We are delighted to announce this new SAHGB-IHR event.
UPDATE: Due to train strikes on the day, this event will now be ONLINE ONLY through Zoom. A link will be circulated to all who registered the morning of the event. Thank you for understanding.
Taking as its focus three façades designed by Galeazzo Alessi (1512-1572) for the churches of Santa Maria Assunta in Genoa, Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan and Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, this paper explores the concept of cultus externus and the appropriate use of architectural decoration in a religious context.
As will be explored, the argument for cultus externus - that is, the idea that a church should be as magnificent and beautiful as possible because it is a reflection of God - took on renewed importance in the mid-sixteenth century, as Catholic reformers mounted a defence against the protestant’s criticism of ostentatious churches. In Alessi’s case, the argument for cultus externus permitted him to let loose his imagination, resulting in the case of Santa Maria presso San Celso in one of the most inventive and animated church façades of the Italian Renaissance. However, such abundance of decorative detail was not always possible, as can be seen in the case of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which despite what had come before in Alessi’s Milanese works, shows much more restraint - a factor that was no doubt due to the conservative nature of his Observant Franciscan patrons.
Through the discussion of these three façades, Alessi is revealed to have been a highly inventive architect, a man well-versed in the religious debates of his day and someone who adapted their style to the needs of his patrons and created some of the most magnificent churches of the period.
Facade of Santa Maria presso San Celso (by Rebecca Gill).
BIO
Rebecca Gill is Morgan Fellow at the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture at Downing College, Cambridge. She is currently writing her book, Galeazzo Alessi and the Architecture of the Catholic Reformation and has published on various aspects of Alessi’s career, including his use of architectural drawings. She also curated the National Gallery’s exhibition, Virtual Veronese.
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