ART, RITUAL, AND REFORM: THE ARCHCONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY CRUCIFIX OF SAN MARCELLO IN ROME By KIRA MAYE ALBINSKY A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Art History Written under the direction of Catherine Puglisi And approved by ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Art, Ritual, and Reform: The Archconfraternity of the Holy Crucifix of San Marcello in Rome By KIRA MAYE ALBINSKY Dissertation Director: Catherine Puglisi “Art, Ritual, and Reform” is the first comprehensive study of the social history, devotional practices, and art patronage of the Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso di San Marcello a Roma, one of the most prominent lay religious associations in sixteenth- century Italy. Divided into four main chapters, the dissertation first develops the innovative theory of conspicuous devotion through a documented examination of the company’s religious rituals and urban processions during the Catholic Reformation. The following chapters apply the theory to analyses of the confraternity’s commissions in the Cappella del Crocifisso in San Marcello and the nearby Oratorio del Crocifisso, in which Perino del Vaga (1501–47), Daniele da Volterra (1509–66), Giovanni de’ Vecchi (ca. 1536–1615), Cesare Nebbia (ca. 1536–1614), and Niccolò Circignani (ca. 1517/24–after 1596) painted. Challenging traditional interpretations of Central Italian painting from 1520 to 1590, the object-focused project argues that conspicuous meaning and form served conspicuous devotion to both instruct and inspire, in accordance with the reforms of the Catholic Church. A final chapter explores the archaism of paintings produced by Jacopino del Conte (1510–98) and Marcello Venusti (ca. 1512–79) for Santa Chiara a ii Monte Cavallo, a Capuchin convent founded by the confraternity on the Quirinal Hill. Reinforcing the assertions of the preceding chapters, the discussion demonstrates the company’s keen art historical, or stylistic, understanding, which enabled it to choose between different artistic modes to suit different subjects and contexts, as required by the Council of Trent (1545–63). Recovering both the variety and the devotional significance of lay festive performance and art patronage in sixteenth-century Rome, this crucial research offers a much needed critical reassessment of art, ritual, and reform in the Catholic Reformation. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Catherine Puglisi, for her steady support and guidance throughout the dissertation process. I am also indebted to the members of my committee, Dr. Sarah Blake McHam, Dr. Benjamin Paul, and Dr. Stuart Lingo, for their stimulating discussion of my project. Portions of my research appeared in Space, Place, and Motion: Locating Confraternities in the Late Medieval and Early Modern City (Leiden: Brill, 2017), and I am grateful for the volume’s editor, Dr. Diana Bullen Presciutti, whose comments greatly improved the final manuscript. Appreciation is also due to my undergraduate advisor, Dr. Stephanie Leone, who remained a constant source of encouragement. Support from the Graduate School – New Brunswick, Department of Art History, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Summer Study Grants enabled my research, and I gratefully acknowledge the institutions’ generosity. Finally, I wish to thank my friends and colleagues, who supported me in writing, and to express my deepest gratitude to my family, especially my husband who was with me from the very beginning of this journey. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT __________________________________________________________ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ______________________________________________ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ________________________________________________ v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS _____________________________________________ vi CHAPTER 1: Introduction _______________________________________________ 1 CHAPTER 2: Feasts, Devotions, and Processions _____________________________ 45 CHAPTER 3: Cappella del Crocifisso ______________________________________106 CHAPTER 4: Oratorio del Crocifisso ______________________________________145 CHAPTER 5: Santa Chiara a Monte Cavallo ________________________________ 198 CONCLUSION _______________________________________________________ 253 ILLUSTRATIONS ____________________________________________________ 261 BIBLIOGRAPHY _____________________________________________________287 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1.1. Crucifix, 14th century, poplar, Cappella del Crocifisso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 1.2. Frontispiece of Statuti et ordini della venerabile Archicompagnia del Santiss. Crocefisso in Santo Marcello di Roma (Rome, 1565) 1.3. Antonio Tempesta, Plan of the City of Rome, 1645 (first printed 1593), etching