The Montemirabile or Saint John the Baptist Chapel, otherwise the Baptistery (
Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo
.
History
The chapel is named after Giovanni Montemirabile (an italianized name for Jean de Montmirail), the
St. John the Baptist. The chapel was transformed into the baptistery of the basilica in 1561. After 1568 a Renaissance funeral monument was built for Cardinal Francesco Abbondio Castiglioni by the right side wall. The monumental Renaissance wall tomb of Cardinal Antoniotto Pallavicini was transferred to the chapel in the second quarter of the 17th century, its bulk partially hiding from view or replacing the original painted decoration of the left wall. In 1657 fragments of a demolished quattrocento monument from the choir were reassembled in the chapel in the form of two aediculae by Cardinal Flavio Chigi
, the nephew of Pope Alexander VII, who was Cardinal-Priest of the basilica at the time.
Sometime before 1674 a new painting was made for the main altar by
Pasquale Rossi. The previous altarpiece depicted the same subject bearing an inscription: Ex piorum amicorum elemosynis, meaning "from the gifts of the pious friends".[1]
This shows that the chapel was not under the patronage of any particular family.
Description
Although the chapel retained its basic architectural layout, many of its features were lost during the later alterations. The side walls of the windowless, hexagonal chapel are articulated by painted Corinthian pilasters decorated with tendrils, vases, flowers, animals, sphinxes, phantastic creatures and garlands on a yellow background, resting on a fake marble pedestal. These were created by the workshop of Pinturicchio. The vault is simply painted white. The keystone bears the escutcheon of Pope Sixtus IV encircled by an egg and dart moulding. The entrance arch of the chapel is painted to look like grey marble; it is decorated with a band of acanthus leaves and an egg and dart edge.
Aediculae
The most valuable works of art in the chapel are the aediculae of the baptismal font and the holy oil (oleum sanctum) on either side of the main altar. They were assembled in 1657 from 15th-century marble fragments and integrated with new additions. The original pieces are exquisite sculptural works by the school of Andrea Bregno. Pico Cellini claimed that the sculptures of the saints in the shell-headed niches had previously decorated the rear side of Bregno's old main altar which was demolished in 1627 (the front side is kept in the sacristy). This theory remains disputed because that statues might have come from other demolished monuments in the basilica like the lost Borgia tombs.[2] The identification of the four saints are uncertain except the figure of John the Baptist (with scroll and lamb) on the baptismal font and John the Evangelist (with chalice) on the font of the holy oil. The symbols, the haloes and the hair of the figures are gilded. The shafts of the Composite pilasters are decorated with ecclesiastical symbols: different types of crosses, cardinal's hats, torches, wreathes, palm branches, lamps. The shields with the crosses on the pilasters of the aedicula of the holy oil indicate that these parts came from the Cybo chapels. On the dropped friezes there are pairs of cherub heads between bunches of fruits. Inside the niche of the baptismal font there is a relief depicting the Baptism of Jesus. The coats of arms on the plinths belong to Cardinal Flavio Chigi.