Borgia Apartments

{{Short description|Suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City}}{{Infobox building | name = Borgia Apartments | native_name = Appartamenti Borgia | native_name_lang = it | image = Appartamento Borgia, Sala dei Santi (Sala 5 della Collezione di Arte Contemporanea) -FG 02.jpg | image_alt = Interior frescoes of the Borgia Apartments | image_size = 250px | caption = Pinturicchio’s frescoes in the Borgia Apartments | location = [[Apostolic Palace]], [[Vatican City]] | coordinates = {{coord|41.9029|12.4534|type:landmark_region:VA|display=inline}} | construction_start_date = c. 1492 | completion_date = c. 1494 | architect = Pinturicchio (fresco decoration) | owner = [[Holy See]] | pushpin_map = Vatican | map_caption = Location within Vatican City | building_type = Papal residence (former), museum space | architectural_style = [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] | client = [[Pope Alexander VI]] | designations = Part of the [[Vatican Museums]] | material = Stone, fresco }}

The '''Borgia Apartments''' are a suite of rooms in the [[Apostolic Palace]] in the [[Vatican City|Vatican]], adapted for personal use by [[Pope Alexander VI]] (Rodrigo [[House of Borgia|de Borja]]). In the late 15th century, he commissioned the Italian painter [[Pinturicchio|Bernardino di Betto (Pinturicchio)]] and his studio to decorate them with [[fresco]]es.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Riess|first=Jonathan B.|title=Raphael's Stanze and Pinturicchio's Borgia Apartments|date=1984|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/sou.3.4.23202237|journal=Source: Notes in the History of Art|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=57–67|doi=10.1086/sou.3.4.23202237|s2cid=193058994 |issn=0737-4453|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The paintings and frescoes, which were executed between 1492 and 1494, drew on a complex iconographic program that used themes from medieval encyclopedias, adding an [[Eschatology|eschatological]] layer of meaning celebrating the supposedly divine origins of the Borgias.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database|url=https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/p/pinturic/vatican/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.wga.hu}}</ref> Five of the six apartments include frescoes painted in the vault. The upper register of the vaults contain paintings, while the lower registers are decorated with tapestries and gold.<ref name=":0" /> Recent cleaning of [[Pinturicchio]]'s fresco ''The Resurrection'' has revealed a scene believed to be the earliest known European depiction of Native Americans, painted just two years after [[Christopher Columbus]] returned from the New World.<ref name=":0" />

The Borgia Apartments includes six rooms: Room of the Sibyls, Room of the Creed, Room of the Liberal Arts, Room of the Saints, Room of Mysteries, and Room of Pontiffs. The Room of Sibyls and the Room of Creed include frescoes of the Old Testament prophets and sibyls. These rooms also pay homage to the planets.<ref name=":0" /> In the Room of Liberal Arts, Pinturicchio has represented the liberal arts as female figures through his frescoes in the vault. The Room of Saints consists of frescoes detailing the lives of seven notable saints, including Barbara, Catherine, Anthony, Paul, Susanna, and Elizabeth.<ref name=":0" /> Pinturicchio's last room, the Room of Mysteries, contains frescoes with New Testament subject matter, including the Nativity, Ascension, Adoration of the Magi, and other scenes.<ref name=":0" />

The Room of the Pontiffs was erected before all the other buildings, between 1277 and 1280. Built between 1447 and 1455, the Room of the Liberal Arts, Saints, and Mysteries were referred to as "secret rooms" by Pope Alexander VI's master of ceremonies, [[Johann Burchard|Johannes Burchard.]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Borgia Apartment|url=https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia.html|url-status=live|access-date=19 May 2021|website=Musei Vaticani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223230625/http://www.museivaticani.va:80/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia.html |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref>

As of 2019, the suite was open to tourists.

==Frescoes== When the Borgia family fell out of favor after the 1503 death of Pope Alexander VI, the apartments were little used for centuries. The following pope, Julius II, abandoned the apartments and moved his daily responsibilities to the upper floors, which are now called the [[Raphael Rooms]].<ref name=":1" /> When Julius II vacated the apartments, they fell into disrepair. The paintings were removed in 1816, and the rooms were turned into a library.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|author=Potter, Mary Knight|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1000339283|title=The Art of the Vatican : Being a Brief History of the Palace, and an Account of the Principal Art Treasures within Its Walls|date=1906|publisher=L.C. Page|oclc=1000339283}}</ref> Only in 1889 did [[Pope Leo XIII]] have the rooms restored and opened for public viewing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vatican City State – Borgia Apartment|url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/monumenti/musei-vaticani/appartamento-borgia.paginate.1.html|access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref> The works in the apartment are now considered part of the [[Vatican Library]].

