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The “Monza Method”

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The “Monza Method” 28 The “Monza Method” Light and three-dimensionality in the Galleria dei Carracci in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome/I. Text: Francesco Iannone Photos: Marco Reggi Drawings: Francesco Iannone The illumination of historic art, frescos and statues is currently gaining in terms of quality through Painting or sculpture. Depending on how the light is applied it is hardly LED technology. What was formerly simply regarded as a task for uniform lighting – also with regard possible to tell the difference. to the spectral composition of the light – is now seen as a design challenge. Paintings can be lit sensitively, and attention paid to the way different pigments respond to light. Two projects recently completed in Rome make for an interesting comparison: the Sistine Chapel and the frescoes painted by Annibale Carracci in Palazzo Farnese. Palazzo Farnese in Rome was originally designed by the The lighting design concept is based on an analysis of Renaissance architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. how the work was conceived by Carracci in relation to its He was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese exposure to the natural light that penetrates the building (later Pope Paul III), who purchased land and other through the large windows. Artists are known to have buildings in the area between 1495 and 1512. Work undertaken in-depth studies of natural light, which was a began in 1514, was interrupted by the Sack of Rome in focal element of their artistic work. 1527 and resumed in 1541, by which time Cardinal Painting a ceiling involved the artists creating three- Alessandro Farnese had become Pope. dimensional images on solid masonry. Gilded frames After the death of Sangallo in 1546, the work was and stone sculptures also serve as supports for the archi- continued under the direction of Michelangelo, who tecture itself. The painted scenes depict mythological completed the third storey with the deep cornice and figures in indefinable spaces, in an imaginary universe the balcony above the main entrance with the large pierced and ruptured by patches of sky. coat of arms, and redesigned the courtyard. Today the While painting, the Carracci brothers had a precise building is one of the most important High Renaissance idea of how to represent the situation from the point of palaces in Rome and currently serves as the French view of the light. This they reveal to the viewer through embassy in Italy. the use of highlights, which in turn tell the story of the Several of the main interior spaces are decorated subject of the painting in general. It is evident that the with frescoes by Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, Carracci brothers based their work on the existing light including the well known The Loves of the Gods ceiling on the facade running east to west, having studied how fresco cycle in the Farnese Gallery, completed at the end the natural light entered the grand space through the of the 16th century. windows, and then deciding to depict the scenes on the ceiling as if the light was entering through the windows, The lighting design project bouncing off the floor and reflecting on the ceiling using The lighting concept for the Galleria dei Carracci is the white stucco walls as diffusing screens. The original based on a new approach to lighting historic art design sketches made by Carracci indicate the painters’ developed by the lighting designers and which they interpretation of light and dark. Shadows are depicted as refer to as the “Monza Method”. if the light sources were positioned below. On the other The gallery was frescoed by Carracci and the two long hand, the reference to candlelight can also be seen by walls opposite the entrance contain remarkable stucco- the way “sparkle” is depicted as being reflected on the The “Monza Method” describes the purposefully activation work from the same period. The Roman sculptures in the gilded frames. of processes in the brain of the viewer. Missing information arched niches are copies of the originals which are kept The “Monza Method” is based on the fact that light, is filled in or reconstructed based on previous experience in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, whereas the both natural and artificial, supports our interpretation of and processed as images in the brain which are conse- busts set in the round niches above the Roman figures reality. Thanks to research performed in the fields of quently perceived as being three-dimensional. are originals from different ages. cognitive science and neuroscience we can now better LIGHTING DESIGN The “Monza Method“ 31 When the painting is illuminated according to the Monza Method additional effort is required on the part of the brain to determine the state of emotion the work demonstrates. The viewer automatically increases his attention. Cognitive mecha- nisms are activated. The viewer begins to feel interest – and then excitement, fol- lowed by enlightenment and satisfaction at what he has understood. This is not a scientific analysis of every centimetre of the oil painting or fresco, but a process that enables the viewer to feel the spirit of a work. comprehend the physics of our vision and what cogni- The Monza Method is based on a new concept which tive processes promote complex brain activity such as addresses the neural system of the viewer, allowing him recognising, comparing, contemplating, problem sol- and his imagination to comprehend the way the work ving, decision-making or planning and thus form the was conceived and the message it communicates. basis of our awareness of learning. The method builds The perception of restoration in the modern sense, as on the idea that the lighting concept for paintings focus- conceived by Cesare Brandi, an art critic and historian, ses on the viewer of the painting rather than on the work and a specialist in the field of conservation-restoration, itself. This includes the expectation of the visitors to the forces us to consider time as a three-dimensional subject gallery, the users of the space, and not simply the task of – in which case, light can hardly refrain from going in the illuminating various combinations of oils and pigments. same direction. In that sense, the lighting designed for Artificial light can be applied in an interpretative sense, an historic painting needs to address different levels of and today it need not be static in fulfilling this objective. perception (seen from the earth, so to speak) so that The idea of light being static actually only arose fairly what the Carracci brothers painted in the foreground recently. Only in the second half of the twentieth century remains in the foreground, and elements painted to form in the Western world, when we began to develop the the background remain as the background. It is the potential to control electric light, did people begin to use depiction of light that tells the story and attracts atten- the term ‘static’ when referring to artificial light. Natural tion to detail and mood. light, candlelight and fire are never static. Insisting that This means that when a person views a painting, the electric light is inherently static and unable to be adapted brain is forced to process the information it receives or changed was the wrong path to take in the develop- through the human visual system. It is this process that ment of designed lighting in the 20th century. It was the Monza Method supports. widely claimed that the planner needed to be impartial Technically this was achieved using a combination of and to illuminate works of art, in particular, neutrally white light, geared to the “needs” of the painting and not without considering that this neutrality had never existed dictated by lighting engineering considerations. Today before and that historic works of art were not meant to this is possible thanks to the use of LED light sources, be shared at a neutral level. Apart from the fact that the luminous intensity and colour temperature of which neutral light does not exist. can be controlled with high precision. This requires 32 Lighting details means studying the pigments and coloured elements applied and fundamental know-how and expertise in the field of overlapping the luminous flux of different luminaires and nale, such as the Bellini, Lorenzo Lotto and Titian exhibi- observing how they respond to light. This allows specific colours to be enhanced electronic lighting control protocols. The lighting in the providing graze light at different angles. This guarantees tions. Our human environment today is made up of or softened and contrasts to be created. Carracci gallery in Rome is DALI-controlled, applied for the viewer’s overall perception of the vault and the fres- dynamic images, movement, subliminal stimuli and the the first time in the world for works of art with the speci- coes. All the luminaires were modified in collaboration strong and frequent reference to our emotions. Why not fic purpose of controlling the required spectral composi- with the manufacturer to meet the requirements in the use the same approach for our cultural heritage? tion. Carracci Gallery. The lighting scheme comprises a num- Spectral quality was key to this project: the light ber of pre-programmed scenes which can be re-called at Project team: applied needed to respect both restoration issues and the touch of a button. Client: World Monument Fund the great work performed by the restorers and the pre- This method of using LED technology, especially in the Lighting design: Consuline – Serena Tellini and Francesco Iannone ferences they brought to the table. Their special re- field of lighting works of art, is based on the relationship Architectural consultants on site: Elvira Caiano and Emanuela quests and ideas were addressed when defining spectral between colour and the human perceptual system, and Settimi, Directorate General Fine Arts and Landscape, City of Rome management details in the final design stage.
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