Posted on 04/08/2005 7:50:39 AM PDT by Liz
View of the Cathedra Petri through the Baldacchino, both by Gianlorenzo Bernini
The Cross and Apse
Baldacchino: Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1624-33, gilt bronze, ht. c.100 feet, San Pietro (St. Peter's), Rome.
As part of the decoration of Saint Peter's in Rome by Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644) [Maffeo Barberini], Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) received the commission for the design and construction of a structure that would be placed over the tomb of St. Peter in the crossing of the newly rebuilt basilica.
The resulting structure, known as the Baldacchino, is a combination of ideas that stem from earlier attempts at distinguishing the high altar and the tomb.
Many of the design elements such as the spiral column establish a link to the basilica of Old Saint Peter's and to the Temple in Jerusalem.
It is important to realize that Bernini early on in his career to the time of his death had always some connection to the decoration of Saint Peter's. It is his overall view of what the basilica should look like that makes Bernini's designs the essence of the Baroque style.
The size of the Baldacchino is approximately 100 feet tall. However, when compared with earlier models, it was not that much taller. Depending on where the structure was placed, either in the apse or over the tomb, and if it was part of a screen separating the choir from the nave, the earlier versions were just as large.
The Baldacchino is constructed from bronze, much of it stolen from the Pantheon (portico) and from the dome of St. Peter's (ribs). The height of the Baldacchino is supported by the use of bronze, rather than the perishable materials used in earlier versions.
The spiral columns of the Baldacchino are imitations of the ancient spiral shafts that were salvaged from the Old St. Peters and earlier basilica decoration. The original columns were moved to decorate the reliquary niches in the four corners of the crossing. In Bernini's version of the column, instead of alternating fluted and floral sections, he has placed the fluted section at the bottom and the remaining sections are foliage, consisting of the Barberini laurels.
1 Medieval folklore stated that the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul were divided, half of each is buried in St. Peter's basilica and the other halves are buried at St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Lavin, 1) Atop the four columns that support the canopy of the Baldacchino stand four angels, over life-size. The affect that the angels produce suggests that they are what is supporting the canopy and not the columns (Lavin, 12).
The crown is comprised of four curved ribs that support a globe and cross. Records indicate that the globe and cross were not in the original plans by Bernini. Bernini's concept was to have the Resurrected Christ aloft the crown, as it would have worked in his entire plan of the crossing decoration. Between the angels, there are two putti that hold the papal tiara and St. Peter's keys, and two more putti hold a sword and book, symbols of St. Paul.1
Throughout the decorative elements on the Baldacchino are the symbols of Urban VIII, sun and bees, as well as the laurel of the Barberini family (mentioned above).
Bernini managed to fuse together parts of earlier ciboria and baldachin constructed in St. Peters, while adding elements that were indicative of his style.
Cathedra Petri
Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1656-66, gilt bronze, marble, stucco, glass, San Pietro, Rome
The crowning achievement of Bernini's design for the decoration of St. Peter's can be found in his later work Cathedra Petri (Chair of St. Peter) located in the apse of the basilica. This large reliquary was designed to house the original wooden chair of St. Peter's. In ecclesiastic tradition, Bishops always have their seats in the chief church of their district (cathedra=cathedral), and the Pope has his seat in St. John's in Lateran. Symbolically, the chair of St. Peter recognizes that St. Peter was the first pope and that San Pietro is and forever shall be his seat.
The Cathedra Petri is similar to Bernini's other works, like the Ecstasy of St. Theresa, in that it is not a single piece to be viewed by itself. Rather, the Cathedra Petri should be viewed in conjunction with the Baldacchino and the four pier sculptures.
Right: Detail, St. Augustine, gilt bronze, located proper right of the sculpture. Represents one of the Doctors of the church from the West. Far Right: Detail, St. Athanasius, gilt bronze, located inside proper left of the sculpture. Represents one of the four Doctors of the church from the East.
The base of the sculpture is made of colored marble. The Fathers or Doctors of the Church (Sts. Ambrose, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Augustine) and the Chair are made of bronze, partly gilded. The original chair is housed in the bronze chair that is flanked by the Fathers or Doctors of the Church. The chair appears to hover by divine will.
Above the chair is what is commonly known as the Glory. This is a combination of stucco putti and angels surrounding a stained glass window that is the actual light source for the apse. Bernini was disappointed with the original window and the glare that it created, so he incorporated it into the final product of Cathedra Petri. The window and dove act as the light and word of God and the Holy Spirit. Bernini diffused the light by using colored glass and reduced the harsh glare he so detested.
