a great extent, been recently rearranged and are not all numbered. Each picture is worthy of separate examination. They are contained in four rooms, and according to their present position are:

_1st Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

1. St. Jerome: _Leonardo da Vinci_, painted in bistre.

16. St. John Baptist: _Guercino_.

4. The Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, and Presentation in the
Temple: _Raphael_;--formerly a predella to the Coronation of the
Virgin in the third room.

5. The dead Christ and Mary Magdalen: _Andrea Mantegna_,--from the
Aldrovandi gallery at Bologna.

7. Madonna with the Child and St. John: _Fr. Francia._

RIGHT WALL:

The Story of St. Nicolo of Bari: _Fra Angelico da Fiesole_,--two
out of the three predella pictures once in the sacristy of S.
Domenico at Florence, whence they were carried off to Paris, where
the third remains.

(Above,) The Adoration of the Shepherds: _Murillo._

The Virgin surrounded by Angels: _Fra Angelico._

3. The Story of St. Hyacinth: _Benozzo Gozzoli._

(Above,) The Marriage of St. Catherine: _Murillo._

2. "I Tre Santi:" _Perugino._

Part of a large predella in the church of S. Pietro Casinensi at
Perugia. Several saints from this predella still remain in the
sacristy of S. Pietro; two are at Lyons.

"In the centre is St. Benedict, with his black cowl over his head
and long parted beard, the book in one hand, and the asperge in the
other. On one side, St. Placidus, young, and with a mild, candid
expression, black habit and shaven crown. On the other side is St.
Flavia (or St. Catherine?), crowned as a martyr, holding her palm,
and gazing upward with a divine expression."--_Mrs. Jameson._

(Above this) The Holy Family and Saints: _Bonifasio_.

_Left Wall._--The Dead Christ, with the Virgin, St. John, and the
Magdalen lamenting: _Carlo Crivelli_.

_Wall of Egress._--Faith, Hope, and Charity, _Raphael_:--circular
medallions in bistre, which once formed a predella for "the
Entombment" in the Borghese gallery.

_2nd Room._--

_Entrance Wall._--The Communion of St. Jerome: _Domenichino_. This
is the master-piece of the master, and perhaps second only to the
Transfiguration. It was painted for the monks of Ara Cœli, who
quarrelled with the artist, and shut up the picture. Afterwards
they commissioned Poussin to paint an altar-piece for their church,
and, instead of supplying him with fresh canvas, produced the
picture of Domenichino, and desired him to paint over it. Poussin
indignantly threw up his engagement, and made known the existence
of the picture, which was afterwards preserved in the church of S.
Girolamo della Carità, whence it was carried off by the French. St.
Jerome, dying at Bethlehem, is represented receiving the Last
Sacraments from St. Ephraim of Syria, while St. Paula kneels by his
side.

"The Last Communion of St. Jerome is the subject of one of the most
celebrated pictures in the world,--the St. Jerome of Domenichino,
which has been thought worthy of being placed opposite to the
Transfiguration of Raphael, in the Vatican. The aged
saint,--feeble, emaciated, dying,--is borne in the arms of his
disciples to the chapel of his monastery, and placed within the
porch.[353] A young priest sustains him; St. Paula, kneeling,
kisses one of his thin bony hands; the saint fixes his eager eyes
on the countenance of the priest, who is about to administer the
Sacrament,--a noble, dignified figure in a rich ecclesiastical
dress; a deacon holds the cup, and an attendant priest the book;
the lion droops his head with an expression of grief;[354] the eyes
and attention of all are on the dying saint, while four angels,
hovering above, look down upon the scene."--_Jameson's Sacred Art._

"And Jerome's death (A.D. 420) drawing near, he commanded that he
should be laid on the bare ground and covered with sackcloth, and
calling the brethren around him, he spake sweetly to them, and
exhorted them in many holy words, and appointed Eusebius to be
their abbot in his room. And then, with tears, he received the
blessed Eucharist, and sinking backwards again on the earth, his
hands crossed on his heart, he sung the 'Nunc Dimittis,' which
being finished, it being the hour of compline, suddenly a great
light, as of the noonday sun, shone round about him, within which
light angels innumerable were seen by the bystanders, in shifting
motion, like sparks among the dry reeds. And the voice of the
Saviour was heard, inviting him to heaven, and the holy Doctor
answered that he was ready. And after an hour, that light departed,
and Jerome's spirit with it."--_Lord Lindsay, from Peter de
Natalibus._

