UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title More Catholic than Rome: Art and Lay Spirituality at Venice's Scuola di S. Fantin, 1562-1605 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6499p18m Author Bailey, Meryl Faith Publication Date 2011 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California ! ! ! More%Catholic%than%Rome:% Art%and%Lay%Spirituality%at%Venice's%Scuola%di%S.%Fantin,%1562B1605% % By% % Meryl%Faith%Bailey% % % A%dissertation%submitted%in%partial%satisFaction%oF%the%% % requirements%For%the%degree%oF%% % Doctor%of%Philosophy%% % in%% % History%oF%Art% % in%the% % Graduate%Division% % of%the% % University%of%California,%Berkeley% % Committee%in%Charge:% Professor%Loren%Partridge,%Chair% Professor%Elizabeth%Honig% Professor%Todd%Olson% Professor%Randolph%Starn% % Spring%2011% ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ©%By%Meryl%Faith%Bailey,%2011% All%Rights%Reserved Abstract% ! More%Catholic%than%Rome:% Art%and%Lay%Spirituality%at%Venice's%Scuola%di%S.%Fantin,%1562B1605% % By% % Meryl%Faith%Bailey% % Doctor%oF%Philosophy%in%History%oF%Art% % University%of%California,%Berkeley% % Professor%Loren%Partridge,%Chair! ! This%dissertation%explores%the%art%patronage%oF%a%small%group%oF%devout% Venetian%laymen%across%Five%decades%up%to%the%papal%Interdict%oF%Venice%in%1606B 1607.%It%takes%a%new%approach%to,%and%offers%new%perspectives%on,%this%crucial%but% largely%neglected%moment%in%the%city’s%cultural%history.%Authorized%by%the%state%to% provide%spiritual%comfort%and%assistance%to%prisoners%condemned%to%death,%the% Scuola%di%S.%Fantin%played%a%pivotal%role%in%both%the%city’s%religious%life%and%its% criminal%justice%system.%Public%execution%was%a%highly%choreographed%rite%with% proFound%political%and%theological%meaning.%By%repositioning%the%brutal%rite%oF% punishment%within%the%context%oF%Christian%Forgiveness,%charity,%and%salvation,%the% Scuola%sought%to%turn%this%spectacle%of%violence%into%an%opportunity%for%spiritual% transFormation%For%its%members,%the%condemned,%and%the%broader%community.%The% conFraternity’s%meeting%house%was%built%and%decorated%between%1562%and%1605,%a% period%marked%by%increasing%antagonism%between%the%Venetian%Republic%and%the% Papacy,%and%by%the%ongoing%struggle%between%Catholic%orthodoxy%and%Protestant% theology.%% This%study%oF%the%building%and%its%decoration%employs%the%methodologies%oF% art%history,%ritual%studies,%anthropology,%and%cultural%history%to%oFFer%a%multiBfaceted% case%study%on%Venetian%art,%ritual,%and%devotion.%The%themes%and%issues%analyzed% include:%the%interplay%between%local%visual%traditions,%lay%devotional%practices,%and% the%new%aesthetic%and%doctrinal%demands%oF%the%Catholic%ReFormation;%the%artistic% expression%oF%Catholic%orthodoxy%in%a%city%at%odds%with%the%Roman%Church;%the% defense%of%contested%religious%doctrines%(especially%Purgatory%and%Indulgences)%in% treatises%and%in%the%visual%arts;%and%the%use%oF%images%to%ease%the%tension%between% stateBsanctioned%violence%and%the%moral%imperatives%oF%Christianity.%Ultimately,%this% dissertation%shows%how%the%members%oF%one%conFraternity%used%art%and%ritual%to% present%themselves%and%their%city%as%embodiments%oF%orthodox%Catholicism,%civic% piety,%and%patriotism%in%a%period%Fraught%with%religious%and%political%conFlict.