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Religion in renaissance and reformation
Religion in renaissance and reformation
Renaissance architecture and its influence
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The Constantinian, or Old St. Peter’s, Basilica was constructed c. 354 BCE. Having recently gained control of the land where the Vatican now sits, Constantine desired to display his power and wealth by building something magnificent. The grave of St. Peter was chose as the site for Constantine’s exhibition. Old St. Peter’s Basilica marked the alleged site of his burial, and became the most important building in the Roman Catholic Church. Pilgrimage to this shrine became the goal of many Christians throughout the Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. In 1420, shortly after the Great Schism, Pope Martin V returned the papacy to Rome and noticed the disarray that had fallen upon the basilica. Martin performed a few partial restorations, but nothing lasting. By 1455, the structure was falling apart. Pope Nicholas V desired to fully reconstruct the edifice, but he died before completing any plans. It was not until 1506, with the papacy of Julius II, that actual progress happened.
Pope Julius II decided to demolish Old St. Peter’s and erect a completely new structure in its place. This idea was highly contested due to the venerated status of the old building. However, the pope was confident in the accomplishments of the Renaissance architects, and believed that this new building should exemplify the wealth and power of the Roman Catholic Church. Funded mainly by indulgences, Julius continued with his plans and constructed the “greatest building in Christendom.”
Bramante, a Renaissance architect, was the first to undertake the design of the basilica. He was already well known for is construction of Il Tempietto, or, The Little Temple, built on the supposed site of St. Peter’s crucifixion. His history with the saint and impeccable work ...
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...le to gather near the church; it perfectly accentuated the grandeur of the previous architect’s endeavors.
Works Cited
Bannister, C. Turpin. "The Constantinian Basilica of Saint Peter at Rome." JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS Volume 27, no. 1 (1968): 3-32.
Campbell, Ian. "The New St Peter's: Basilica or Temple?." Oxford Art Journal Volume 4, no. 1 (1981): 3-8.
Gordon, George. The Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron: In Two Volumes. Philadelphia: Moses Thomas, 1813
Matthews, Roy T., F. DeWitt Platt, and F.X. Thomas Noble. The Western Humanities Volume II: The Renaissance To The Present. 7th Edition ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011.
Spielvogel, Jackson J.. Western civilization. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012.
Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Watt Cothren. Art History. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2011.
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
In the late 11th century the well now known Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, was erected out of Caen stone. This was one of the biggest structures in England at that time, having its spire standing higher than the dome of the already standing cathedral.
Harris, Laurie Lanzen. “George Gordon (Noel) Byron, Lord Byron.” Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1982. Print.
...ral (138 ½ feet), Michelangelo’s St. Peter’s (137 ½) and Wren’s St. Paul’s (109 feet). Until steel and concrete technology advanced in the 19th century, no single spaces were larger than these. Bibliography Dirimtekin, Feridun. [1964]. Saint Sophia Museum. Istanbul: Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey. Fossati, Gaspare. 1852. Aya Sofia, Constantinople : as recently restored by order of H. M. the sultan Abdul-Medjid. London: R. & C. Colnagni & Co. James Stevens Curl. Classical Architecture: an introduction to its vocabulary and essentials, with a select glossary of terms. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. ISBN 0-442-30896-5. NA260.C87. interior photo of circular space (photo of the prostyle octstyle portico of the Pantheon) William L. MacDonald. The Architecture of the Roman Empire I. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-300-02818-0. LC 81-16513
In 1520, the first Medici pope, Leo X, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, passed the Medici project to Michelangelo, who was at the time working under pressure on his designs for the façade of San Lorenzo, the Medici Church. Michelangelo had constructed a wooden model of the projected design in the end of 1526. Michelangelo was worried about taking on the new commission, which would involve designing the Chapel with all the monuments. The construction had to match Brunelleschi’s Sacristy on the other side of the transept in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. He wanted everything about the new building; the appearance, supporting elements, conception of space, architectonic decoration and ornament, to be original and unexpected.
... beauty and light in the building, they realized that the church must really hold the key to salvation, for they were able to construct a place so similar to the afterlife that many people longed for. It seemed almost as if Abbot Suger had visited heaven and created a physical representation in the Basilica of St. Denis.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
The Papal Basilica of St Peter in the Vatican, or simply St Peter’s Basilica is one of the largest church’s in the world with a total area of 44,000 square meters, with 219 square meters of the basilica itself. (Dupre’, J., 2001, p.65) Located in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome, St Peter’s Basilica is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture. There were 4 main architects who contributed to the project: Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Construction began on the new basilica on 18 April 1506 under Julius II, who also laid the first stone and was completed in 1615 under Paul V. The Façade, designed by the architect Carlo Maderno, “Is 114.69 metres wide and 48 metres high, and has an order of Corinthian columns and pilasters, over which lies an imposing cornice with a central tympanum, crowned by a balustrade with thirteen statues (nearly 6 metres high).”
The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...
Parker Camp St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Savannah versus Chartres Cathedral Comparison Essay Thesis: Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction offers St. John the Baptist more flexibility in design and style. Still, their likeness and variations extend far beyond the realm of their design. Fall 2014
His greatest renown was for St. Paul’s Cathedral, but his major public buildings, and the delicacy and variety displayed in the fifty-or-so parish churches, also contribute to his enduring influence in architecture down to the present day.
St Peter’s basilica which is built based on rational form of architecture is a Late Renaissance church located within Vatican City, designed by Donato Bramante. Its significant history is that according to the Catholic tradition this was the place that Saint Peter was buried. Not so far away...
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall Inc. and Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1995.
In the Florence Cathedral, Florence, Italy, there is a cathedral church whose octagonal dome, built without the aid of scaffolding, was considered the greatest engineering feat of the early Renaissance. Dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, Our Lady of the Flower, it is also known as the Duomo, after the Italian word for cathedral. Created by many great Early Modern artists, this piece of architecture is a perfect example the Renaissance style. We can come to a better understanding of why this is so by exploring what the characteristics of the Renaissance “style”. To understand the properties of the Florence Cathedral that fit the Early Modern style, I will begin with a description and its history. The cathedral's architectural style, although greatly influenced by French Gothic elements remained distinctively Florentine, especially the geometric patterns of red, green, and white marble on the building's exterior. Construction of the cathedral began in 1294 on the site of a Christian church founded in the 6th or 7th century and continued until 1436. Several celebrated Italian architects were involved in the project, including Giotto, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Orcagna, and, most notably, Filippo Brunelleschi, who was responsible for designing and building the dome. The cathedral's exterior is ornamented with sculpture and mosaics by Italian artists Donatello, Nanni di Banco, and Domenico Ghirlandaio, among others. The building's stained-glass windows are the work of the Italian architect and artist Lorenzo Ghiberti, and the interior is decorated with sculpture and fresco paintings by several Renaissance masters. Construction of the campanile (bell tower), situated to the right of the entrance to the Duomo, was begun by Giotto and completed according to his plans in 1359, after his death. Nearly 278 ft high, the campanile is embellished with red, green, and white marble panels of relief sculpture by Italian artists Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, and niches with sculpted figures by Donatello and other masters. Facing the cathedral and campanile is a smaller, octagonal structure, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, noted for its gilt-bronze doors, elaborately worked in high relief by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti. With that background information about the cathedral, one question comes to mind: what is it that makes the Renaissance style distinct? Renaissa...
Boëthius, A., Ling, R., & Rasmussen, T. (1978). Etruscan and early Roman architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press.