_Right Wall._--"The Madonna di Foligno," _Raphael_, ordered in 1511
by Sigismondo Conti for the church of Ara Cœli (where he is
buried), and removed in 1565 to Foligno, when his great-niece, Anna
Conti, took the veil there at the convent of St' Anna. The angel in
the foreground bears a tablet, with the names of the painter and
donor, and the date 1512. The city of Foligno is seen in the
background, with a falling bomb, from which one may believe that
the picture was a votive offering from Sigismondo for an escape
during a siege. The picture was originally on panel, and was
transferred to canvas at Paris.

"The Madonna di Foligno, however beautiful in the whole
arrangement, however excellent in the execution of separate parts,
appears to belong to a transition state of development. There is
something of the ecstatic enthusiasm which has produced such
peculiar conceptions and treatment of religious subjects in other
artists--Correggio, for example--and which, so far from harmonizing
with the unaffected serene grace of Raphael, has in this instance
led to some serious defects. This remark is particularly applicable
to the figures of St. John and St. Francis: the former looks out of
the picture with a fantastic action, and the drawing of his arm is
even considerably mannered. St. Francis has an expression of
fanatical ecstasy, and his countenance is strikingly weak in the
painting (composed of reddish, yellowish, and grey tones, which
cannot be wholly ascribed to their restorer). Again, St. Jerome
looks up with a sort of fretful expression, in which it is
difficult to recognise, as some do, a mournful resignation; there
is also an exaggerated style of drawing in the eyes, which
sometimes gives a sharpness to the expression of Raphael's figures,
and appears very marked in some of his other pictures. Lastly, the
Madonna and the Child, who turn to the donor, are in attitudes
which, however graceful, are not perhaps sufficiently tranquil for
the majesty of the queen of heaven. The expression of the Madonna's
countenance is extremely sweet, but with more of the character of a
mere woman than of a glorified being. The figure of the donor, on
the other hand, is excellent, with an expression of sincerity and
truth; the angel with the tablet is of unspeakable intensity and
exquisite beauty--one of the most marvellous figures that Raphael
has created."--_Kugler._

"In the upper part of the composition sits the Virgin in heavenly
glory; by her side is the Infant Christ, partly sustained by his
mother's veil, which is drawn round his body: both look down
benignly on the votary, Sigismund Conti, who, kneeling below, gazes
up with an expression of the most intense gratitude and devotion.
It is a portrait from the life, and certainly one of the finest and
most life-like that exist in painting. Behind him stands St.
Jerome, who, placing his hand upon the head of the votary, seems to
present him to his celestial protectress. On the other side, John
the Baptist, the meagre wild-looking prophet of the desert, points
upward to the Redeemer. More in front kneels St. Francis, who,
while he looks up to heaven with trusting and imploring love,
extends his right hand towards the worshippers supposed to be
assembled in the church, recommending them also to the protecting
grace of the Virgin. In the centre of the picture, dividing these
two groups, stands a lovely angel-boy, holding in his hand a
tablet, one of the most charming figures of this kind Raphael ever
painted; the head, looking up, has that sublime, yet perfectly
childish grace, which strikes one in those awful angel-boys in the
'Madonna di San Sisto.' The background is a landscape, in which
appears the city of Foligno at a distance; it is overshadowed by a
storm-cloud, and a meteor is seen falling; but above these bends a
rainbow, pledge of peace and safety. The whole picture glows
throughout with life and beauty, hallowed by that profound
religious sentiment which suggested the offering, and which the
sympathetic artist seems to have caught from the grateful donor. It
was dedicated in the church of the Ara Cœli at Rome, which
belongs to the Franciscans, hence St. Francis is one of the
principal figures. When I was asked, at Rome, why St. Jerome had
been introduced into the picture, I thought it might be thus
accounted for:--The patron saint of the donor, St. Sigismund, was a
king and warrior, and Conti might possibly think it did not accord
with his profession, as a humble ecclesiastic, to introduce him
here. The most celebrated convent of the Jeronymites in Italy is
that of St. Sigismund, near Cremona, placed under the special
protection of St. Jerome, who is also in a general sense the patron
of all ecclesiastics; hence, perhaps, he figures here as the
protector of Sigismund Conti."--_Jameson's Legends of the Madonna_,
p. 103.

