Restoring a Reputation

Federico Barocci (about 1535-1612), The Visitation of Mary 1583-1586
Altarpiece: The Chapel of the Visitation, Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome

ROME, JAN. 21, 2010. by Elizabeth Lev - Art history has long made the claim that the Counter-Reformation almost caused the death of art. It champions the view that the doctrinal emphasis demanded by the Council of Trent, Jesuits and the papacy itself brought about a stagnant period in art, broken only by the ‘maverick’ Caravaggio, who defied the stale triteness of ‘official’ artistic output and brought about a revolution.

Utter nonsense of course, but the standard definition of late 16th century art in Rome.

In picturesque Siena, an interesting exhibition presented a barrage of works to shatter that theory: "Federico Barocci; The Enchantment of Color" highlighted the paintings of the man considered by specialists to be the first painter of the Catholic Restoration.

Barocci was born Federico Fiore in 1535 in the northern town of Urbino, the same birthplace as Raphael. As a young artist, he came to Rome to seek his fortune and earned the praise of the then-aged Michelangelo. After a bout of illness, believed by Barocci to be caused by poison, he went back to Urbino, never to return to Rome. Despite his rejection of the Eternal City, popes and prelates vied for his services, willing to accept the complications and delays of distance.

As a result there are many extant letters between Barocci and his patrons, including Pope Clement VIII, for whom Barocci painted the stunning “Institution of the Eucharist” housed in Rome’s Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The letters reveal the Pope’s concern for theological emphasis in the work, while Barocci’s finished product demonstrates his elegant handling of the dogmatic theme.

The Siena exhibition opened with a spectacular altarpiece painted for the Cathedral of Perugia of the “Deposition of Christ” from 1568. Recently restored, the work displays Barocci’s winning card at the artistic table, his use of color.

The Florentines had mastered line and drawing in art, creating imaginary space and increasingly complex poses in an intellectual game of painterly one-upmanship. The era of the Catholic Restoration called for art to stimulate people toward piety, and just as music can directly affect the emotional state of the listener, so can color. Barocci unveiled a new type of color, called “cangiante” or changing, by his contemporaries that both dazzled and delighted the eye. Barocci’s mesmerizing color, however was given order by his excellent draftsmanship, as the many drawings in the show attest. Most importantly, his compositions unfailingly led the viewer’s eye to the most essential meaning of the work.

In the case of the author’s favorite work in the show, “The Visitation”, painted for the Chiesa Nuova in Rome in 1586, Barocci’s composition links the altar with the sacred event. One figure on the left leans down to fetch a sack of bread and a jug of wine, seeming to lift the offering from the altar into the painting. Mary on a lower step reaches up from her space, defined by bright pinks, red and yellow, toward Elizabeth’s area which is colored in a dismal grayish tone. As Mary grasps the arm of her cousin, the first spot of color appears on Elizabeth’s sleeve, representing the entry of grace into the world. The bright splotch of yellow seems to express John the Baptist’s jump for joy in Elizabeth’s womb.

This work was a particular favorite of St. Phillip Neri and he experienced one of his visions while contemplating it. Caravaggio, for his part, would paint his “Deposition” across the nave from Barocci’s “Visitation” and would utilize Barocci’s incorporation of the physical altar in his own work. Barocci’s signature orange/red combination seems to have also been the inspiration for the Caravaggio’s treatment of St. Paul in his “Conversion of St. Paul” in Santa Maria del Popolo.

The exhibit is part of a renewed interest in the painter who was considered by contemporaries as one of the greatest artists of his age. Two recent books have finally dedicated serious study to this artist who blended faith and beauty, Nicholas Turner did groundbreaking work in his 2001 monograph on the artist, while Stuart Lingo’s “Federico Barocci: Allure and Devotion in Late Renaissance Painting,” published last year, brought new information to light.

The Siena exhibit has taken another step toward returning this artist to the public recognition he enjoyed during his lifetime.

Unfortunately set in a smaller town, the show did not receive the attention and attendance that one might hope. Hopefully Barocci will soon make the leap to a major museum where his works can testify before a larger audience to the splendid beauty of art enlivened by faith.

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University’s Italian campus and University of St. Thomas’ Catholic Studies program. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org