Coffered Ceiling
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Authors
Domenichino
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Keyword
Ceiling , Assumption of the Virgin , Stemma , Coffered Ceiling , Coat of Arms , Assumption of Mary
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Abstract
In the nave of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome is a coffered ceiling. The richly polychrome and gilded ceiling was completed on December 9, 1617, under the patronage of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini (1571–1621). Designed by Domenichino (1581–1641), who also painted the central panel Assumption of the Virgin, the ceiling consists of a geometric network of star-shaped coffers framing the painting.
The gilding alone cost Cardinal Aldobrandini 7,000 scudi. At the time, Aldobrandini had fallen from favour under the Borghese papacy (beginning in 1605) and had been politically shunned from the court, living in Ravenna. As Michael Hill writes, the ceiling “was a timely reminder of the incumbent camerlengo’s still potent magnificence.” The Aldobrandini coat of arms is inlaid into two of the coffers, asserting his presence and influence.
Following its completion, the clerestory walls were rebuilt to support the ceiling’s additional weight. There is another highly decorated ceiling in the transept of the church from the late sixteenth century.
Photograph(s) licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Description
Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome
Citation
Michael Hill, “The Patronage of a Disenfranchised Nephew: Cardinal Scipione Borghese and the Restoration of San Crisogono in Rome, 1618-1628,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 60, no. 4 (2001): 432-449.