The works were restored by repairing the plaster and stucco, cleaning the frescoes, and reworking the surfaces.<ref name=":2" /> The lower half of some of the walls in the Borgia Apartments had to be removed, but some decorative remnants are still open for viewing.

Most of the rooms are now used for the [[Collection of Modern Religious Art, Vatican Museums|Vatican Collection of Modern Religious Art]], inaugurated by [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1973.

The collection includes about 600 accumulated works of painting, sculpture and graphic art; donations of contemporary Italian and foreign artists and includes works by [[Paul Gauguin]], [[Marc Chagall]], [[Paul Klee]], [[Salvador Dalí]], and [[Wassily Kandinsky]].

The upper part of the walls and vaults, covered with paintings, are further enriched with delicate stucco work in relief.<ref>[http://www.oldandsold.com/articles34/pintoricchio-5.shtml Old and Sold – Antiques Digest] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123060612/http://www.oldandsold.com/articles34/pintoricchio-5.shtml|date=November 23, 2008}}</ref> Much of the decor of the apartment was perhaps inspired by the forgeries of the humanist and [[Dominican Order|Dominican friar]] [[Annio da Viterbo]], master of the palace.<ref name=":1" /> The main subjects of the five rooms completed by Pinturicchio are:

===The Hall of the Mysteries of the Faith=== {| align=center style="text-align:center;" ! colspan="4" style="background:#ECECEC;"|'''Hall of Mysteries of the Faith''' |- |[[File:Borgia Apartment 005.jpg|131px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 006.jpg|131px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 007.jpg|135px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 001.jpeg|135px]] |- |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Annunciation'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Nativity'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Adoration of the Magi'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Resurrection'' |- |colspan=2|[[File:Borgia Apartment 008.jpg|265px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 009.jpg|131px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 024.jpg|131px]] |- |colspan=2 style="background:#ECECEC;"|''Ascension'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Descent of the Holy Spirit'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Assumption of the Virgin'' |}

===[[The Hall of the Saints (Pinturicchio)|The Hall of the Saints]]=== {| align=center style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=3 style="background:#ECECEC;"|'''Hall of the Saints''' |- |[[File:Borgia Apartment 002.jpeg|195px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 010.jpg|160px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 014.jpg|130px]] |- |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''St Catherine's Disputation'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Myth of the Bull Apis'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Martyrdom of Saint Barbara'' |- |[[File:Borgia Apartment 011.jpg|130px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 013.jpg|215px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 012.jpg|148px]] |- |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Paul the Hermit'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian'' |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''The Visitation'' |}

===The Hall of [[Trivium]] and of [[Quadrivium]]=== {| align=center style="text-align:center;" ! colspan=5 style="background:#ECECEC;"|'''The Arts of the Trivium and Quadrivium (selected)''' |- |[[File:Borgia Apartment 016.jpg|146px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 015.jpg|146px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 017.jpg|170px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 023.jpg|170px]] |[[File:Borgia Apartment 018.jpg|142px]] |- |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Grammar'' (Trivium) |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Rhetoric'' (Trivium) |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Music'' (Quadrivium) |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Geometry'' (Quadrivium) |architectural_style ="background:#ECECEC;"|''Astrology'' (Quadrivium) |}

===Other rooms=== *The Room of the Sibyls Some of the remaining rooms were painted by [[Perin del Vaga]].

== The Room of the Sibyls == The Room of Sibyls, which makes up the defensive portion of the [[Apostolic Palace]], consists of twelve depictions of Old Testament prophets, or [[sibyl]]s.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Room of the Sibyls|url=https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-delle-sibille.html|url-status=live|website=Musei Vaticani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223230650/http://www.museivaticani.va:80/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-delle-sibille.html |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref> Pope Alexander VI ordered the Borgia Tower to be built for functionary purposes. Pinturicchio delineated the sibyl by representing them with scrolls that signify the coming of Christ.<ref name=":3" /> He paints the prophets on top of a deep blue background. The twelve sibyls represented are: "''Isaiah-Hellespontine Sibyl, Micah-Tiburtine Sibyl, Ezekiel-Cimmerian Sibyl, Jeremiah-Phrygian Sibyl, Hosea-Delphic Sibyl, Daniel-Eritrean Sibyl, Haggai-Cumaean Sibyl, Amos-European Sibyl, Jeremiah-Agrippine Sibyl, Baruch-Samian Sibyl, Zechariah-Persian Sibyl, Obadiah-Libyan Sibyl."''<ref name=":3" />

