Artists
Introduction
But not everything came from Borromini himself. In those days there was in Rome for sure one of the strangest figures in of the 17th century: Anastasius Kirchner S.J. A jesuit, astrologer, scientist, and ... a fantast. He convinced even his world that he could read hieroglyphics. His thoughts had a lot of influence on Borromini, especially being his confessor for a period of time. But not he alone! All the upcoming religious orders of the Catholic Reformation who tried to go back to the origin of the Church were guiding and inspiring him: the Trinitan Fathers, the Franciscans and not at least the Oratorians of St. Philip Neri.
Symbolism can become an enigma, only for scholars or a select club. But not so for Borromini. His vocabulary of images and symbolism were well spread all over the Christian World in those days. He used a whole serial of different symbols: (a) sacred and profane emblems, (b) attributes, (c) heraldic motifs, (d) hieroglyphs (geometric or almost abstract images), (e) categorical symbols such as stars, crowns etc.), (f) pure geometrical figures as triangles, hexagons), (g) numbers ( three, six, eight, twelve) and (h) epigraphs. Excluded are personifications and sayings. The main reason is already mentioned before: The religious polemics between Roman Catholics against Protestants who were refusing the idolatry of the person. The iconoclasm in the Southern Netherlands was a violent reaction against the idolatry of Saints in the Catholic Church.
Everything depended from the public you want to reach. The personifications of Bernini were easy to understood and were open for a large public. He had no problem to sell his art. Contrary, Borromini’s art is more sophisticated, with a twist and sometimes puerile. He lived in seclusion and was often not understood by a larger public.
Extra: The “Cannocchiale Aristotelica, The Aristotelian Telescope” of Emanuele Tesauro of 1654 divides people between plebeians. populars and delicious. The first are ignorant, rude (even if they are nobles); The “delicious” are scholars, acute and ingenious (even from poor backgrounds); in the middle we have the populars.
Therefore, Bernini’s art can be easy understood by plebeians and populars, while the art of Borromini is more for populars and scholars. The art of Borromini is like rhetorics: his symbolism is like rhetorics: you can understand the words instantly, but for the refined scholar, there is always a second taught behind the appearance. Once he can decipher it, he will enjoy it too. Maybe here is the key to understand why Borromini does not use personification: to easy to understand. Instead, Borromini is using stars, the sun, the moon, fire, vegetation, mechanical tools and strange animals. His images are ambiguous: they are neither too easy or too smart.
In Borromini’s life and work it is important to understand the genius of those who commissioned his works such as Card. Vergilio Spada, Anastasio Kirchner S.j. (his confessor), Donna Olympia Pamphilij and many others who formed the intellectual elite of the 17th century Rome.
In the next chapters we will try to explain some of the architectonical symbolisms in Borromini’s work.
The Oratory of Saint Philipp Neri
San Carlo alle Quattre Fontane
Usefull links
Introduction to the Vatican Museum
A Renaissance Museum: Plato and Aristotle
The Pinacoteca - the Painting Gallery
Rooms of Raphael