THE INTERESTING FACT: The Secrets of the Raphael's Rooms or The Cathartic Power of Art

OVERVIEW

The Catholic Church, over the centuries, has been a great sponsor of the arts and under its shelter some of the most beautiful and remarkable artistic works have been created.

Along with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the Rooms of Raphael are the magnificent frescoes that epitomize the High Renaissance in Rome. The four rooms, also known as Stanze of Raphael or Stanze di Raffaello, formed part of the apartment situated on the second floor of the Pontifical Palace (or Apostolic Palace) that was chosen by Julius II, pontiff from 1503 to 1513, as his own residence and was also used by his successors. He was the pope who also commissioned the rebuilding of the St. Peter’s Basilica and the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The pictorial decoration of the rooms was executed by Raphael and his school between 1508 and 1524.

Portrait of Pope Julius II, by Raphael (1511-1512)
National Gallery, London/Uffizi Gallery, Florence

The Room of Constantine, whose theme is the victory of Christianity over paganism. This room, used for receptions and official ceremonies, takes its name from the first emperor who officially recognized the Christian faith and bestowed freedom of worship, Constantine the Great (306-337 A.D.). Among the four frescoes in this stanze, it is important to mention The Baptism of Constantine, in which the emperor receives the sacrament from the pope Sylvester I inside the Baptistery of the Lateran (although Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arianism sympathizer, was probably who carried out the baptism just before the emperor’s death).

The Baptism of Constantine

The Room of Heliodorus, in which it is represented the heavenly protection granted by Christ to the Church, including some miraculous episodes, such as the The Mass at Bolsena (event that fostered the observance of the feast of Corpus Christi) and the Deliverance of Saint Peter. It was used for the private audiences of the pontiff.

The Room of Segnatura, whose themes are the worldly and spiritual wisdom, and the harmony perceived between Christian teachings and Greek philosophy by the Renaissance humanists. This room contains Raphael’s most famous frescoes. Originally the room was used by Julius II as a library and private office, and takes its name from the highest court of the Holy See, the Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae (nowadays the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura), which used to meet in this room around the middle of the 16th century. It contains four main frescoes: 1) The Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament (rendering of theology); 2) The School of Athens (depiction of philosophy); 3) The Cardinal and Theological Virtues and the Law (symbolizing Good and Justice), and 4) The Parnassus (rendering of Beauty and Poetry, by depicting Apollo and the Muses). The first two frescoes also represent the Truth, both supernatural (1) and rational (2).

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo, whose frescoes depict events from the lives of two pontiffs, Leo III and Leo IV. It was used in the time of Julius II for the meeting of the highest court of the Holy See: the Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae.

After this brief presentation about the four rooms as a whole, we are compelled to delve into some interesting facts related with some of the frescoes, particularly The Donation of Constantine (in the room dedicated to the emperor), and The Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament and The School of Athens (both in the Room of Segnatura).

THE DONATION OF ROME: The Story of a Fake

The Donation of Rome

This fresco portrays the emperor Constantine before the pope Sylvester I in the act of offering him the city of Rome, episode (and document) on which was based the justification for the temporal power of the Popes. This was the reason that Leo IX, pontiff from 1049 to 1054, put forward during the period of the Great Schism of 1054, when Rome and Constantinople lived their formal rupture.

It was formerly a doctrinal controversy about the source of the Holy Spirit, triggered by the insertion of the “filioque clause” into the Nicene Creed by the Western Church, according to which the Holy Spirit derives from both the God the Father and the Son, and not just from the Father. However, their differences had also a political background. Leo IX upheld the theory that the Papacy was the authentic heir of the Roman Empire, and it should exert a worldly power as well.

The called Donation of Constantine was proved to be a forgery in the XVth century, by the Renaissance humanist Lorenzo Valla. Now, it is supposed to be a document from the VIIIth century, thus it cannot be attributed to Constantine the Great (272-337 A.D.).

THE DISPUTATION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT: A Couple of Saints

The Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament

At the sides of the Holy Trinity (in descending order: God the Father, Christ between the Virgin and St. John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit) is the Triumphant Church, formed by some prophets (e.g., Moses, recognizable due to “The Tables of the Law”), apostles (e.g., St. Peter, holding the “Keys of Heaven”), and martyrs (e.g., St. Stephen). On the ground, at the sides of the altar with the Holy Sacrament, is the Militant Church, with some Fathers of the Latin Church and other historical figures.