_Wall of Egress._--"The Transfiguration:" _Raphael_. The grandest
picture in the world. It was originally painted by order of
Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (afterwards Clement VII.) Archbishop of
Narbonne, for that provincial cathedral. But it was scarcely
finished when Raphael died, and it hung over his death-bed as he
lay in state, and was carried in his funeral procession.

"And when all beheld
Him where he lay, how changed from yesterday--
Him in that hour cut off, and at his head
His last great work; when, entering in, they look'd,
Now on the dead, then on that masterpiece--
Now on his face, lifeless and colourless,
Then on those forms divine that lived and breathed,
And would live on for ages--all were moved,
And sighs burst forth and loudest lamentations."

_Rogers._

The three following quotations may perhaps represent the practical,
æsthetical, and spiritual aspects of the picture.

"It is somewhat strange to see the whole picture of the
Transfiguration--including the three apostles, prostrate on the
mount, shading their dazzled senses from the insufferable
brightness--occupying only a small part of the top of the canvas,
and the principal field filled with a totally distinct and
certainly unequalled picture--that of the demoniac boy, whom our
Saviour cured on coming down from the mount, after his
transfiguration. This was done in compliance with the _orders_ of
the monks of S. Pietro in Montorio, for which church it was
painted. It was the universal custom of the age--the yet unbanished
taste of Gothic days--to have two pictures, a celestial and a
terrestrial one, wholly unconnected with each other; accordingly,
we see few, even of the finest paintings, in which there is not a
heavenly subject above and an earthly below--for the great masters
of that day, like our own Shakspeare, were compelled to suit their
works to the taste of their employers."--_Eaton's Rome._

"It must ever be matter of wonder that any one can have doubted of
the grand unity of such a conception as this. In the absence of the
Lord, the disconsolate parents bring a possessed boy to the
disciples of the Holy One. They seem to have been making attempts
to cast out the Evil Spirit; one has opened a book, to see whether
by chance any spell were contained in it which might be successful
against this plague, but in vain. At this moment appears He who
alone has the power, and appears transfigured in glory. They
remember His former mighty deeds; they instantly point aloft to the
vision as the only source of healing. How can the upper and lower
parts be separated? Both are one; beneath is Suffering craving for
Aid; above is active Power and helpful Grace. Both refer to one
another; both work in one another. Those who, in our dispute over
the picture, thought with me, confirmed their view by this
consideration: Raffaelle, they said, was ever distinguished by the
exquisite propriety of his conceptions. And is it likely that this
painter, thus gifted by God, and everywhere recognisable by the
excellence of this His gift, would in the full ripeness of his
powers have thought and painted wrongly? Not so; he is, as nature
is, ever right, and then most deeply and truly right when we least
suspect it."--_Goethe's Werke_, iii. p. 33.

"In looking at the Transfiguration we must bear in mind that it is
not an historical but a devotional picture,--that the intention of
the painter was not to represent a scene, but to excite religious
feelings by expressing, so far as painting might do it, a very
sublime idea.

"If we remove to a certain distance from the picture, so that the
forms shall become vague, indistinct, and only the masses of colour
and the light and shade perfectly distinguishable, we shall see
that the picture is indeed divided as if horizontally, the upper
half being all light, and the lower half comparatively all dark. As
we approach nearer, step by step, we behold above, the radiant
figure of the Saviour floating in mid-air, with arms outspread,
garments of transparent light, glorified visage upturned as if in
rapture, and the hair lifted and scattered as I have seen it in
persons under the influence of electricity. On the right, Moses; on
the left, Elijah; representing respectively the old Law and the old
Prophecies, which both testified of Him. The three disciples lie on
the ground, terror-struck, dazzled. There is a sort of eminence or
platform, but no perspective, no attempt at real locality, for the
scene is revealed as in a vision, and the same soft transparent
light envelopes the whole. This is the spiritual life, raised far
above the earth, but not yet in heaven. Below is seen the earthly
light, poor humanity struggling helplessly with pain, infirmity,
and death. The father brings his son, the possessed, or as we
should now say, the epileptic boy, who oftentimes falls into the
water, or into the fire, or lies grovelling on the earth, foaming
and gnashing his teeth; the boy struggles in his arms,--the rolling
eyes, the distorted features, the spasmodic limbs, are at once
terrible and pitiful to look on.