with some engraving, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1.3a. Detail of San Marcello, Oratorio del Crocifisso, and Santa Chiara a Monte Cavallo in Antonio Tempesta’s Plan of the City of Rome 2.1. Spinello Aretino, St. Mary Magdalene Holding a Crucifix, ca. 1395–1400, tempera and gold ground on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2.2. Papal Benediction in St. Peter’s Square, 1567, etching and engraving, British Museum, London 2.3. Federico Zuccaro, Design for an Easter Sepulcher, ca. 1580, pen and brown ink with brown wash and white heightening over traces of black chalk, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2.4. Anonymous, Corpus Domini Procession in St. Peter’s Square during the Papacy of Innocent X, ca. 1650, oil on canvas, Museo di Roma, Rome 2.5. G. B. de’ Cavalieri, Opening of the Porta Santa for the Jubilee of 1575, engraving, British Museum, London 2.6. C. Antonini, Processional Macchina, designed by Pietro Camporese the Elder for the Holy Thursday procession of 1775, etching, Gabinetto Comunale delle Stampe, Rome 2.7. G. B. de’ Cavalieri, Roma Sancta, 1575, engraving, British Museum, London vi 2.8. Antonio Lafreri, Seven Churches of Rome, 1575, etching and engraving, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2.8a. Detail of confraternity processions in Antonio Lafreri’s Seven Churches of Rome 2.8b. Detail of confraternity processions in Antonio Lafreri’s Seven Churches of Rome 2.9. Antoniazzo Romano, Annunciation, 1500, panel, Cappella dell’Annunziata, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome 3.1. Cappella del Crocifisso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.2. Perino del Vaga and Daniele da Volterra, Creation of Eve and Four Evangelists, 1525–27 and 1540–43, fresco, vault, Cappella del Crocifisso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.3. Daniele da Volterra, St. Matthew and St. Luke, 1540–43, fresco, vault, Cappella del Crocifisso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.4. Plan of San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.5. Interior view of San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.6. La Chiesa di San Marcello, from Sante Solinori, Le cose meravigliose dell’alma città di Roma (Rome, 1588) 3.7. Francesco Salviati, Nativity of the Virgin, ca. 1562–63, fresco, Cappella Grifoni, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.8. Taddeo Zuccaro and Federico Zuccaro, Blinding of Elymas, ca. 1557–66, fresco, Cappella Frangipane, San Marcello al Corso, Rome 3.9. Luigi Garzi, Angels Carrying the Cross and Crown of Thorns, 1682, oil painting, sacristy, San Marcello al Corso, Rome (originally Cappella del Crocifisso, San Marcello al Corso, Rome) vii 3.10. Perino del Vaga, Visitation, 1520s, fresco, Pucci Chapel, SS. Trinità dei Monti, Rome 3.11. Raphael, School of Athens, 1508–11, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Rome 3.12. Michelangelo, Creation of Eve, 1508–12, fresco, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Palace, Rome 3.13. Perino del Vaga and workshop, Sala Paolina, 1545–47, fresco, Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome 3.14. Fol. 86v with Christ Pierced by the Lance and Creation of Eve, from Biblia Pauperum, 15th century, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Clm 8201 3.15. Jacopo della Quercia, Creation of Eve, 1425–39, marble, Porta Magna, San Petronio, Bologna 3.16. Daniele da Volterra, Descent from the Cross, ca. 1545–48, fresco, originally Orsini Chapel, SS. Trinità dei Monti, Rome (now transferred to neighboring chapel) 4.1. Giacomo della Porta, Oratorio del Crocifisso, 1561–68, Rome 4.2. Interior view of the Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.3. Giudetto Guidetti, Santa Caterina dei Funari, 1560–64, Rome 4.4. Giacomo della Porta, façade, begun 1571, Il Gesù, Rome 4.5. Giovanni de’ Vecchi, St. Helena Ordering the Destruction of Idols, 1578–79, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.6. Giovanni de’ Vecchi, Discovery of the Three Crosses, 1578–79 (completed 1582), fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome viii 4.7. Niccolò Circignani, Miracle of the True Cross, 1581–82, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.8. Niccolò Circignani, Battle Between Heraclius and Chosroes, 1581–82, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.9. Niccolò Circignani, Vision of Heraclius, 1581–82, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.10. Cesare Nebbia, Heraclius Carrying the Cross Barefoot, 1579–80, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.11. Baldassare Croce, Approval of the Confraternity’s Statutes, 1583–84, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.12. Paris Nogari, Procession of the Crucifix Against the Plague of 1522, 1583–84, fresco, Oratorio del Crocifisso, Rome 4.13. Cristoforo Roncalli, Miraculous Survival of the Crucifix from the Fire in San Marcello, 1583–84, fresco,