Pope Paul III - A Patron of The Arts and Family Interests

A Patron of The Arts and Family Interests

One of various popes to have fathered children before his election, he had four illegitimate offspring. By Silvia Ruffini, he fathered Pier Luigi Farnese, whom he created Duke of Parma; others included Ranuccio Farnese and Costanza Farnese. His first action, on 18 December 1534, was to appoint his grandsons as cardinals. At the time, Alessandro Farnese and Guido Ascanio Sforza were aged fourteen and sixteen years respectively. His later appointments as cardinal included Gasparo Contarini, Jacopo Sadoleto, Reginald Pole, and Giovanni Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV.

One of the most significant artistic works of his reign was the depiction of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Palace. Although the work was commission by Paul’s predecessor, it was finished in 1541.

As a cardinal, Alessandro had begun construction of a palace, the Palazzo Farnese, in central Rome. On his election to the papacy, the size and magnificence of this building programme was increased to reflect his change in status. The palace was initially designed by the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, received further architectural refinement from Michelangelo, and was completed by Giacomo della Porta. Like other Farnese family buildings, the palace imposes its presence on its surroundings in an expression of the family’s power and wealth. Alessandro's Villa Farnese at Caprarola has a similar presence. In 1546, after the death of Sangallo, he appointed the elderly Michelangelo to take over the supervision of the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Michelangelo was also commissioned by the Pope to paint the 'Crucifixion of St. Peter' and the 'Conversion of St. Paul' (1542–50), his last frescoes, in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican.

Paul III's artistic and architectural commissions were numerous and varied. The Venetian artist Titian painted a portrait of the Pope in 1543, and in 1546, the well-known portrait of Paul III with his grandsons Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma. Both are now in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples. The military fortifications in Rome and the Papal States were strengthened during his reign. He had Michelangelo relocate the ancient bronze of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius to the Capitoline Hill, where it became the centerpiece to the Piazza del Campidoglio.

Paul III’s bronze tomb, executed by Guglielmo della Porta, is in St. Peter's.