"Such is the profound, the heart-moving significance of this
wonderful picture. It is, in truth, a fearful approximation of the
most opposite things; the mournful helplessness, suffering, and
degradation of human nature, the unavailing pity, are placed in
immediate contrast with spiritual light, life, hope,--nay, the very
fruition of heavenly rapture.

"It has been asked, who are the two figures, the two saintly
deacons, who stand on each side of the upper group, and what have
they to do with the mystery above, or the sorrow below? Their
presence shows that the whole was conceived as a vision, or a poem.
The two saints are St. Laurence and St. Julian, placed there at the
request of the Cardinal de' Medici, for whom the picture was
painted, to be offered by him as an act of devotion as well as
munificence to his new bishopric; and these two figures commemorate
in a poetical way, not unusual at the time, his father, Lorenzo,
and his uncle, Giuliano de' Medici. They would be better away; but
Raphael, in consenting to the wish of his patron that they should
be introduced, left no doubt of the significance of the whole
composition, that it is placed before worshippers as a revelation
of the double life of earthly suffering and spiritual faith, as an
excitement to religious contemplation and religious hope.

"In the Gospel, the Transfiguration of Our Lord is first described,
then the gathering of the people and the appeal of the father in
behalf of his afflicted son. They appear to have been simultaneous;
but painting only could have placed them before our eyes, at the
same moment, in all their suggestive contrast. It will be said that
in the brief record of the Evangelist, this contrast is nowhere
indicated, but the painter found it there and was right to use
it,--just the same as if a man should choose a text from which to
preach a sermon, and, in doing so, should evolve from the inspired
words many teachings, many deep reasonings, besides those most
obvious and apparent.

"But, after we have prepared ourselves to understand and to take
into our heads all that this wonderful picture can suggest,
considered as an emanation of the mind, we find that it has other
interests for us, considered merely as a work of art. It was the
last picture which came from Raphael's hand; he was painting on it
when he was seized with his last illness. He had completed all the
upper part of the composition, all the ethereal vision, but the
lower part of it was still unfinished, and in this state the
picture was hung over his bier; when, after his death, he was laid
out in his painting-room, and all his pupils and friends, and the
people of Rome, came to look upon him for the last time; and when
those who stood round raised their eyes to the Transfiguration, and
then bent them on the lifeless form extended beneath it, 'every
heart was like to burst with grief (_faceva scoppiare l'anima di
dolore a ognuno che quivi guardava_), as, indeed, well it might.

"Two-thirds of the price of the picture, 655 'ducati di camera,'
had already been paid by the Cardinal de' Medici, and, in the
following year, that part of the picture which Raphael had left
unfinished was completed by his pupil Giulio Romano, a powerful and
gifted, but not a refined or elevated, genius. He supplied what was
wanting in the colours and chiaroscuro according to Raphael's
design, but not certainly as Raphael himself would have done it.
The sum which Giulio received he bestowed as a dowry on his sister,
when he gave her in marriage to Lorenzetto the sculptor, who had
been a friend and pupil of Raphael. The cardinal did not send the
picture to Narbonne, but, unwilling to deprive Rome of such a
masterpiece, he presented it to the church of San Pietro in
Montorio, and sent in its stead the Raising of Lazarus, by
Sebastian del Piombo, now in our National Gallery. The French
carried off the Transfiguration to Paris in 1797, and when
restored, it was placed in the Vatican, where it now is."--_Mrs.
Jameson's History of Our Lord_, vol. i.

_3rd Room._--

_Entrance Wall._--Madonna and Saints: _Titian_.

