Instructionum fabricae, et supellectilis ecclesiasticae libri II

Autore: BORROMEO, Carlo (1538-1584)

Tipografo: Pacifico da Ponte

Dati tipografici: Milano, 1577


ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARCHITECTURAL TREATISES OF THE 16th CENTURY

12mo (132x73 mm). 213, [9] leaves and a folding woodcut diagram. Collation: A-S12 T6. The last leaf is a blank. With the woodcut device of Carlo Borromeo on the title page. 18th-century vellum, gilt spine with trace of a missing lettering spine, marbled endleaves, sprinkled edges (rubbed, worn, spine restored). On the front flyleaf ownership entries: “Ad usum Abbatis Herculis Sfondrati Canonici Ordinarij Metropolis Med.ni” and “nunc vero Can.ci Ord.i Christophori Bazetti”. Upper margin cut short occasionally affecting the running title, some marginal staining, plate slightly browned, tiny hole on about the last five leaves not affecting the text, one line of text anciently covered with a paper strip on l. M5, all in all a good copy.

Rare first edition of this treatise that had a profound effect on art and architecture not only of the time, but also in subsequent centuries (cf. N. Benazzi-M. Marinelli, La fortuna dell'opera, in: “C. Borromeo, Instructionum fabricae, et supellectilis ecclesiasticae libri II, 1577”, S. della Torre & M. Marinelli, eds., Città del Vaticano, 2000, pp. VII-VIII).

Deeply influenced by the decrees of the Council of Trent, Borromeo believed that religious art should be clear and direct; that it should educate the spectator and move him to penance. In the Instructionum fabricae he set out his proposals for the reform of church architecture and decoration. The first section of thirty-three chapters concerns the building and its interior. The second book pertains with scrupulous exactitude and meticulous detail to ecclesiastical furnishing. E.g., in chapter seventeen, where he discusses the representation of sacred events, he stipulates punishment or fine for painters and sculptors who deviate from his prescribed guidelines for decorum. He believed that portraits should be as accurate as possible and that the depiction of animals, except in a biblical or hagiographical context, should be prohibited (cf. E.C. Voelker, Borromeo's Influence on Sacred Art and Architecture, in: “San Carlo Borromeo”, J.M. Headley & J.B. Tomaro, eds., Washington DC, 1988, pp. 172-187).

In the section on architecture Borromeo discusses the symbolic aspects of church buildings: the porticos, windows, octagonal-type baptistery doors and orientation. His aim was to fuse the symbolism with liturgical practicalities to produce buildings of simple design with a restraint use of the Classical orders. This new austerity did not preclude decoration altogether, as he declares, perhaps ironically, that churches could be embellished if such expenditure were balanced with the aid given to the poor. Instrumental in implementing these ideas was Pellegrino Tibaldi, who designed buildings for him in Milan and Pavia from 1564 to about 1582 (cf. J.S. Ackerman, Pellegrino Tibaldi, San Carlo Borromeo e l'architettura ecclesiastica del loro tempo, in: “San Carlo e il suo tempo”, Rome, 1986, I, pp. 573-586). Also Tibaldi's Discorso dell'architettura was strongly influenced by Borromeo's ideas. Works by Tibaldi include the Collegio Borromeo at Pavia, the Canonica del Duomo, the churches of San Carlo al Lazzaretto, and San Sebastiano, and the courtyard of the Palazzo Arcivescovile, all in Milan. Tibaldi was succeeded by Martino Bassi as architect to the Fabbrica, and was also commissioned to reconstruct the ancient church of San Lorenzo.

