Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
closed access
In the sixteenth century, Rome embarked its most sumptuous epoch, and with it, hosted splendid building projects initiated by the church and the papal court, which ranged from sacred spaces to...Show moreIn the sixteenth century, Rome embarked its most sumptuous epoch, and with it, hosted splendid building projects initiated by the church and the papal court, which ranged from sacred spaces to profane architecture. Display of property and wealth became the crucial factor for success among the curial members, who advertised their rank and prestige through such display. However, the papal court and its extensive exploitation of imperial Rome, its achievements and its foundation for the glory of Renaissance Rome and the Catholic Church soon encountered disapproval. The removal from the modest life of Christ and his Apostles but also from spiritual concerns, the increasing paganism and the profligacy, all became major threats for the Roman Curia by the beginning of the sixteenth century. Criticism came from various sides. Humanists turned against the common practices of the church. Protestant reformers raised their voices, but judgement also came from within the own ranks, the Catholic clerics. The critics attacked not only the church’s religious and spiritual programme, but, by that, its secular conduct and its outward. The papal court and its worldliness, grandeur and excessive expenditures were only some of the indicators that triggered criticism and prompted a re-assessment of the role of the pope and his court by the sixteenth century. However, the clergy’s commissions were flourishing, serving not only to embellish the cityscape of Rome and its surroundings, but enhancing the cardinals’ social status. It is striking that at around 1550–1570 (the peak of reformatory criticism) it appears that the most sumptuous and monumental properties of such kinds belonged to the clergy. And that to such an extent that not even the aristocratic Roman families had the means to compete with the high level of expenditure and patronage of cardinals from papal and noble families. It thus remains thus crucial to explore how the Catholic Church and thus the clergy justified wealth, excessive expenditure—for both ecclesiastical and secular purposes—especially by the eve of Reformation and how those (apparent) discrepancies between lush lifestyles and ecclesiastical renovation were perceived among the curia or how they were broadcasted and towards a larger audience.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
closed access
Constantijn Huygens is know as the pioneering architect of the Dutch classicist revival, and his poems in praise of his collaborator, Jacob van Campen, laud him as the figure who has rid the Dutch...Show moreConstantijn Huygens is know as the pioneering architect of the Dutch classicist revival, and his poems in praise of his collaborator, Jacob van Campen, laud him as the figure who has rid the Dutch cityscape of Gothic building style. However, Huygens’ collection of art included three paintings by Pieter Saenredam, famous in his own right for his depictions of Gothic architecture. Why then would Huygens own so many paintings by Saenredam, among them the largest known from his hand, a picture of the largest Gothic church in the country, Utrecht Cathedral? The reason, I argue, is that Huygens’ institution of classicist architecture was accompanied by deep confessional anxiety. The introduction of classicism to the Republic coincided with an influx of wealth, luxury and worldly pride, arguably appearing as its sign. As Huygens tells us, his home on the Plein was subject to the charge of vanity. What I will argue in this essay, however, is that classicism recalled not only the decadence of Greece and Rome in its form, but Rome’s pagan idolatry as well. In the writings of Simon Stevin, Salomon de Bray and Huygens in turn, there was great ambivalence over Vitruvius and his pagan history of classical architecture. As I will argue, each author adopted his own strategy in coping with this so-called problem of paganism, and that the works of Saenredam were central to Huygens’ own approach. I will begin by demonstrating that Saenredam’s perspectival technique was rooted in the principles of Vitruvian design, appearing, like Huygens’ homes, as a mark of the modernity of the Republic. However, I will ultimately argue that this technique classicized native Gothic churches, presenting them as a sacred history for Huygens’ architecture. In this way, Saenredam’s works redeemed Huygens’ classicist revival, ensuring that his homes would project an identity for the nation that was at once modern and pious.Show less
