page_title: Theodoli Chapel (Santa Maria del Popolo)
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Theodoli Chapel (Santa Maria del Popolo) / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: White stucco angels holding a medaillon of St John the Baptist in the Theodoli Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo. Worky by Giulio Mazzoni.
context_page_description: The Theodoli Chapel or Chapel of Saint Catherine «del Calice» in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome is an important monument of Roman Mannerism. Although less known than some of the other side chapels of the same church it is a major work in the oeuvre of Giulio Mazzoni. The chapel opens at the end of the left arm of the transept next to the famous Cerasi Chapel.
context_section_description: According to art historian Patrizia Tosini the altar statue is a mature work of the artist and opened a new era in Mannerist sculpture with its solemn and soft cloths, proto-classicist attitude, composure and chiaroscuro features, „far removed from the rigidity and hyperbole of his contemporaries”. Even the setting of the statue (documented in its present form from the middle of the 17th century) in a Tuscan-style altar made entirely of white marble, evokes more the coldness of certain 19th century funerary monuments, than the colorful and imaginative architectural structures of mid-sixteenth century Roman art. The statue bears the signature of the artist on its pedestal: JULIUS MAZZONUS PLACENTINUS PICTOR ET SCULPTOR. A more conspicuous inscription on the base states: DIVAE CATHARINAE VIRG ET MART DICATUM ("dedicated to Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr"). The traditional attribute of the saint, the "breaking wheel" appears at her side but the instrument of torture is hardly noticeable.
  The vault is divided into trapezoidal panels which are separated by delicate white and gold stucco bands of vases and candelabra. Pairs of dainty stucco angels are resting on the edges of the lunettes in the corners. The trapezoidal panels are filled with paintings of the Four Evangelists with their traditional symbols and angels. In the central medallion an Angel with a laurel wreath appears. Saint Matthew and Saint Mark are accompanied by the four Doctors of the Church: Pope Gregory the Great and St. Ambrose with the former, St. Augustine and St. Jerome with the latter. According to the modern critics significant parts of the painted decoration were executed by Mazzoni while others are contributions of his workshop. The differentiation was made more difficult by a repainting of the frescoes in the 18th century (especially the figure of St. John the Evangelist, the corresponding lunette and St Luke). 
  There are different interpretations for the paintings in the three lunettes. The fresco on the right side undoubtedly depicts Saint Jerome Teaching among a large group of followers. The other two are simply described by Tosini as "Sybils and Prophets" but Cynthia Stollhans proposed a more complex explanation which takes into account the historic background and the overall iconographic program of the chapel. Thus the scene above the statue is The Disputation of Saint Catherine with the Philosophers, the most famous episode from the life of the saint when she convinced 50 of the best pagan philosophers and orators about the truth of Christianity. The painting shows her in an elevated position with three philosophers reading books and immersed in deep conversation. In the background a pair of little angels appear as heavenly muses. The scene above the entrance was identified by Stollhans as Saint Catherine Teaching. This shows the saint in the middle of a small group of two helping angels, a man and a half-nude woman, all of them studying scrolls. Possibly the fresco depicts the incarcerated Catherine converting Porphyrius, the captain of the imperial guard, another well-known episode from the Golden Legend. The lunettes depict both Saint Catherine and Saint Jerome in similar roles as teachers, preachers, theologians and patrons of learning.
  The two lateral apses with medallions of Sts. Jerome and John the Baptist celebrate the two male patron saints of Girolamo Theodoli. The painted medallions, which are decorated with ribbons and festoons, are held by pairs of white stucco angels depicted as naked young men. With their lightness and elegance these statues are the best parts of the stucco decoration.
  There are two large paintings of the Virgin of the Annunciation and the Angel of the Annunciation  on the side walls; the first was repainted from scratch by Giacomo Triga in the beginning of the 18th century, whereas the second was only retouched and retained its typically Mannerist style. Above them two smaller panels depict God the Father among angels and the Dove of the Holy Spirit among angels.
  One element of the decoration is a bit enigma
caption: White stucco angels holding a medaillon of St John the Baptist.
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