Borromeo's views were also absorbed by such architects as Galeazzo Alessi and Andrea Palladio (cf. H. Gabor, Palladio e San Carlo Borromeo, in: “Bollettino del Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio”, 22/2, 1980, pp. 205-211). The interior of Palladio's Il Redentore (begun 1576 in Venice), devoid of superfluous ornament with its separation of choir from presbytery, testifies to this new simplicity. Borromeo may in turn have been inspired by the work of contemporary architects, for instance by Palladio's Latin-cross plan of San Giorgio Maggiore (Venice). Borromeo also appreciated the didactic possibilities of the Sacro Monte at Varallo, where he made two visits, encouraging the resumption of the work, which had halted after the departure of Gaudenzio Ferrari, and modified Alessi's plans.

His views influenced artists working in Milan. He supported Giulio and Antonio Campi in the competition for the organ shutters in Milan cathedral in 1564 and commissioned Antonio Campi to paint a Crucifixion with scenes from the Passion (now in Louvre, Paris) for his private chapel in the Palazzo Archivescovile, a picture that perfectly expresses his belief, indebted to Saint Ignatius Loyola, in the value of meditating on religious images. Under his influence Paolo Camillo Landriani, Simone Peterzano and Ambrosio Figino also developed clearer and more austere styles. It has been suggested that his religious ideals were also of fundamental importance to the art of Caravaggio. His collection, much of which he sold in 1569 for charitable purposes, included antique marbles. An inventory of 1618 includes Titian's Adoration of the Magi, an Agony in the Garden by either Giulio or Antonio Campi, and Jacopo Bassanoìs Annunciation to the Shepherds (all Ambrosiana, Milan). He asked Arrigo Fiammingo to make a copy of the highly venerated Virgin and Child in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, and may also have commissioned two portraits (Ambrosiana, Milan), executed after his death by Ambrogio Figino (cf. J. Alexander, From Renaissance to Counter-Reformation. The Architectural Patronage of Carlo Borromeo during the Reign pf Pius IV, Rome, 2007, passim).

“Il valore essenziale di un testo come le Instructiones di Carlo Borromeo sta nel suo carattere fondativo o instauratore, poiché inaugura, descrivendone l'accessibile praticabilità, un atteggiamento progettuale, conformativo di spazi e poli liturgici, che si fissa per più secoli nella coscienza collettiva, individuando, insieme al dato religioso, un livello di rappresentività all'azione liturgica oggi, troppo spesso e troppo facilmente o banalmente, degradato a scenografia teatrale... Il testo carlino […] afferma, per la prima volta, una chiara autonomia della architettura ecclesiastica, scissa dal contesto dei manufatti edilizi ai quali si rivolgeva l'erudita trattatistica, opera di personalità quali Serlio, Palladio, Scamozzi, Vignola […] come ulteriore chiave di comprensione delle Instructiones borromaiche, va ricordata una seconda e non meno interessante questione, accanto a quella delle immagini, certamente la più ricca e complessa nella relazione arte-concilio di Trento. Si tratta del tema della tradizione, del suo peso nel contesto dogmatico nella chiesa, tema che diventa, in ambito artistico, con un trapasso non perfettamente controllabile, continuità di figura, di simboli, di matrici formali” (M.A. Crippa, Il contributo di Carlo Borromeo all'architettura e all'arte per la liturgia nelle ‘Instructiones': un punto di vista attualizzante, in: “I tempi del concilio. Religione, cultura e società nell'Europa tridentina”, C. Mozzarelli & D. Zadin, eds., Rome, 1997, pp. 426, 430, 434).

