Art History Lecture w/ Tom Richards - Sculpture in Rome

An Installment in the Art History related content on The FAA Collective Patreon

Dear Patrons,

Thank you for your continued support! As part of The FAA Collective’s Sculpture Season featuring an array of content surrounding the art form of sculpture, we would like to present you with a new art history lecture by Tom Richards, the Florence Academy of Art’s Assistant Director and resident Art Historian, to kick off this seasonal lecture series! 

Rome, a city with ancient roots, founded in the 8th century BCE and today is the national capital of Italy, and only a 1.5 hour train ride away from the FAA’s home in Florence, is the focus of this lecture where we explore artworks, artists, and locations that showcase the unique essence of the city’s sculptural elements up through the baroque era.

Following the 1527 Sack of Rome and the Council of Trent, we explore the history behind who was the most influential and what they wanted to convey with the monuments and works that were commissioned in this city that was the seat of regional and religious stature and power. When compared to the Renaissance of Florence, the works of Rome are larger in scale and have a very different style and purpose.

Join us on this journey through several of the greatest works to be found in the city and take a quick glimpse into a few of the most revered museums and churches in Rome while learning about the compositional elements of the works, how they were intended to be viewed, and how they are displayed now!

We hope you thoroughly enjoy this lecture, featuring artworks from antiquity and by artists such as Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, 1386-1466), Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, 1475-1564), and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)  while exploring spaces such as The Vatican Museums, the Borghese Gallery and Museums, and The Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome and Vatican City; especially during these times when travel is restricted! More details on the artworks and locations mentioned in the lecture can be found below.

Additionally, in case you missed it, a great precursor to this lecture covering many of the same artists is our Art History Lecture w/ Tom Richards - Sculpture in Florence.

More about Tom:

Tom Richards was born in London in 1982. In addition to his experience as a painter he has an MA in Art History from the University of St Andrews, graduating in 2005. Since then Tom has divided his time between London and Florence. In recent years he has exhibited his work in London and undertaken numerous commissions in Europe and beyond. He is currently Assistant Director of The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy.

To view his work please visit:

Instagram: @tominflorence 

Website: www.tawrichards.com 

FAA Alumni Gallery: www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/tom-richards 

If you would like to further research the works from the lecture we have selected details on artists, artworks and locations below, in the order presented in the lecture:

Bust of Costanza Bonarelli (Busto di Costanza Bonarelli), 1636–37 located in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, Italy by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598, Naples – 1680 Rome)

Saint Sebastian (San Sebastiano), 1617-18 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain.

Bust of Pope Innocent X, one of two portrait busts by Gian Lorenzo Bernini of Pope Innocent X, Giovanni Battista Pamphili. Created around 1650, both sculptures are now in the Galleria Doria Pamphili in Rome, Italy.

Portrait of Pope Innocent X, oil painting, 1650 by Diego Velázquez located in the Doria Pamphili Gallery in Rome, Italy.

Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Italy.

Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, the Ospedale degli Innocenti designed by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446, Florentine) in Florence, Italy.

Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti) (1475, Caprese Michelangelo – 1564, Rome) in Rome.

Details by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel (ceiling and wall) in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.

Creation of Eve, 1410 by Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi) (1386–1466, Florentine) in the collection of the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy.

The Pistoia Crucifix, c. 1600/1616 by Pietro Tacca (1577-1640, Florentine) located at the The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, USA.

Crucifixion, c. 1622 by Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), located in The Church of San Zaccaria in Venice, Italy.

Saint George (San Giorgio), c. 1415–1417 by Donatello, located in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, Italy.

The Fontana della Pigna or simply Pigna decorates a vast niche in a wall of the Vatican facing the Cortile della Pigna, located in Vatican City. A former Roman fountain, architect Pirro Ligorio (1512–1583) designed the wall and niche.

David, 1501–1504, by Michelangelo located in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy.

David, started in 1623, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located in the Borghese Gallery and Museum in Rome, Italy.

Saint Longinus, 1629–38, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located at St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647–1652, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located at Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy.

Detail of Saint Teresa of Jesus (Avila) after portrait from life by Fray Juan de la Miseria (-1616) in 1576.

The Rape of Proserpina (Ratto di Proserpina) 1621–1622, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located in the Borghese Gallery and Museum, Rome, Italy.

Laocoön and His Sons by Agesander of Rhodes, Athenodoros of Rhodes, and Polydorus of Rhodes, c. 40-30 BCE, Excavated in Rome in 1506. Located at the Vatican Museums, Vatican City.

Copy of the restoration of the Vatican’s Laocoön and His Sons by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located in Venice, Italy.

Apollo and Daphne, 1622–1625, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini located in the Borghese Gallery and Museum, Rome, Italy.

Apollo Belvedere located in the Vatican Museums, Vatican City.

Discobolus Lancellotti and the fragmentary statue of the Lancellotti type. Roman copies of a 5th century BC Greek original by Myron, Hadrianic period. Located at the Palazzo Massimo all Terme in Rome, Italy.

Seleucid prince, bronze, Greek of the Hellensitic era, 3rd-2nd centuries BCE, located at the Palazzo Massimo all Terme in Rome, Italy.

Boxer at Rest, bronze, Hellenistic Greek sculpture, c. 330-50 BCE, in the collection of the National Museum of Rome, normally displayed in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, in Rome, Italy.