BAGLIONE, Cesare

Another example of the later grotesques is in Soragna. Just how much this genre was appreciated can be seen from the fact that rooms and even large halls were entirely decorated with grotesques - mostly in combination with fantastic landscapes.

Soragna is a town in the province of Parma. The Rocca (fortress) was built in 1385 by the Marchesi Bonifacio and Antonio Lupi.

Some of the Roman paintings found in the Domus Aurea and elsewhere correspond quite precisely what Vasari and others determined to be the typical features of grotesques. These paintings inspired several ceiling designs ‘all’antica’ in the first part of the sixteenth century. The desire to revive not only the forms of ancient Roman architecture but also their decoration may help to explain the success of these paintings. In particular, Raphael and the specialist in his workshop, who mastered the genre completely, helped the grotesque style to spread quickly in Rome. This style enjoyed a long-lasting success, which can still be demonstrated even after mid-century. Nevertheless, quite early on the genre developed independently and distanced itself increasingly from ancient models. Later grotesques differed from antique iconography in every respect and retain only the principle of an absurd and paradoxical combination of varied buildings, figures, animals, and plants that Vitruvius criticized.

The fresco decoration in the Rocca dei Rossi is an example of the later grotesques. Rocca dei Rossi is a castle located in San Secondo Parmense, northern Italy. It was begun in 1466 on land donated to Giacomo Rossi, a member of one of the most prestigious families in Parma. The stronghold was later turned into a luxurious manor including many beautiful frescoes by the best local artists of the 16th century.

The decoration of this room represents depictions of the history of the Rossi family from 1199 to to 1542. It is the work of Cesare Baglione, Jacopo Bertoia, and others.

The decoration of large halls with the deeds of the nobility and their ancestors was intended to inspire the viewer’s admiration. The depiction of such events from the recent past has a long tradition. Most such cycles in the first half of the sixteenth century, however, are dedicated to a single person or event. By contrast, from the middle of the century onward this genre was increasingly devoted to the representation of dynasties.

Pragmatic reasons were behind the success of the idea, derived from Raphael and his workshop, of making mural painting that simulated tapestries. Sometimes the possibility of pulling the tapestries aside was used to integrate doors or windows into the decoration. The popularity of the tapestry motif was not based solely on formal concerns, however. It imitated the most splendid and expensive wall decoration of all, which cost many times more than a fresco painting and could be afforded by very few. Hence, particularly in large halls like those in San Secondo, this motif also contributed to their significance and emphasized the importance of the thing depicted - in this case the deeds of the family in question.