On the ceiling, Pinturicchio represents the seven planets as Roman divinities pulled by a chariot of animals. Each animal is matched to the planet of their [[zodiac]], and the celestial influence of the planets onto Earth is shown. For example, Mercury is pictured with merchants and Saturn is represented alongside charity.<ref name=":3" /> As a tribute to the patron, Pope Alexander VI, Venus is pulled by a herd of bulls, the Borgia coat of arms.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Beautiful Frescoes and Bloody Intrigue: A Guide to the Borgia Apartments in the Vatican|url=https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/art/borgia-apartments-guide.html|access-date=2021-05-22|website=Through Eternity Tours|language=en}}</ref> Astrology, which was a significant topic amongst many of the Renaissance popes, is depicted at length in the Room of Sibyls.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nicholas.|first=Campion|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/891562420|title=What do astrologers believe?|date=2006|publisher=Granta|isbn=978-1-78378-171-3|oclc=891562420}}</ref>

== The Room of the Creed == The Room of the Creed is also part of the Borgia Tower and is arranged in a similar composition to the Room of Sibyls. The frescoes in this room narrate the verses of the [[Apostles' Creed|Apostle's Creed]] on the scrolls held by the twelve closest followers of Christ. The Apostle's Creed is a proclamation of beliefs consisting of the main tenets of Christian teachings.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Apostles' Creed {{!}} Reformed Theology at A Puritan's Mind|url=https://www.apuritansmind.com/creeds-and-confessions/the-apostles-creed/|access-date=2021-05-24|language=en-US}}</ref> This room acts as a bridge between the Old and New Testament material commissioned by the House of Borgia. The pairs of Apostles are as follows: "''Peter-Jeremiah, John-David, Andrew-Isaiah, James the Elder-Zechariah, Matthew-Hosea, James the Younger-Amos, Philip-Malachi, Bartholomew-Joel, Thomas-Daniel, Simon-Malachi, Thaddaeus-Zechariah, and Matthew-Obadiah."''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Room of the Creed|url=https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-del-credo.html|url-status=live|access-date=24 May 2021|website=Musei Vaticani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223230640/http://www.museivaticani.va:80/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-del-credo.html |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref>

The ceiling in the Room of the Creed is decorated with geometrical figures. The renderings of the apostles, both in the Room of the Creed and in the Room of Sibyls, are more formal and angular.<ref name=":4" /> Some of Pinturicchio's classic details, including the folds of the figures' robes and head-dress, are evident in the frescoes of the Apostles.<ref name=":2" /> The windows in the Room of the Creed also include fantastical ornamentation; natural imagery such as fishes and deer intermingle with cupids and metaphorical representations of music.<ref name=":2" />

== The Room of Liberal Arts == The Room of Liberal Arts contains Pinturicchio's allegorical depictions of the seven Liberal Arts, which are Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic ([[Trivium]]) and Geometry, Arithmetic, Music, and Astronomy ([[Quadrivium]]). Pinturicchio represents each of these figures as celestial women, accompanied by human figures paying tribute and praying to each of them.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Riess|first=Jonathan B.|title=Raphael's Stanze and Pinturicchio's Borgia Apartments|date=1984|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/sou.3.4.23202237|journal=Source: Notes in the History of Art|volume=3|issue=4|pages=57–67|doi=10.1086/sou.3.4.23202237|s2cid=193058994 |issn=0737-4453|url-access=subscription}}</ref> For example, Cicero accompanies Rhetoric and Euclid extols Geometry.<ref name=":4" /> Furthermore, the Room of Liberal Arts also includes a female portrayal of Justice on a throne, holding a sword and a balance.<ref name=":5" /> Justice is depicted on the median arch that divides the decorative ceiling from the narrative cycle on the walls.<ref name=":4" /> Some of the biblical episodes on the walls include [[Jacob]] Fleeing from [[Laban (Bible)|Laban]] and [[Trajan]] and the Poor Widow.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-16|title=Vatican restoration uncovers work of Renaissance master|url=https://religionnews.com/2016/12/16/vatican-restoration-uncovers-work-of-renaissance-master/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=Religion News Service|language=en-US}}</ref> The ceiling details the deeds and the coat of arms of the House of Borgia in stucco, including a double crown for the kingdoms of Aragon and Sicily, a crimson flame and an ox, and a sun.<ref name=":8" />