Carlo, son of Ghiberto Borromeo, count of Arona, and Margarita de' Medici, was born at the castle of Arona on Lago Maggiore. He studied civil and canon law at Pavia. In 1554 his father died, and, although he had an elder brother, Count Federico, he was requested by the family to take the management of their domestic affairs. After a time, however, he resumed his studies and in 1559 he took his doctor's degree. In 1560 his uncle, Cardinal Angelo de' Medici, was raised to the pontificate as Pius IV. Borromeo was made prothonotary, entrusted with both the public and privy seal of the ecclesiastical state, and created cardinal with the administration of Romagna, and the March of Ancona, and the supervision of the Franciscans, the Carmelitans and the knights of Malta. He was thus at the age of twenty-two the leading statesman of the papal court. Having moved to Rome, he also explored with his friend Filippo Neri the early Christian remains and in 1561 became a friend of Michelangelo, whose fresco The Last Judgement he defended against the latter's critics (cf. R. de Maio, Carlo Boromeo e Michelangelo, in: “San Carlo e il suo tempo”, Rome, 1986, II, pp. 995-1011). In 1562 he founded the Accademia delle Notti Vaticane, an academy of learned churchmen and was instrumental in persuading Pius IV to convene the third session of the Council of Trent. A year later he was appointed Archbishop of Milan and returned in his diocese in 1565. On the death of his brother, he was advised to quit the church and marry, that his family might not become extinct. He declined the proposal, however, and became henceforward still more fervent in exercise of piety, and more zealous for the welfare of the church. He devoted himself wholly to the reformation of his diocese, made a series of pastoral visits, established seminaries, colleges and communities for the education of candidates for holy orders. Borromeo met with much opposition to his reforms. The governor of the province, and many of the senators, addressed complaints to the courts of Rome and Madrid. They were apprehensive that the cardinal's ordinances would encroach upon the civil jurisdiction, Borromeo also faced staunch opposition of several religious orders, particularly that of the Humiliati (Brothers of Humility). Some members of that society formed a conspiracy against his life, and a shot was fired at him in the archiepiscopal chapel. His survival was considered miraculous. He successfully attacked his Jesuit confessor, Giovanni Battista Ribera who, with other members of the college of Milan, was found to be guilty of unnatural offences. This action increased Borromeo's enemies within the church. Devotion to him as a saint was at once shown and gradually grew, and the Milanese kept his anniversary as though he were canonized. This veneration, at first private, became universal, and after 1601 Cardinal Baronius wrote that it was no longer necessary to keep his anniversary by a requiem Mass, and that the solemn Mass of the day should be sung. Then materials were collected for his canonization, and processes were begun at Milan, Pavia, Bologna, and other places. In 1604 the cause was sent to the Congregation of Rites. Finally, 1 November 1610, Paul V solemnly canonized Carlo Borromeo, and fixed his feast for the 4th day of November. The position which he held in Europe was indeed a very remarkable one. The mass of correspondence both to and by him testifies to the way in which his opinion was sought. The popes under whom he lived sought his advice. The sovereigns of Europe, Henry III of France, Philip II, Mary Queen of Scots, and others showed how they valued his influence. In 1614 it was decreed that he was to be portrayed as a holy cardinal and not as an archbishop. Daniele Crespi's Supper of San Carlo (Santa Maria della Passione, Milan) movingly records his austerity, while a monumental bronze and copper statue designed by Cerano in 1614 and erected by the Borromeo family to commemorate their illustrious native saint, suggests the heroic strength of the reformer (cf. M. de Certeau, Carlo Borromeo, in: “Dizionario biografico degli Italiani”, Rome, 1977, XX, pp. 260-269).

Borromeo's woodcut device on the title-page shows the sentence “tales ambio defensores” and Saint Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan between Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius. He also caused to be made a banner with this device, which was carried in procession through Milan at the time of the great plague (1576).

Edit 16, CNCE24376; Adams, B-2518; Index Aureliensis, 122.519; C. Borromeo, Instructionum fabricae, et supellectilis ecclesiasticae libri duo, Milan, 1577, E.C. Voelker, ed. & transl., Ann Arbor, MI, 1981, passim; R. Haslam, Pellegrino de' Pellegrini, Carlo Borromeo and the Public Architecture of the Counterreformation, in: “Arte Lombarda”, 94/5, 1990, pp. 17-30; J. Bury, Renaissance Architectural Treatises and Architectural Books: A Bibliography, in: “Les Traités d'Architecture de la Renaissance”, Paris, 1988, p. 488.


[13979]