On the second floor of the Papal Palace is the Hall of Constantine, which is the largest room of the apartment used for banquets and important occasions. Today, it is located in the Vatican Museum in Vatican City. This room was designed to express the success and journey of Christianity in honor of the first holy Roman emperor, Constantine. Artists that were a part of Raphael’s studio decorated the majority of this room, however, Tommaso Laureti frescoed the Triumph of Christianity on the ceiling.
Tommaso Laureti was an Italian artist from Sicily who was designated to paint the ceiling of Constantine’s room. Inspired by Michelangelo’s form of illusionistic painting, Laureti created a magnificent example of diminishing scale in his Triumph of Christianity. This beautiful ceiling fresco was commissioned under Gregory XIII and was later finished under the reign of Pope Sixtus V. The project began in 1582 and was completed in 1585. Within this fresco, Laureti captures an outstanding perspective of depth which pays tribute to Constantine’s destruction of all pagan idols within Rome. The broken idol on the floor represents the removal of pagan gods, which is replaced by Christ’s image on the cross.
The most interesting part of the symbolism behind the painting is that Constantine never actually ordered the removal of pagan god's from Rome like the painter is trying to suggest in this work. Ironically, Constantine never actually destroyed pagan god's, rather this may be the Catholic Church suggesting that he did for their own agenda.
Tommaso Laureti was an Italian artist from Sicily who was designated to paint the ceiling of Constantine’s room. Inspired by Michelangelo’s form of illusionistic painting, Laureti created a magnificent example of diminishing scale in his Triumph of Christianity. This beautiful ceiling fresco was commissioned under Gregory XIII and was later finished under the reign of Pope Sixtus V. The project began in 1582 and was completed in 1585. Within this fresco, Laureti captures an outstanding perspective of depth which pays tribute to Constantine’s destruction of all pagan idols within Rome. The broken idol on the floor represents the removal of pagan gods, which is replaced by Christ’s image on the cross.
The most interesting part of the symbolism behind the painting is that Constantine never actually ordered the removal of pagan god's from Rome like the painter is trying to suggest in this work. Ironically, Constantine never actually destroyed pagan god's, rather this may be the Catholic Church suggesting that he did for their own agenda.
Sources:
- http://myworldmybook.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/p1100309.jpg
- http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2ZXSsLYde8U/SsDWNEEck9I/AAAAAAAABMk/OGcvhnKCDvk/s400/Tommaso.Laureti.Triumph.of.Christianity.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso_Laureti
- The Vatican Museums (Publisher: Sillabe) (Editor: Maddalena Paola Winspeare)