"Titian's altar-piece is a specimen of his pictures of this class.
St. Nicholas, in full episcopal costume, is gazing upwards with an
air of inspiration. St. Peter is looking over his shoulder at a
book, and a beautiful St. Catherine is on the other side. Farther
behind, are St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua; on the left St.
Sebastian, whose figure recurs in almost all of these pictures.
Above, in the clouds, with angels, is the Madonna, who looks
cheerfully on, while the lovely Child holds a wreath, as if ready
to crown a votary."--_Kugler._

"In this picture there are three stages, or whatever they are
called, the same as in the Transfiguration. Below, saints and
martyrs are represented in suffering and abasement; on every face
is depicted sadness, nay, almost impatience; one figure in rich
episcopal robes looks upwards, with the most eager and agonized
longing, as if weeping, but he cannot see all that is floating
above his head, but which _we_ see, standing in front of the
picture. Above, Mary and her Child are in a cloud, radiant with
joy, and surrounded by angels, who have woven many garlands; the
Holy Child holds one of these, and seems as if about to crown the
saints beneath, but his Mother withholds his hand for the
moment(?). The contrast between the pain and suffering below,
whence St. Sebastian looks forth out of the picture with gloom and
almost apathy, and the lofty unalloyed exultation in the clouds
above, where crowns and palms are already awaiting him, is truly
admirable. High above the group of Mary hovers the Holy Spirit,
from whom emanates a bright streaming light, thus forming the apex
of the whole composition. I have just remembered that Goethe, at
the beginning of his first visit to Rome, describes and admires
this picture; and he speaks of it in considerable detail. It was at
that time in the Quirinal."--_Mendelssohn's Letters._

Sta. Margherita da Cortona: _Guercino_. She is represented
kneeling,--angels hovering above,--in the background is the Convent
of Cortona.

RIGHT WALL:

Martyrdom of St. Laurence: _Spagnoletto_.

22. The Magdalen, with angels bearing the instruments of the
Passion: _Guercino_.

23. The Coronation of the Virgin: _Pinturicchio_.

24. The Resurrection: _Perugino_. The figures are sharply relieved
against a bright green landscape and a perfectly green sky. The
figure of the risen Saviour is in a raised gold nimbus surrounded
by cherubs' heads, as in the fresco of Pinturicchio at the Ara
Cœli. The escaping soldier is said to be a portrait of Perugino,
introduced by Raphael,--the sleeping soldier that of Raphael, by
Perugino.

25. "La Madonna di Monte Luco," designed by Raphael: the upper part
painted by _Giulio Romano_, the lower by _Francesco Penni_ (Il
Fattore). The apostles looking into the tomb of the Virgin, find it
blooming with heartsease and ixias. Above, the Virgin is crowned
amid the angels. There is a lovely landscape seen through a dark
cave, which ends awkwardly in the black clouds. This picture was
painted for the convent of Monte Luco near Spoleto.

26. The Nativity: _Giovanni Spagna_.

27. The Coronation of the Virgin: _Raphael_. The predella in the
first room belonged to this picture, which was painted for the
Benedictines of Perugia.

28. The Virgin and Child enthroned under an arcade--with S.
Lorenzo, St. Louis, S. Ercolano, and S. Costanzo, standing: On the
step of the throne is inscribed 'Hoc Petrus de Chastro Plebis
Pinxit.'

29. Virgin and Child: _Sassoferrato_. A fat mundane Infant and a
coarse Virgin seated on a crescent moon. The Child holds a rosary.

END WALL:

The Entombment: _Caravaggio_.

"Caravaggio's entombment of Christ is a picture wanting in all the
characteristics of holy sublimity; but is nevertheless full of
solemnity, only perhaps too like the funeral solemnity of a gipsy
chief. A figure of such natural sorrow as the Virgin, who is
represented as exhausted with weeping, with her trembling
outstretched hands, has seldom been painted. Even as mother of a
gipsy chief, she is dignified and touching."--_Kugler._

LEFT WALL (RETURNING):

31. Doge A. Gritti (_Titian_), half-length, in a yellow robe.

Two very large pictures in many compartments, by _Niccolo Alunno_,
of the Crucifixion and Saints. (Between them.)