Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Raphael Rooms: Room of the Fire in the Borgo: Fire in the Borgo
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Authors
Sheppard, Beth M.
Issue Date
May 20, 2017
Type
Image
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Keywords
Italy , Vatican City , Rome , Vatican Museums , Musei Vaticani , Art Museums , Sacred Art , Church Art , Paintings , Frescoes , Raphael , Raffaello Sanzio , Raphael Rooms , Stanze , High Renaissance Art , Italian High Renaissance Art , Christian Humanism in Art , Room of the Fire in the Borgo , Stanza dell' Incendio del Borgo , Room of Fire , Fire in the Borgo , Leo IV in Art , Popes in Art , Fire in Art , Old St. Peter's Basilica in Art , Aeneas in Art , Ceiling Roundels , Painted Ceilings , Justice in Art , Mercy in Art , Compassion in Art , Virtues in Art
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Abstract
Description
Multiple photos are associated with this record. Please click the links to view all of the items in the series. The images are of the painting, "Fire in the Borgo," for which The Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell' Incendio del Borgo; or, Room of Fire), is named. This is one of four Raphael Rooms that are part of the Vatican Museums. These are public museums that display about 20,000 of 70K works collected by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Only the Louvre in France receives more annual visitors than the Vatican Museums. The museums consist of 24 galleries, with the Sistine Chapel being the last room visited. The Raphael Rooms (known in Italian as the Stanze), which precede the Sistine Chapel on a tour of the Vatican Museums, were the private chambers of several popes. The paintings in the Rooms, designed by the master but completed over 15 years (1508-1524) primarily by Raphael's pupils, depict historic events that are framed in exuberant High Renaissance style. "The Fire in the Borgo" was completed by Raphael in 1514. The fresco depicts a fire which swept through Borgo in 847 during the pontificate of Leo IV, with people running for their lives or attempting to quench the fire. Leo IV is depicted in the background's loggia of Old St. Peter's, stopping the flames by making the sign of the cross. The group of figures on the left refers to Aeneas, the mythical founder of Rome who carried his father on his shoulders from Troy when it was burning. In addition to being one of Raphael's masterpieces, the painting is an important architectural document of Old St. Peter's, which was destroyed in the 16th century when a new basilica was built. The corresponding ceiling roundel fresco is that of Christ between personifications of the virtues justice and compassion (or mercy).
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CC BY-NC-SA 4.0