The Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples
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THE BASILICA OF SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE IN NAPLES: THE ART, TRADITION, AND POWER OF A SACRED SPACE by Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ___________________________________________ Dr. Mark Rosen, Chair ___________________________________________ Dr. Richard Brettell ___________________________________________ Dr. J. Michael Farmer ___________________________________________ Dr. Peter Park ___________________________________________ Dr. Scott Hendrix Copyright 2017 Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri All Rights Reserved To Mom and Dad THE BASILICA OF SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE IN NAPLES: THE ART, TRADITION, AND POWER OF A SACRED SPACE by ELIZABETH NOGAN RANIERI, BA, MA DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AESTHETIC STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS August 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my Mother and Father for always believing in me. My husband, who has encouraged me and put up with me. My beautiful daughter, for the time she sacrificed with me as I was working. Mark Rosen, for being an excellent mentor. Rick Brettell, for helping me fund all my travel. Mike Farmer, for believing in me. Scott Hendrix, for being a great person and an amazing cheerleader. The city of Naples, for welcoming me and for being so easy to love. My friends and colleagues at UTD, especially Poe Johnson and Marina Jenkins. Sarah Kozlowski, for being a mentor and a friend. The many kind people who I met during my travels in Naples. My childcare providers. My extended family. Cat, Christi, and Lindsay. The University of Dallas. My mom (and dad) friends. May 2017 v THE BASILICA OF SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE IN NAPLES: THE ART, TRADITION, AND POWER OF A SACRED SPACE Elizabeth Nogan Ranieri, PhD The University of Texas at Dallas, 2017 ABSTRACT Supervising Professor: Dr. Mark Rosen This dissertation examines the art, literature, and history of the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, Italy, and the way in which this sacred space has been imbued with meaning by the Order of Preachers. The dissertation establishes a framework of sacred space theory and historical context of medieval and early modern Naples. It argues that places are sacrilized through a combination of person, place, and text—all three of which are evident at San Domenico Maggiore. It examines the pertinent first-person writings about the sacred space from the archives and guidebooks by both lay and Dominican authors. The dissertation discusses the early history of the Dominicans and their medieval iconography, paying particularly close attention to Thomas Aquinas and his tenure in Naples, but also to the ways that the Dominicans and their donors used imagery derived from the history and legends surrounding Aquinas’ life— especially the years spent at San Domenico Maggiore—to decorate the space and to attract pilgrims. It explores the systems of early modern patronage of the sacred space by examining specific chapels and artworks. It examines the diffusion of the imagery of the Virgin of the Rosary in early modern Naples and the ways in which the Council of Trent influenced art- vi making in sacred spaces. It also provides a visual analysis of the Chapterhouse and Sacristy situated within the convent complex and demonstrate how the two spaces use Dominican and site-specific visual rhetoric to represent Dominican agency in these rooms. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................v ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................................................................................................ix INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. WRITING SAN DOMENICO MAGGIORE..................................................19 CHAPTER 2. THE FOUNDERS AND THE LEGACY OF THOMAS AQUINAS.............42 CHAPTER 3. FRANCE, ARAGON, AND THE SEGGIO....................................................72 CHAPTER 4. THE COUNTER-REFORMATION AND THE ROSARY............................95 CHAPTER 5. THE CHAPTERHOUSE AND SACRISTY..................................................127 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................151 APPENDIX............................................................................................................................154 ILLUSTRATIONS.................................................................................................................156 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................210 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.................................................................................................218 CURRICULUM VITAE viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Modern Plan of San Domenico Maggiore. (Modified from the original version found in: Salerno, Luigi. La Basilica di S. Domenico Maggiore in Napoli. Napoli: Tip. Laurenziana, 1977. p. 99.).................................................................................................................................156 Figure 2. List of chapels corresponding with Plan (Figure 1).....................................................157 Figure 3. Modern Plan of Convent Complex with labeled sites of interest. (Modified from the original version found in: Foglia, Orsola. “Il Complesso di San Domenico Maggiore.” Paparo Edizioni, 2002. PolisMusea: Catalogo Mostra.).........................................................................158 Figure 4. Roberto D’Oderisio, La Madonna dell’Umità (Mater Omnium). c. 1350. Naples, Museo di Capodimonte. (Photo courtesy of the Museo di Capodimonte.)..................................159 Figure 5. Artist Unknown, Miraculous Crucifix associated with Thomas Aquinas, seen in his cell. Early Duecento. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)............................................................................159 Figure 6. The Chapel of the Crucifix (Cappellone del Crocefisso) seen with copy of Miraculous Crucifix associated with Thomas Aquinas at the altar. (Photograph from: De Divitiis, Bianca. Architettura e comittenza nella Napoli del Quattrocento. Venice: Marsilio, 2007. p. 143.)......160 Figure 7. School of Tino da Camaino, Tombs of Tommaso and Cristofaro d’Aquino. Late Trecento. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.).................................................................................................161 Figure 8. School of Tino da Camaino, Tomb of Giovanna d’Aquino. c. 1350. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)......................................................................................................................................162 Figure 9. Pietro Cavallini, Crucifixion with Dominicans. 1308. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)...163 Figure 10. Cappella degli Affreschi (also Figure 1: 3). (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.).....................164 Figure 11. Unknown Artist, Saint Dominic. c.1290. Tempera on Wood. 63 by 190 cm. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)..............................................................................................................165 Figure 12. Cell of Thomas Aquinas. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)......................................................166 ix Figure 13. Corridor of cloister with cell of Thomas Aquinas to the right. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)......................................................................................................................................167 Figure 14. Composite of images from the interior of the cell of Thomas Aquinas. Miraculous Crucifix, Portrait by Solimena, Reliquary with humerus, Silver bust, prayer books. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)................................................................................................................................168 Figure 15. Giovanni da Taranto, Saint Dominic. 1305. (Photo courtesy of the Museo di Capodimonte.)..............................................................................................................................169 Figure 16. Att. Agnolo Agnello Fiore, Altar of San Girolamo de’ Ricci. Late 15th C. (Photograph taken by author. Used with permission from the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo.)................................................................................................................................170 Figure 17. (left to right) Altar of San