% 1% Table!of!Contents! ! Section! Page! ! ! Acknowledgements% i% ! List%of%Illustrations% iii% % Introduction% xii% Historiography%and%Structure%of%the%Dissertation% xv% The%Religious%and%Political%Context:%Venice,%the%Church,%and%Catholic% xvii% Reform% Venetian%Art%in%an%Age%oF%“Decline”% xxiii% % Chapter%1.%Charity,%Justice,%and%the%Scuola%di%San%Fantin% 1% Public%Execution%in%Early%Modern%Venice% 1% Execution%and%Venetian%Charity% 9% History%and%Organizational%Structure%of%the%Scuola% % 12% TransFormation,%Salvation,%and%the%Ideology%oF%Comfort% 23% % Chapter%2.%The%Meeting%House%of%the%Scuola%di%San%Fantin% 30% The%Original%Site% 31% Construction%History%after%1562% 32% The%Scuola%di%San%Fantin%and%the%Tradition%oF%Confraternal% 37% Architecture% The%Façade%and%its%Attribution% 41% The%Façade%within%the%Venetian%Architectural%Tradition% 44% The%Iconography%of%the%Façade% 53% % Chapter%3.%The%Albergo%Grande% 58% Part%I.%Decorative%Program%oF%the%Albergo%Grande% 59% Reconstructing%the%Albergo%Grande,%c.%1600% 70% Part%II.%The%St.%Jerome%Cycle% 72% Religious%Imagery%and%the%Cult%oF%Saints%in%the%Sixteenth%Century% 73% The%LiFe%and%Legend%oF%St.%Jerome% 77% St.%Jerome%as%Cardinal%Priest% 81% The%Death%of%St.%Jerome% 83% St.%Jerome%and%ConFraternal%Ideology% 88% Symbolic%and%Narrative%Strategies% 91% % Chapter%4.%The%Oratory% 97% Part%I.%The%Decorative%Program%oF%the%Oratory% 97% Part%II.%Purgatory,%Charity,%and%the%Oratory%Ceiling% 107% Purgatory%after%the%Council%of%Trent% 108% The%Purgatory%Cycle:%Saints%and%Sources% 113% The%Central%Register:%The%Latin%Doctors% 117% % i The%Western%Doctors% 122% The%Eastern%Doctors% 124% The%Souls%in%Purgatory% 127% Venetian%Charity%and%Suffrages%for%the%Dead% 128% Purgatory%in%Italian%Art% 136% The%Date%of%the%Cycle% 138% Conclusion:%Orthodoxy%and%Confraternal%Ideology%in%the%Oratory%of% 140% S.%Fantin% % Appendices% % Appendix%A.%Timeline% 143% Appendix%B.%The%LiFe%oF%the%Virgin%Cycle% 149% Appendix%C.%Decoration%aFter%1605% 151% Appendix%D.%The%Purgatory%Cycle:%Inscriptions%and%Sources% 156% Appendix%E.%Inventories%oF%Paintings%in%the%Scuola%di%S.%Fantin%%% 162% % Bibliography% % 166% % Illustrations% 188% ! % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % ii Acknowledgements! % % % The%Final%stage%oF%a%Ph.D.%program%is%oFten%reFerred%to%as%“dissertation%hell”,% but%in%my%experience%it%is%more%akin%to%Purgatory.%Despite%the%pain%of%the%process,% suFFerers%maintain%the%hope%that%something%better%awaits%on%the%other%side.%I%might% have%lost%hope%but%For%the%encouragement,%wisdom,%and%help%oF%my%Family,%friends,% and%dedicated%teachers%and%mentors.%I%would%like%to%express%my%gratitude%to%all%oF% those%people%(only%a%Few%oF%whom%can%be%mentioned%here)%who%contributed%in%some% way%to%my%successFul%completion%oF%this%dissertation.%% My%dissertation%supervisor,%Loren%Partridge,%first%suggested%the%Scuola%di%S.% Fantin%as%a%topic%worthy%oF%exploration.%Throughout%my%years%in%graduate%school,%he% has%been%my%unFailing%advocate,%always%ready%to%answer%questions%and%to%share%his% proFound%knowledge%in%order%to%advance%and%improve%my%work.