Begun in 1518 for Giulio de' Medici, the
future Pope Clement VII Medici (1523/34) and completed in 1589 by Domenico Fontana (1543/1607) from a project by Giacomo Della Porta (1533/1602)
The real
name of the church is SS. MARIA VERGINE, DIONIGI AREOPAGITA e LUIGI
IX RE DI FRANCIA (1226/70) or Holy Virgin Mary, St. Dionysius the
Areopagite (judge of the Areopagus of Athens) and Louis XI King of France
(1226/70)
Statues in
the niches:
In the
lower part “Charlemagne” and “St. Louis IX”, in the upper part “St. Clotilde”
and “St. Joan of Valois” 1746 by Pierre de l'Estache
(about 1688/1744)
It is the French National Church
Decoration
in marble and stucco 1756/64 by Antoine Dérizet
(1697/1768)
“Death and Apotheosis of St. Louis
IX”
1756 by Charles Joseph Natoire (1700/1777)
Above the
altar “St. Louis IX” by Renard Levieux
PILASTER IN
FRONT OF THE 1st CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
2nd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. CECILIA
Above the
altar “Sts. Cecilia, Paul, John the
Evangelist, Augustine and Mary Magdalene” copy by Guido Reni (1575/1642) from the original by Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael) (1483/1520) now in the
Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna
Five
frescoes with “Stories of St. Cecilia”:
On the vault in
the center “Glory of St. Cecilia”
and on the sides “Sts. Cecilia and Valerian crowned
by the angel” and “St. Cecilia refusing to worship
idols”
On the
walls to the right “Charity of St. Cecilia”
and to the left “Death of St. Cecilia”
1616/1617 masterpiece by Domenico Zampieri aka Domenichino
(1581/1641)
“The center
of his artistic conception was rigorous drawing and these frescoes represent
the culmination of his poetry. In the Death of St. Cecilia the principles of
order and clarity oversee the composition: a closed scene in which the figures
are huge in the foreground near archaeological elements. Their luminous clarity
emphasizes the movements, their gestures express the state of mind of the
characters, their naturalness is governed by a higher principle of beauty that
offers the noblest version of their sentiments” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano
Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
“Pose,
gestures, styles of this cycle became inexhaustible morphemes for the
declination of the classical language of art until at least the eighteenth
century. Furthermore the expressive repertoire of the faces, capable of
expressing the variables emotions of the human soul, was already destined to
open up infinite possibilities to the research for naturalness, for formal and
emotional instability, for the nascent Baroque art” (Anna Coliva)
3rd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF St. JOAN OF VALOIS
Above the
altar “St. Joan of Valois carried to
heaven by angels” 1743 by Etienne
Parrocel (1696/1774)
Above the
altar “Oath of Clovis”
1547 by Jacopino del Conte (about 1515/98)
On the
right “Clovis is preparing to attack in
the battle of Tobliae on the year 496 AD” by Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527/96)
On the left
“St. Remigius receives the sacred
phial to anoint Clovis” by Girolamo
Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)
In the
vault “Stories of Clovis”
by Pellegrino Tibaldi
Tombs of
famous French personalities
“Assumption” by Francesco da Ponte aka Bassano the Younger (1549/92)
In the
upper part sculptural group “Holy Trinity”
by Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725/92) the favorite
sculptor of Louis XV, King of France from 1715 to 1774
SPANDRELS
OF THE DOME
Sculptures “Doctors of the Church”
by G.B. Maini (1690/1752), Filippo Della Valle (1698/1768), Simon Challe (1719/65) and Nicolas
François Gillet (1709/91)
Above the
altar “St. Matthew and the Angel”
“The yellow
and orange colors clashing in the tunic and mantle of the saint are an
invention already in the Rembrandt style. Overall, however, one cannot to deny
that the picture is quite conceding to the decorum required by the times and
the place. The mantle falls down with a long flap, nearly as elegant, as
Francesco Mochi would be in a later period; and again it comes out with the
elegance of sepals around the hands that are already modern: natural, without
drawing, all in tonal sketches, notched, with cords as veins, in between
wrinkles and skin” (Roberto Longhi)
On the left
“The Calling of St. Matthew”
“It's a
direct, personal call from God, that surprises the man when he least expects
it, perhaps as he is in sin. Players wear modern clothes: it is not an old
story, it is a fact that happens now and could happen at any time to anyone.
Grace is not a sign that only the elect one is allowed to see: all turn
surprised but the miser who counts the money as Judas with his 30 pieces of
silver. With Christ and St. Peter enters a hard blade of light. It is a ray of
physical light, but it is also the ray of grace. Since everything happens in
that instant of light, there is no development of action. St. Peter does
nothing but repeat the gesture of Christ, and the dialogue is concise: 'You -
I? - you!'. More than 'ut pictura poesis' (as is painting so is poetry), more
than literature translated into figures!” (Giulio Carlo Argan)
On the
right “Martyrdom of St. Matthew”
“During the
execution of the Martyrdom of St. Matthew he experimented with several
variations of composition. After he abandoned the earlier versions, not exempt
from a mannerist style, Caravaggio adopted new, unconventional solutions that
could better suit a dramatic and eventful scene. Figures intersect, forms are
revealed by striking luminous spirals that create patches of deep darkness and
give rise to a centrifugal motion. The artist has achieved the pinnacle of
sacred drama in the relationship between the murderer and the saint lying on
the ground and he pointed out the horror of the bystanders in the mimed scream
of the young man. The instantaneity that Caravaggio manages to infuse in the
scene gives the story a character of pure occurrence, violently involving the
viewers” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)
1599/1602,
first major artistical success of Michelangelo Merisi aka Caravaggio (1571/1610) for Virgilio Crescenzi and,
after his death, for his son Giacomo Crescenzi, who were executors of Cardinal
Mathieu Cointrel (d. 1585)
FRESCOES IN
THE VAULT OF THE CONTARELLI CHAPEL
“Matthew
raises from the dead the daughter of the king of Ethiopia, and conversion of
the king and queen” 1591/99 by Giuseppe Cesari aka Cavalier
d'Arpino (1568/1640)
He had been
entrusted with the decoration of the chapel but, as he was slow in completing
the work, he was replaced with Caravaggio for the canvases
Above the
altar “Nativity”
and on the right “Annunciation”
by Charles Mellin (about 1597-1600/1649)
On the left
“Adoration of the Magi”
begun by Giovanni Baglione (1566/1643) and
continued by Charles Mellin who finished the
decoration of the whole chapel, having been preferred to Nicolas Poussin who
was very upset for the exclusion: it seems that he wanted to give up painting
frescoes for the rest of his life
Above the
altar “St. Louis IX”
1664 by the Roman Plautilla Bricci (1616/about
1701) who also designed the architecture of the chapel
opened in 1680
On the walls
“Stories of St. Louis IX” on the right
by Ludovico Gimignani (1643/97), on the left
by Nicolas Pinson (1636/81)
Above the
altar “St. Nicholas of Bari”
by Girolamo Muziano (1532/92)
On the sides
“Sts. Barbara and Catherine” by Girolamo Massei
(?/1614-19)
On the
right and on the left “Stories of St. Nicholas of Bari” by Baldassare Croce (about 1553/1628)
1st
LEFT - CHAPEL OF St. SEBASTIAN
Above the
altar “St. Sebastian”
by Girolamo Massei
PALAZZO DI S. LUIGI (Palace of St. Louis)
1709/16 Francesco Carlo
Bizzaccheri (1655/1721)
Next to
the church. Façade with scenic portal on Via Giovanna d'Arco
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