Pope Paul V's global design: the fresco cycle in the Quirinal Palace

Commissioned by Paul V, the monumental fresco in the Sala Regia of the Quirinal Palace, Rome, represents Kongolese, Ethiopian, Persian, and Japanese ambassadors, in addition to what can be regarded as Chinese figures. The present article investigates how the fresco emphasizes the pope's evangelical successes, and his desire to increase conversions and unite other Christian Churches under the supreme leadership of the papacy despite Portugal and Spain's claim for padroado. The fresco also reflects papal ambition to establish a pan-continental military and commercial network in order to counter the Ottomans and Protestants. The pope's intertwined foreign policies towards the nations represented in the fresco are examined to clarify these points. The fresco appropriates the presumptive power of the non-European potentates and manipulates imagery of their envoys (both actual and imagined) to promote the pope's authority. In particular, the individualized representation of the East Asians contributes to the display of the papacy's global knowledge and its power. Apart from the images of the foreign dignitaries, other understudied figures in the fresco are analysed. The surrounding urban environment is related to the mood of levity in the fresco, which stresses eternal bliss for the pope's devotees and divine punishment for the disobedient.