While the function of the room is still subject to scholarly debate, it is commonly known as the study for the prominent members of the Borgia family. Two of the smaller halls adjoining the Room of Liberal Arts may have been used as a bedroom and bathroom.<ref name=":1" />

Art restorers began extensive work in the Room of Liberal Arts in 2016, uncovering a damaged painting of Pinturicchio's "The Resurrection," which illustrated Native Americans in Europe and the United States.<ref name=":8" /> Pinturicchio's work was done with dry plaster instead of wet, which made it more amenable to damage or ruin.<ref name=":8" /> His fingerprints and those of his assistants were found in the fresco cycle, and his signature appears underneath the lunette of the personification of Rhetoric.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Room of the Liberal Arts|url=https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-delle-arti-liberali.html|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2021|website=Musei Vaticani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223230645/http://www.museivaticani.va:80/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-delle-arti-liberali.html |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref> It is believed that Pope Alexander VI wanted Pinturicchio to paint allegories of religious origin stories, many from Egypt and Ancient Rome.<ref name=":8" /> The restorers uncovered intense hues of blue, red, and green. In the panel associated with the personification of Music, Pinturicchio painted musicians with Spanish influence as an homage to Pope Alexander VI's home.<ref name=":8" />

== The Room of Saints == The Room of Saints portrays episodes from the lives of seven saints in the Bible, along with the largest and finest illustration of the Borgia coat of arms, the bull. The seven saints included are Elizabeth, Anthony, Barbara, Susanna, Sebastian, Paul, and Catherine.<ref name=":5" /> Pinturicchio paints notable scenes such as The Visitation, depicting Saint Elizabeth, and Susannah and the Elders, depicting Saint Sebastian.<ref name=":4" /> By associating the bull with the lives of saints, Pope Alexander VI ties his reign to divine blessing. The eight ceiling frescoes narrate the story of Isis, Apis, and Osiris, adding to Pope Alexander VI's interest in Egypt.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Seaton|first=M. E.|date=1922|title=Milton and the Myth of Isis|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3714444|journal=The Modern Language Review|volume=17|issue=2|pages=168–170|doi=10.2307/3714444|jstor=3714444|issn=0026-7937|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The ceiling is divided into triangular vaults. The first three vaults showcase Osiris's teachings, succeeded by his marriage to Isis, and finally [[Typhon]]'s murder of Osiris.<ref name=":9" /> The Room of the Saints, one of the "secret rooms" of the Borgia Apartments, may have been used as a private space for the Pope.

== The Room of Mysteries == The Room of Mysteries holds the fresco cycle representing the mysteries of the faith, which were thought to have influenced Raphael's ''[[Disputation of the Holy Sacrament]]''.<ref name=":0" /> The biblical scenes displaying the mysteries of faith are painted to inspire a sense of piety in the viewer. Pinturicchio's work in this room is ubiquitous, meant to act as a holy teaching for beginners in religious education. The figures in this room are more restricted in their emotion and motion.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pinturicchio and the Borgia {{!}} EWTN|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/pinturicchio-and-the-borgia-1705|access-date=2021-05-26|website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network|language=en}}</ref> The Room of the Mysteries includes ''The Annunciation, The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Resurrection.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Art in Tuscany {{!}} Pinturicchio {{!}} Frescoes in the Borgia Apartments of the Palazzi Pontifici in Vatican {{!}} Podere Santa Pia, Holiday house in the south of Tuscany|url=http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/pinturicchio/borgiaapartment.htm|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.travelingintuscany.com}}</ref> Pope Alexander VI was a devotee of the Virgin Mary, which is why many of Pinturicchio's episodes in this room were dedicated to her life and legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Room of Mysteries|url=https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-dei-misteri/sala-dei-misteri.html|url-status=live|access-date=26 May 2021|website=Musei Vaticani|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517174233/https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/collezioni/musei/appartamento-borgia/sala-dei-misteri/sala-dei-misteri.html |archive-date=2021-05-17 }}</ref> Pope Alexander VI is represented on this fresco cycle, within ''The Resurrection'' painting, kneeling at Christ's feet.<ref name=":4" />

==See also== *[[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]

==References== {{Commons category|Borgia Apartment (Vatican Museums)}} {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://cdm16028.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/107497 ''The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome''], a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on these rooms (pp. 100–104)

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[[Category:Apostolic Palace]] [[Category:Official residences in Vatican City]] [[Category:Apartments]] [[Category:Fresco paintings in Rome]] [[Category:House of Borgia]] [[Category:Paintings by Pinturicchio]] [[Category:1490s paintings]]