Bring Me The Head Of St. Lawrence Of Rome, Patron Saint Of Librarians

By Stephen J. Gertz

Martyrs roasting on an open fire,

Larry's last words bravely won:

Though it's been said many times many ways,

"Stick a fork in me, I'm done."

He's a patron saint of librarians because he sacrificed his life to save Church documents. He's the patron saint of cooks because he knew what it was like to be on the wrong end of a basting brush. And he's the patron saint of comedians because he was dying onstage yet still riffed a wisecrack.

The only Church deacon (of seven) to survive the Emperor Valerian's persecution in 258, St. Lawrence was afterward soon arrested for refusing to turn over Church treasures. By legend he was grilled to death and is said to have had the presence of mind to joke to his torturers, "I'm done on this side; turn me over."

There but for a consonant a myth is born. In the early twentieth century historian Rev. Patrick Healy postulated that the tradition was based upon a simple error. The Church formula for announcing the death of a martyr, Passus est ("he suffered," i.e. was martyred) was mangled, the "P" early lost in transcription, and Assus est - "He roasted" -  became the received truth. Not that Healy's hypothesis was accepted. It threw cold water on St. Lawrence; the faithful prefer the fire.

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend" (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance).

"His charred body was claimed by the Christians, and his mummified skull is still in the care of the popes. At the Vatican on the tenth of August every year they expose in its golden reliquary the head of Saint Lawrence that still, in the distorted mouth, in the burned bone of the skull, shows the agony he suffered to defend the archives of the popes" (Maria Luisa Ambrosini and Mary Willis, The Secret Archives of the Vatican. New York: 1996, p. 27).

Another apocryphal story, by way of Father Jacques Marquette, is that St. Lawrence inspired the classic Julie London hit tune Cry Me a River before being beheaded (his likely demise).



It is not true, however, that the story of St. Lawrence inspired Peter Greenaway's  1989 cinematic salute to roast human, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.
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Image of St. Lawrence courtesy of Infolit, with our thanks.
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The Scarce and Exquisite Colored Engravings of Raphael's Vatican Loggia

by Stephen J. Gertz

These splendid, large-size copperplate engravings, from the suite Le Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano (Rome: 1772-77), after the celebrated frescoes by Raphael in the loggia of the Vatican, are scarce, with OCLC recording only two complete copies in libraries worldwide.

But a complete copy has surfaced and is being offered by Ketterer Kunst Auktions' Hamburg office in their Sale 385, lot 80, November 21, 2011. It is estimated to sell for $27,000.

The Raphael Loggia consists of thirteen arches forming a gallery sixty-five meters long and four meters wide. Its construction was begun by architect and painter  Donato Bramante in 1512, under Pope Julius II and was completed by Raphael under the reign of Leo X. Raphael began work on the frescoes in 1517.

The plates, designed by P. Camporesi, G. and L. Savorelli Teseo and engraved by G. Volpato (1733-1803) and G. Ottaviani (1735-1808), depict, in a vibrant color gouache, the pilasters, paneling, ceiling panels and two doorways with floral, figural and architectural motifs. Where human figures in the original frescoes were compromised by weathering and erosion, engravers Volpato and Ottaviani replaced them with elements from the Vatican tapestries designed by Raphael.

While Raphael's Vatican frescos were admired in their time, they were ultimately overshadowed by the work of Michaelangelo until the Neoclassicists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries rediscovered the Renaissance, and Raphael earned his place as the era's greatest artist of them all.

"Raphael is categorically the greatest painter of the last millennium, and the Loggia is his most significant legacy," says Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums and esteemed art historian.

"And yet the Loggia is the least known of Raphael's works. Millions of visitors to the Vatican Museums pass by it every year, but cannot go inside. Looking from Saint Peter's Square, it is in the second of the three glassed-in hallways across from the building in which the pope resides. When it was constructed, in the early part of the sixteenth century, it overlooked a garden. The thirteen arches of the Loggia frescoed by Raphael were not enclosed in glass until the nineteenth century. Originally, they were open to the luminous Roman sky, which made their colors even more brilliant" (Sandro Magister, Chiesa Espressonline).

Photograph of the Vatican Loggia of Raphael.

Take a video tour of the Vatican's Raphael Rooms and Loggia here.
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[RAPHAEL]. Raffael Santi d'Urbino. Le Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano.  [Rome: 1772-77]. Three parts in one imperial folio. Suite with frontispiece and forty-two copperplate engravings in a strong color gouache, folded. Designed by P. Camporesi, G. and L. Savorelli Teseo. Engraved by J. Volpato (1733-1803) and G. Ottaviani (1735-1808).

Kat. Ornamentstich-Slg. Bln. 4068. UCBA II, 1689. Brunet IV, 1110. Thieme/B. XXVI.

