Introduction to Mantua 1. Architecture (On the Masters: Giulio Romano and Mannerism)

Introduction

When I was traveling through Italy for about a month this past March, I visited Mantua for its architecture.
At that time, I was completely captivated by the charm of this city, small as it is.

So, in this note, I would like to introduce the charm of Mantua that I felt while actually walking through the city, incorporating photos I took myself, from various angles such as history, culture, urban planning, and architecture.

The first installment in this series is about“Architecture”.

When you actually walk around Mantua, you notice that there is a surprisingly large number of historical buildings for the size of the city.
The background to this is the Gonzaga family, who once ruled this city, and the artists and architects they invited.

What is particularly interesting is the architecture of the era transitioning from the Renaissance to Mannerism.

This time, I will start with the question, “What exactly is Renaissance architecture?” and then look at Mannerism, Giulio Romano, and his masterpiece, the Palazzo Te, while incorporating photos I actually took.

1. What exactly is Renaissance architecture?

First, let's start with the question, “What is Renaissance architecture?”

Renaissance architecture is an architectural style that began in Florence, Italy, in the early 15th century (the first half of the 1400s). From there, it spread throughout Europe until the 16th century.

The Renaissance was an era that sought to re-examine the culture of ancient Greece and Rome. In architecture, too, ancient buildings were studied, and classical elements such as columns, arches, and domes were incorporated.

What was particularly valued were“harmony”and“proportion”.

Rather than thinking about each part of a building separately, architects tried to create beautiful spaces by adjusting the size and shape within the whole, using symmetry and geometric order.

Brunelleschi in Florence and Alberti, who was also active in Mantua, are representative architects.

Simply put, Renaissance architecture was an attempt to “create beautiful buildings using reason and proportion, with ancient architecture as a model.”

And, in the pursuit of this “harmonious beauty,” it moves in a somewhat interesting direction.

2. What is Mannerism?

In the Renaissance, harmonious and beautiful expressions were pursued, using ancient Greece and Rome as models, such as human body proportions, spatial depth, and symmetry.

However, in the 16th century, a slightly different expression emerged from that.

For example, this painting, Parmigianino's “Madonna with the Long Neck.”

As the name suggests, the Madonna's neck is strangely long, and her body is drawn to be impossibly slender. Furthermore, the placement of the figures and the space are somewhat unnatural.

This is not because it was “drawn poorly,” but rather that the artist, knowing the ideal human body and harmony pursued by the Renaissance, intentionally exaggerated and deformed them.

It wasMannerismthat expressed such elegance, instability, and sophisticated discomfort that do not exist in reality.

In contrast to the Renaissance, which pursued “perfect beauty,” Mannerism says, “Because it is perfect, let's dare to break it.”

Such 16th-century art and culture also began to appear in architecture.
And one of the representative architects of this is Giulio Romano.

3. Who is Giulio Romano?

One of the architects representing such Mannerism is Giulio Romano.

Born in Rome around 1499 and trained in Raphael's workshop, he was invited by the Gonzaga family to move to Mantua in 1524. There, he became the central artist of the court, working extensively not only in architecture but also in painting, interior design, and urban planning.

What is interesting about him is that he fully understood the classical architecture of the Renaissance and intentionally introduced “discrepancies” and “discomfort” into it.
His masterpiece is the Palazzo Te (Te Palace).

4. Looking at the exterior of the Palazzo Te

Now, this is where Giulio Romano's true ability comes into play.

Commissioned by Federico II of the Gonzaga family and built between 1525 and 1535, this building was not originally built as a residence like a royal palace, but as a “pleasure palace” for banquets and leisure. The composition centered on a courtyard, reminiscent of an ancient Roman villa, also well expresses its character.

At first glance, doesn't it look like a fairly well-ordered building?

The building stretches long to the left and right, with columns and arches lined up regularly, and there is a large entrance in the center.

It also uses only elements reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.

In Renaissance architecture, “harmonious beauty” was pursued by emphasizing proportion and symmetry, using such classical architecture as a model.

However, the Palazzo Te is interesting from here on.
Let's get closer and look at the details.

For example, this part.

Large columns stand on both sides, and above them is an entablature (a horizontal band placed on top of columns).
There is also a triangular decoration called a pediment in the center.

Up to this point, it is very much like classical architecture.

However, if you look closely underneath that...

“Huh? Isn't something strange?”

Between the columns are openings that look like windows but are actually blocked off.

Above them are small pediments, and the wall surface is finished with a rough texture called rustication, which looks like stacked stones.

Furthermore, reliefs of people and animals are lined up at the top.

Andwhat I want you to pay attention to isthat the entablature, which should normally cross the entire building horizontally, is higher at the columns and drops one level between the columns.

It is a playful touch typical of Giulio Romano, which is only possible because he knows the easy-to-understand rule that “beams are placed on top of columns.”
Even though he uses elements of classical architecture, it is somehow not neatly put together.



“It's classical, but it's somehow strange.”This sense of discomfort is exactly what makes the Palazzo Te interesting.

Furthermore, it is interesting to pay attention to these details as well.

Even at the base of the columns, which one might usually walk past, the expression of the stone and the unevenness are used boldly.

Palazzo Te is a building where the more you look at it up close, rather than just viewing the whole from a distance, the more you realize that it is 'different from ordinary Renaissance architecture'.

Now, let's go inside!

⑤ Looking inside Palazzo Te

On the exterior, by daring to 'shift' the rules of classical architecture, such as the columns and entablature, a unique sense of unease was created.

So, what is it like when you enter the building?

The representative example of this is the 'Hall of the Giants'.

When you enter the room, the first thing that catches your eye is the massive fresco that covers everything from the walls to the ceiling.

What is interesting here is not simply that 'a large picture was painted on the wall'.

By painting giants, gods, and clouds continuously from the walls to the ceiling, the boundaries between the walls and the ceiling, and between painting and architecture, have become blurred.

Normally, walls and ceilings clearly divide a space.

However, here, that very boundary is broken down, and it feels as if the entire room is being swallowed up into the world of a giant painting.

On the exterior, the 'rules of classical architecture' are broken, and on the interior, the 'boundary between architecture and painting' is broken.

Here, too, Giulio Romano's Mannerist philosophy of 'daring to break things precisely because one understands them' is expressed.

⑥ Summary

This time, we have looked at Mannerism through Giulio Romano's masterpiece, 'Palazzo Te'.

Knowing the rules of classical architecture, then daring to shift them.
Shaking up the order of architecture on the exterior, and the boundary between architecture and painting on the interior.

'It's classical, yet somehow strange.'

That is where Giulio Romano's appeal lies.

Then, conversely, what exactly was the 'classical beauty' that they broke?'Classical beauty'Next time, we will head to another building that represents Mantua,

the Basilica of Sant'Andrea. We will look at the architecture of 'harmony and order' created by the representative Renaissance architect,

Leon Battista Alberti!