It is interesting the fact that St. Stephen (beside Moses, with green robe and carrying the palm frond) and who is supposed to be St. Paul (far right from the viewer, with red robe and a sword) are very close in the picture, although their earthly encounter was not so pleasant. In fact, Stephen, one of the first ordained diacons and the first Christian martyr, was guilty of blasphemy and stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by a young Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul), who used to persecute the early disciples of Jesus before his conversion. It is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles 7:54-60, which immediately follows the Gosples in the New Testament.

THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS: A prophet among philosophers, scientists and mathematicians?

The School of Athens

In the centre of this fresco Plato points upwards with a finger (a symbol of his idealistic, dualist thought) and holds his book Timeus in his hand, whilst Aristotle holds his Ethics. They are surrounded by many people: philosophers (e.g. Diogenes lying on the stairs or Heracleitus writing on a sheet of paper), scientists (e.g. Ptolemy), mathematicians/astronomers (e.g. Hypatia), and other historical figures.

On the right we can see Zoroaster (or Zarathustra in Persian) holding the heavenly sphere and Ptolemy holding the earthly sphere. Although some scholars consider that this character could be Strabo, a Greek geographer and historian renowned for his Geographica, the presence of the founder of Zoroastrianism (or Mazdayasna) could be due to the striking similarities between the doctrines upheld by this prophet and the Jewish-Christian teachings.

Zoroaster or Strabo?

As a matter of fact, the religious ideas first advocated by Zoroaster were fundamental in shaping what emerged as Judaism after the 5th century B.C., according to some scholars, and thus deeply influenced the other Abrahamic religions –Christianity and Islam. The first and most important encounter between Judaism and Zoroastrianism might have taken place during the “Captivity in Babylon” (586-537 B.C.).

We are not saying that Zoroastrianism solely was the direct ancestor of the Abrahamic faiths, but it had a profound impact on them, especially on Christianity. His prophet, Zoroaster, was the first, among the traditional Aryan religions, who expounded the idea of a one good God who brought all things into being (including humans’ free will): Ahura Mazda or Ohrmazd. That is to say, he proposed a monotheism, at least a tempered one. He was also the first to link religious belief with profound commitment to personal morality. Zoroastrian eschatology (the branch of theology concerned with the final events of history and the ultimate fate of the individual and humanity as a whole) is also very close to the Jewish and Christian eschatologies, at least regarding the main ideas, such as the last judgement. It seems that, according to his teachings, the souls do not attain their final destiny until the resurrection of the body. The Zoroastrian doctrine also has the promise of a Saoshyant, term with a similar meaning to Messiah in the Avestan language, one of the most ancient languages in the Indoeuropean family. This future prophet of Ahura Mazda would renew the earth and prepare it for a new Kingdom of righteousness. This way, the parallels with Jewish messianic doctrine is a stunning fact. The idea of “sin” was also strenuously developed in Zoroastrianism.

It is also likely that Zoroaster’s ideas influenced on Jewish-Christian angeology and demonology. They believed in an evil spirit, Ahriman or Angra Mainyu, which sometimes was considered, especially by Zoroaster’s successors (and the Zurvanism, a heresy within this religion), as the evil counterpart of Ahura Mazda, so that the Zoroastrianism would have a dualist theology, like the Manichaeism. Zoroaster, however, focused on the idea that Ahriman, who grew out of Ahura Mazda, voluntarily chose to turn evil.

COROLLARY

At this point it is possible to draw some conclusions. The first one is that our past has greatly shaped the world in which we live, just like our past personal experiences shape our behaviour and personality. Our Christian anthropology and ethic, our classical roots. Art is a good way to know that past and the features that our common history has bestowed upon us, since it renders the culture from which it emerges.

However, art does not reflect just historical episodes (Constantine’s deeds) or a religious/philosophical background (Zoroastrianism/Greek philosophy), but also the human condition itself, including our tendency to conceive the most intricate machinations (like the story of the Donation), as well as our best attributes, such as forgiveness and atonement (the story of St. Stephen and St. Paul). Thus, art is ambiguous because we are ambiguous too. But this ambiguity is cathartic as long as the beholders, by contemplating these scenes, can unlock the concealed longings and emotions of their hearts, their desire to know about themselves, to reach the highest development, as human and spiritual beings, through this acknowledgement.