Introduction

The Oratorians positioned themselves as the opposite to the Jesuits and other religious orders. Their patrons and fundraising defined their priorities for commissioning art and architecture to further their Order’s mission. This exhibit seeks to reveal the tensions between the satisfaction of needs against the meeting of wants of artists, patrons, and the Order which manifested themselves in the art and architecture of the Chiesa Nuova and the Oratorio dei Filippini. 

First, the exhibit leads viewers through the Chiesa Nuova and how the founders of the Oratory satisfied their need for a place of worship first and foremost. The design and construction of the church immediately positions the Oratorians as diverging from the Jesuits, which is evident upon analysis of the Gesu. Then, the exhibit will explore the second generations of Oratorians, who constructed a proper oratory and residential building for the order. The processes by which the Oratory expanded will be under close scrutiny. Finally, the exhibit will highlight pieces of the artistic program of the Chiesa Nuova, as evidence that the precedent for style and values was set before the expansion of the Piazza beyond the church.