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Images courtesy of Ketterer Kunst Auktions, offering this volume at their November 21, 2011 sale, with our thanks.

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Lost Manuscripts of The Sistine Chapel: From Rome To Toledo To Dallas

By Nancy Mattoon

Image From The Votive Missal Of Urban VIII.
( All Images Courtesy of Meadows Museum.)

The phrase "looted art" has been most closely associated with Hitler's systematic seizure of Europe's cultural treasures--from both institutions and individuals--to enhance the glory of The Third Reich. But historically, the model Hitler followed was that of Napoleon. Upon conquering much of Italy, the Frenchman boasted: "We will now have all that is beautiful in Italy except for a few objects in Turin and Naples." Many of these stolen works of art became the basis for the collection in the Louvre Museum. And not only paintings and sculptures were looted by the army of Napoleon: rare books and manuscripts, many of which were easy to carry and conceal, became a favorite target of French soldiers.

Sadly, another aspect of rare books which made them attractive to looters was the fact that they could be torn apart and trafficked page by page. This was especially true of illuminated manuscripts, which were often sold as single leaves, containing beautiful miniature paintings and elaborate historiated initials. Fortunately, there is sometimes a historical figure who safeguards such treasures before they can be destroyed by mercenary soldiers. Such a man was the Spanish Archbishop of Toledo Cardinal Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana y Buitron (1722- 1804). A magnificent collection of works which he salvaged from the looted Sacristy of the Sistine Chapel are now on display in the United States for the first, and quite probably, only time.

The forty codices which Lorenzana spirited away to his homeland of Spain in 1798 are now the cornerstone of an exhibition at the Meadows Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University. The Lost Manuscripts From The Sistine Chapel: An Epic Journey From Toledo To Rome. Previously on view at the National Library of Spain, the presentation opened in Dallas on January 23, 2010. The exhibition features a broad range of liturgical writings used by the Catholic Church, ranging in date as far back as the 11th century, including benedictionals, blessings, breviaries, epistolaries, evangelistaries, missals, and preparations for mass. But more artistically important than the text of the books are their magnificent calligraphy and elaborate decorative elements. Each codex is a one-of-a-kind work of fine art, entirely handwritten and illustrated, and colored with pigments made of gold, silver, and precious stones like malachite and lapis lazuli.

Frieze with Cardinalitial Coat of Arms
of Cardinal Antoniotto Pallavicini
and Initial T (Te igitur) with the Pietá.

The exhibit is the fruit of more than a decade of research by Italian scholar, and co-curator of the show, Elena De Laurentiis. It began with what she calls, "A moment of great surprise," when she happened upon a photograph of books from the collection of the Biblioteca Capitular de Toledo, which improbably bore the Barberini seal, the emblem of the Italian family of Urban VIII, who was pope from 1623-44. She wondered how books which belonged in the inner sanctum of the Vatican wound up in a Spanish cathedral, and became determined to find out who was behind their mysterious journey. De Laurentiis found that Lorenzana had presented the works to the cathedral in Toledo "in order to save them," and had included a handwritten note detailing their provenance. While 26 of the books remained in the cathedral's library for nearly two centuries, 11 eventually went to a regional library in Toledo and three went to the National Library of Spain.

The Crucifixion, c. 1495-99.
By a Follower of Pietro Vannuccci,
called “Perugino.” (Italian, 1446-1524)
Folio of the Pontifical of Cardinal Pietro Barbo.

The illuminated manuscripts in the exhibition are especially splendid for two reasons. First, the books were originally commissioned for the Sacristy of the Sistine Chapel, which means they were part of a sacred collection accessible only to the Popes, and a few privileged emissaries. These volumes for the elite of the church hierarchy were far more lavishly constructed and illustrated than codices meant for lower level clerics. And second, they are in almost mint condition due the the fact that they were virtually forgotten about, and hence, untouched during the 200 years they remained in the libraries of Spain.

Mark Roglan, director of the Meadows Museum, says of the codices now on display, "These were the most private books read by the popes and cardinals at very special ceremonies. There are some codices here that Michelangelo would have heard or read from... Many of the codices are in perfect condition, and they have provided unprecedented insight into one of the most vibrant historical time periods at the Vatican. This is a very exciting discovery, and allows us to reconstruct one of the most important and valued pieces of papal heritage."

Antonio Maria Antonozzi (Italian, Active 1633-62),
Frontispiece of the Pope Urban VIII, c. 1634.
Folio of the Missal of Pope Urban VIII
with the Mass of Easter Sunday.

Thus far, the Vatican has shown no interest in recovering these magnificent volumes that, while saved from certain destruction by Lorenzana, are clearly the rightful property of the Holy See. The exhibit continues through April 23, 2010, at which time the codices will be returned to the three archives in Spain where they are held away from public view.

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