Details, The Glory, stucco and stained glass. The overall effect of the Cathedra Petri is awe-inspiring; rays of light, made in stucco, jut out from the real source of light. So much emotion is worked into the piece by the expression on the Doctors' faces and the movement of the putti and angels. Also located on the Cathedra Petri are bas relief of Washing of the Feet and The Handing Over of the Keys to St. Peter, created by Bernini. On the back side is a bas relief regarding Christ's decree to St. Peter, "watch over my flock."
Bernini reduced the size of the Cathedra Petri so that it could be viewed in its entirety through the Baldacchino. In that view, Bernini emphasized the importance of the relics contained in each and the foundation of the Church.
Created by Gwen M. McKinney, mckinney03@sbc.edu, 13 April 2003
Are you planning to have a regularly appearing art appreciation thread? I would be very interested.
i.e., the raised gold leaf is laid on a gesso composition which is not quite like what you'd use to prime a canvas. Because it is going onto a folio leaf, it needs to be somewhat more flexible than if applied to a stretched canvas or panel so white lead dust is mixed into the plaster creating both an inhalation hazard and can also poison through tiny nicks or scratches in the skin. Cinnabar (vermillion) is a mercuric sulfide that can also accumulate within the body...
There are an amazing number of artistic freepers, some amateur, some professional. It could be a nice thing to have a thread where our art could be displayed. We can all bookmark it so that a post can be made and ping list activated whenever there is a new "exhibition," or just if there is an interesting art topic.
I am doing as you are, getting back to art the last few years.
Redlins' work actually ticks me off.
I'm not a huge fan of Dali, though I much respect his work and even own a book on technique by him. But I'd forgotten that painting.
I'm not religious at all, but that painting is truly spiritual, mystical even. I think it must be his greatest work by far. What an inspiration, both artistically and religiously.
Dali is a guy who understood the classical painting methods, and swam against the stream by using them in the 20th century. Weirdly, my wife owns a watch which she sometimes wears in the shape of Dalis famous melting watches. It is kind of cute.
Dali's juxtapositon of style and subject were exquisitly detailed---he worked on some of these huge canvases for months.
Salvador Dali----1954 Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)---Metropolitan Museum of Art
Awesome.......the dimensions are difficult to fathom.......in real terms, the size of a person.
sam cree is assembling the art appreciation list.
Straight Vermonter wants on, sam.
Ok, you are on the art ping list. Thanks.
Of course it's not forgery---you are a student of art and are exploring techniques for serious study.
It was a hazardous occupation---although so many of the great artists lived to a ripe old age.
Yup.
I got a kick out of the pigeons flying around within St Peter's.
Fitting somehow.
If you would like to be on the art appreciation ping list, ping FReeper sam cree.
Thanks. Not sure. But, Sam, you can put me on. My delete button works.
Am on so many lists! LOL.
But I am interested in some kinds of art. Not so much modern stuff unless it's truly esthetically pleasing.
Blessings,
Hi Quix, nice to see you. I'll gladly put you on the list. I have a feeling that most freepers' taste runs to the traditional, but I'm sure there will be some modern guys posted too. But I am betting that those threads will generate some controversy, which should be fun. I imagine this list will not be "high volume," but time will tell.
Anyway, you are now on the list, thanks!
Thank you. Good to see your name again.
LUB
Raison d'etre for the thread: We're interested in the kind of art that interests you. Please post examples
Millet's Angelus---Masterwork
The Angelus was one of Millet's favorite works. There he rediscovered the sensations of his childhood. He gives us here religious man, superstitious even, in the course of his life and his labors, his humiliations and his hope. As the sun sets, two peasants, a man and a woman, hear the Angelus sound. They stop, stand up, and heads uncovered and eyes bowed, they speak the traditional prayer: Angelus domini nuntiavit Mariae. The man, a true peasant of the fields, his head covered with short straight hair like a felt hat, prays in silence. The bowed woman is lost in meditation. The landscape is one dusted with the light of the setting sun, one of those ends of days that embraces the earth and sky in a deep purple.
Salvador Dali's Angelus---Surreal 
Archeological Reminiscence of Millet's Angelus 1933-35. Oil on panel, 31,7 x 39,3 cm. Dali -Museum von St. Petersburg, Florida, gift Reynold Morse
LEGEND In the works of the Surrealist period, Dali treated those elements of disparate appearance with absolute realism which emphasized the proper character of each one of them, making an exact copy from a document, a photograph, or the actual object, as well as using collage.
He increased the effect produced even more through the use of techniques stemming from the precision of Vermeer to the blurred shapes of Carrière.
Once he had given an emotional autonomy to his protagonists he established communication between them by depicting them in space - most often in a landscape - thus creating unity in the canvas by the juxtaposition of objects bearing no relation in an environment where they did not belong.
This spatial obsession derives from the atmosphere of Cadaqués, where the light, due to the color of the sky and of the sea, seems to suspend the course of time and allows the mind through the eye to glide more easily from one point to another.
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