%I%am%deeply% grateful%to%him,%and%honored%to%be%his%student.%I%would%also%like%to%thank%the%other% members%oF%my%dissertation%committee%BB%Todd%Olson,%Elizabeth%Honig,%and% Randolph%Starn%BB%For%their%insight%and%suggestions%across%multiple%draFts,%and%For% their%ongoing%support%oF%this%project.%Funding%For%my%research%and%writing%was% generously%provided%by%the%Gladys%Krieble%Delmas%Foundation,%the%Charlotte%W.% Newcombe%Foundation,%and%the%University%oF%CaliFornia%at%Berkeley.%In%the%Graduate% Division,%I%am%especially%grateFul%to%Associate%Dean%Carlos%FernandezBPello%and% Solomon%LeFler,%Fellowships%Administrator,%who%kindly%assisted%with%Fellowships% and%Funding.%The%Department%oF%History%oF%Art%encouraged%my%progress%in%countless% ways.%In%particular,%Christopher%Hallett,%current%chair%of%the%department,%made%it% possible%For%me%to%meet%my%deadlines.%Diane%Sigman%handled%my%questions%with% admirable%patience%and%good%cheer.%% I%am%very%much%indebted%to%the%Ateneo%Veneto,%whose%oFFicers%and%staFF%quite% literally%opened%their%doors%and%allowed%me%to%inspect%and%study%the%Scuola's%Former% meeting%house.%In%particular,%Antonio%Alberto%Semi,%Former%president%oF%the%Ateneo,% made%available%that%institution’s%resources,%including%the%photographs%and%records% housed%there.%Michele%Gottardi,%its%current%president,%and%John%Leopoldo%Fiorilla% invited%me%into%the%Fold%and%gave%me%the%opportunity%to%contribute%parts%oF%my%own% work%to%a%Forthcoming%volume%on%the%Scuola.%My%research%was%also%Facilitated%by% Marina%Niero,%who%graciously%gave%me%access%to%the%building%and%its%art.% I%am%also%grateFul%to%many%other%scholars,%friends,%and%colleagues%who% critiqued%this%dissertation,%discussed%its%arguments%with%me,%or%otherwise%helped%me% to%complete%the%project.%In%particular,%Vanessa%Lyon%shared%her%insights%and%spurred% me%on,%both%in%our%travels%through%the%Veneto%and%our%lunches%at%the%library.% Elizabeth%Carroll%and%Marina%Del%Negro%Karem%helped%me%with%all%the%practicalities% oF%liFe%in%Venice,%a%complicated%matter%For%the%uninitiated.%Nicholas%Terpstra%of%the% University%oF%Toronto%gave%me%the%opportunity%to%publish%and%present%portions%oF% my%doctoral%research%in%recent%years.%Theodore%Rabb%oF%Princeton%read%several% chapters%and%offered%an%insightful%critique%that%helped%me%to%think%through%the% implications%oF%the%project%within%a%broader%context.%Gianmario%Guidarelli%kindly% % iii obtained%documents%From%the%Venetian%archives%For%my%use.%Lisa%Erdberg%provided%a% sense%oF%perspective%and%muchBneeded%moral%support.%The%volunteers%at%Latin% Discussion.com%critiqued%and%improved%my%translations%oF%some%oF%the%inscriptions% and%texts%in%Chapter%3,%and%Bryan%Allen%oF%the%U.C.%Berkeley%Department%oF% Environmental%Design%developed%the%digital%reconstruction%oF%the%building%used%in% Chapters%3%and%4.% % The%greatest%thanks%are%owed%to%my%Family.%My%husband%Bill%braved%a%long% commute%between%Venice%and%Berkeley%to%make%it%possible%For%me%to%complete%my% research,%and%spoke%in%a%soothing%voice%during%the%darkest%days%of%dissertationB writing.%My%son%Gus,%my%greatest%delight%and%my%companion%in%Venice,%helped%me%to%