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Chapter Eighteen - Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520 CE ), Tommaso “Fedra” Inghirami (1470–1516 CE ), and Pope Julius II (1443–1513, r. 1503–13 CE ) at the Stanza della Segnatura (1508–11 CE )
- Edited by Peter Hatlie
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- Book:
- People and Places of the Roman Past
- Published by:
- Amsterdam University Press
- Published online:
- 20 November 2020
- Print publication:
- 30 April 2019, pp 211-224
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Summary
A Room with Many Conversations
The Stanza della Segnatura is an elegant, modest-sized room on the second floor of the Vatican palace (now the Musei Vaticani) designed to house Pope Julius II's personal library. The room was decorated by Raphael in the early years of the sixteenth century. Like many great works of art, Raphael's Stanza asks the visitor to stay awhile, to dwell with it, a proposal particularly apt for a library. Art historian Timothy Verdon distinguishes the Renaissance visitor from today's typical learned viewer: “Renaissance visitors to the Stanza della Segnatura ‘registered’ the frescoes with their eyes and ‘read’ them with mind and heart—poetic processes that differed substantially … from those with which modern art historians read them” (Verdon 116–17). As we shall see, the walls of the Stanza portray many conversations, inviting the viewer to be part of them.
The paintings of this room tell two stories. One is the story of the characters depicted, for the most part “heroes” who played important roles in the tradition of ancient classical learning. This learning was in the process of recovery by Renaissance scholars, builders, poets, and artists. The second story is that of the three men most responsible for the room's program and embellishments: the program's inventor, Tommaso “Fedra” Inghirami (1470–1516); its painter, Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520); and its patron, Pope Julius II (1443–1513, r. 1503–13). What is expressed on the room's frescoed walls and ceiling is informed by the humanism that developed in papal Rome during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Every least detail of Raphael's painting fits into a unified program that portrays the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual aspirations of Rome's renewal after a long period of decline. Part of the wonder and delight of visiting the Stanza is understanding what it all signifies.
In this regard, scholars in the last half of the twentieth century have greatly advanced our understanding of the Renaissance humanism specific to Rome, including questions of the influence of humanism on artistic programs such as that of the Stanza. John F. D’Amico and John W. O’Malley are just two among these scholars.
Contributors
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- By Victoria M. Allen, Frederic Amant, Sarah Armstrong, Thomas F. Baskett, Michael A. Belfort, Meredith Birsner, Renee D. Boss, Leanne Bricker, Josaphat K. Byamugisha, Giorgio Capogna, Michael P. Casaer, Frank A. Chervenak, Vicki Clark, Filip Claus, Malachy O. Columb, Charles Cox, Jean T. Cox, Vegard Dahl, John Davison, Jan Deprest, Clifford S. Deutschman, Roland Devlieger, Karim Djekidel, Steven Dymarkowski, Roshan Fernando, Clare Fitzpatrick, Sreedhar Gaddipati, Thierry Girard, Emily Gordon, Ian A. Greer, David Grooms, Sina Haeri, Katy Harrison, Edward J. Hayes, Michelle Hladunewich, Andra H. James, Tracey Johnston, Bellal Joseph, Erin Keely, Ruth Landau, Stephen E. Lapinsky, Susanna I. Lee, Larry Leeman, Hennie Lombaard, Stephen Lu, Alison MacArthur, Laura A. Magee, Paul E. Marik, Laurence B. McCullough, Alexandre Mignon, Carlo Missant, Jack Moodley, Lisa E. Moore, Kate Morse, Warwick D. Ngan Kee, Catherine Nelson-Piercy, Clemens M. Ortner, Geraldine O’Sullivan, Luis D. Pacheco, Fathima Paruk, Melina Pectasides, Nigel Pereira, Patricia Peticca, Sharon T. Phelan, Felicity Plaat, Lauren A. Plante, Michael P. Plevyak, Dianne Plews, Wendy Pollock, Laura C. Price, Peter Rhee, Leiv Arne Rosseland, Kathryn M. Rowan, Helen Ryan, Helen Scholefield, Neil S. Seligman, Nadir Sharawi, Alex Sia, Bob Silver, Mieke Soens, Ulrich J. Spreng, Silvia Stirparo, Nova Szoka, Andrew Tang, Kha M. Tran, Els Troost, Lawrence C. Tsen, Derek Tuffnell, Kristel Van Calsteren, Marc Van de Velde, Marcel Vercauteren, Chris Verslype, Peter von Dadelszen, Carl Waldman, Michelle Walters, Linda Watkins, Paul Westhead, Cynthia A. Wong, Gerda G. Zeeman, Joost J. Zwart
- Edited by Marc van de Velde, Helen Scholefield, Lauren A. Plante
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- Book:
- Maternal Critical Care
- Published online:
- 05 July 2013
- Print publication:
- 04 July 2013, pp ix-xiv
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