FROM DEAD END TO CENTRAL CITY OF THE WORLD: (RE)LOCATING ROME ON RUSKIN'S MAP OF EUROPE

The habit of observing and recording carefully, in words and in drawing, the works of God in nature and of man in art made travel essential to the process of continual rediscovery which characterizes the work of John Ruskin, causing him to repeatedly redraw his map of Europe. In 1840–1, the young man's Evangelical upbringing and antipathy for the classical inhibited his response to Rome, which remained peripheral to the monumental volumes of the mid-century. Shifting religious views and studies of ancient myth prepared the way for two revelatory visits to Rome in the early 1870s. In Oxford lectures, Ruskin read in Botticelli's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel syntheses of oppositions between schools of art, between the natural and the spiritual, Greek and Christian cultures, Catholic faith and Reforming energies. He also came to feel the ‘power of the place’ in holy places of early Christianity and in continuities of peasant life. Rome is therefore relocated as ‘the central city of the world’, but modern realities menaced this vision. What had been an impoverished backwater was undergoing massive redevelopment and industrialization as the capital of a newly unified state with international ambitions. From these changes, commented on in his monthly pamphlet, Fors Clavigera, Ruskin extracted severe lessons for Victorian Britain. This article is about the ways in which the two types of change interact.

Rome after Josquin

The “Roman period” of Josquin des Prez resulted in a small but impressive body of work, and the Missa La sol fa re mi has been received as one of the most substantial and finest members of this corpus. Closer inspection of the transmission of this mass, however, suggests that despite its copying at the Sistine Chapel before 1500, there is reason to situate it instead among the problematic and derivative copies of Josquin’s music made at the papal chapel after his departure. I argue that rather than originating from the composer’s tenure in Rome, the Missa La sol fa re mi entered the papal chapel repertoire as part of an influx of music by composers associated with the French royal court surrounding the Italian campaign of King Charles VIII in 1494–95. Decoupling the Missa La sol fa re mi from Josquin’s tenure at the papal chapel raises new possibilities surrounding his works-chronology, biography, and milieu.

Renaissance Humanist Reinterpretations of Eve; The Writings of Christine De Pizan and Isotta Nogarolla

The purpose of my research is to explore the ways that intellectuals reinterpreted Eve using the Humanistic method during the Renaissance, questioning the naturalized relationship between women and sin. Humanism, a growing movement during the 15th century, placed emphasis on ascertaining meaning through analyzing works for their intended meaning and considering the context, while also revering God and antiquity alongside attention to the individual. Christine De Pizan and Isotta Nogarola use the Humanistic method of analysis in different ways to argue that Eve, and womankind, do not deserve a devious reputation and it is not justified by God. I will use historical artworks and writings to show how Eve was depicted prior to and during Renaissance Humanism. For example, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel depiction of the Fall fundamentally differs from other previous works by redistributing the culpability of Adam and Eve; no longer is Eve a sensual being, nor entirely to blame for the Fall. Additionally, as is necessary with any historical analysis, I will examine the contextual factors that allowed for the reinterpretation of Eve, especially by women, including the ways that both were a product and yet also ahead of their time. Whether the reinterpretations are pro-feminine or not is irrelevant in many respects, for the significance stems from women taking back a piece of historiography of the prototype woman, Eve.

Ecos de una polémica no olvidada

ResumenLa limpieza de la bóveda Sixtina a partir de los años 80 creó entre los estudiosos del arte y los restauradores una polémica que no termina todavía. Arthur C. Danto en cuyo libro ¿Qué es elarte?, pone en tela de juicio la restauración conducida por Gianluigi Colalucci, cree que el hecho de haber limpiado la bóveda de sustancias extrañas le ha quitado la nobleza a la obra de Miguel Ángel, confundiendo la pátina con la suciedad acumulada a través de los años. Castrillón piensa que con toda razón se puede argumentar que al quitar la suciedad y devolverle los colores originales a la obra del pintor florentino, se ha procedido a buscar la verdad que es también una necesidad ética del público observador. El artículo va acompañado de una entrevista que el autor realizó el 2 de octubre del 2019 en Roma al Profesor Colalucci.Palabras clave: Capilla Sixtina, Miguel Ángel, restauración, Gianluigi Colalucci AbstractThe cleaning of the Sistine vault from the 80s created a controversy between art scholars and restaurateurs that has not yet ended. Arthur C. Danto in whose book “What art is?” the restoration ofthe equipment led by Gianluigi Colalucci is questioned. Danto, believes that the fact of having cleaned the vault of strange substances has taken away the nobility of Michelangelo's work, confusing the patina with the dirt accumulated over the years. Castrillón thinks that one can rightly argue that by removing the dirt and returning the original colors of the Florentine painter's work, one has proceeded to seek the truth that is also an ethical necessity of the observing public. The article is accompanied by an interview that the author carried out on October 2, 2019 in Rome to Professor Colalucci.Keywords: Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo, restoration, Gianluigi Colalucci