Amidst the gondolas and waterways of Venice, Italy lies an iconic and historic center of worship. Saint Mark’s Basilica, built over a thirty- one year span from 1063 to 1094, has been used for Roman Catholic mass services for almost 1,000 years. Home to extensive mosaics and stunning architecture, Saint Mark’s Basilica stands as a testament to the splendor and religious importance of the eleventh century. The complex architecture of Saint Mark’s Basilica blends techniques from three different cultures/ eras. One can identify elements of both Byzantine, Gothic, and Italian architecture in Saint Mark’s Basilica (San Marco Basilica). The basic plan for the basilica is a “Greek Cross plan.” There are five major domes in the church: one …show more content…
Saint Mark’s Basilica was built during the Romanesque period, the time when the mastery of mosaics and the use of frescoes came into play in Italy. Both are seen in abundance at Saint Mark’s Basilica. While the interior of Saint Mark’s is mostly comprised of mosaics, the entrances have frescoes painted above them. Frescoes were popular before Michelangelo and other renaissance artists truly mastered them, as seen in earlier examples in Saint Mark’s Basilica. As mentioned earlier, Saint Mark’s Basilica has no shortage of mosaics. The figures of most Italian mosaics have pointed features and stiff figures. As seen to the left in the Anastasis mosaic, the figures are bent into unnatural positions, unlike the fluid proportions and figures of Greek or Roman statues. Italian figures are also out of proportion; the legs are often much too long for the torso and the rest of the body. In these ways, the mosaics of Saint Mark’s are typical of those of other Italian Romanesque mosaics. An architectural feature of Italian churches is the stone arch, another common feature of Saint Mark’s Basilica. To support the weight of the stone, there were fewer windows and the windows are often smaller. For the most part, this is true of Saint Mark’s Basilica, which has smaller and fewer windows than Gothic cathedrals. Another architectural feature of Italian churches is the “campanile” or bell tower. The campanile of Saint Mark’s Basilica was not built at the same time as the original basilica, but was added on later in 1514. These artistic and architectural features make Saint Mark’s Basilica representative of traditional Italian
The dome was only slightly smaller than the pantheon in Rome which would be a challenge to make a dome of this size. Most dome of this time were built by wooden scaffolding but there was not enough wood in Tuscany for this. The pantheon was built with concrete but the recipe had been lost in the fall of Rome. Mortar at this time took several days to set which would cause a problem for building. He decided to build a hemispherical inner dome and a second ovoid brick dome on the outside.
Mosaics have been used to decorate the walls and ceilings of churches and to depict scenes from the Bible and the lives of saints. Ravenna mosaics, such as those in the Basilica of San Vitale, are an example of early Christian art showing the influence of Roman art. As for sculpture, they used Roman methods and techniques to create religious artwork. An example of this is the Arch of Constantine in Rome, decorated with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Roman mythology and history, as well as Christian scenes, such as the vision of the cross. (Farber,
The stained-glass windows images depicted biblical stories. Another way the Chartres Cathedral employs Gothic architectural was implement of pointed arch. The pointed arches shape disseminates the force of the heftier ceilings as well as massive walls. “The pointed arches thrust is
So you 're just wandering through the twisty mediaeval streets of the centro storico (historical center), and as if the cobblestones and ivy weren 't enough, you turn the corner, and out of nowhere is this massive temple. That 's Rome for you. The best preserved ancient structure in the city, the Pantheon as you see it now was built under Hadrian between AD 120-128 circa, although the pediment above the portico is actually 100 years older and signed by Agrippa (which did in fact confuse archaeologists and historians for years). The round
Many buildings in the earlier days were built for the same reasons and by similar people, meaning the Hagia Sophia and Charlemagne’s Chapel don’t differ much in terms of being built. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was originally built under Constantine the Great until it was demolished and rebuilt between 532 and 537 under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (Hagia Sophia, Istanbul 1). Justinian’s Basilica is considered the perfect example of the Byzantine culture and the structures produced during its
2005. “Living on the Edge in Leonardo’s Florence: Selected Essays.” 1st ed. University of California Press. “Living on the Edge in Leonardo’s Florence: Selected Essays”, written by Gene Brucker gives an overview of the Italian History.
The Medici will later use the Old Sacristy as a tomb for their family. This building was significant because it help set the tone for a new style of architecture. It was built around proportions and classical orders. Which become popular in the Italian Renaissance Era. It was completed around the year 1440, but
“In Italy in the 1500s the Cinquecento the greatest art patron was the catholic church headed by the pope in Rome”(Kleiner 599). This was a major difference between the Quattrocento and Cinquecento because, Quattrocento biggest
"Cathedral" opens with the narrator telling the reader in a conversational tone that a blind friend of his wife 's is coming to visit them. The narrator is clearly unhappy about the upcoming visit. He then flashes back to the story of how his wife met the blind man when she worked for him as a reader. At the time, she was engaged to marry an officer in the Air Force. When she tells the blind man goodbye, he asks if he can touch her face.
Raphael’s School of Athens is painted in a one point perspective. This causes our focus to appear on the two central figures of the scene, Plato and Aristotle. The architecture in the painting is depicted in a classical roman style; there are high and round arches, which help to create Plato and Aristotle as the focus point. There are also two sculptures
The Pantheon and Brunelleschi 's Dome in Florence both share a common idea of the dome in ancient history. They were built and different times, the Pantheon and Brunelleschi 's Dome differ in both design and architecture. This paper is going to analyze the Pantheon in Rome and Brunelleschi 's Dome in terms of their constructional and design techniques, and their historical circumstances of the construction of them both. The Pantheon is one of the remaining and properly maintained buildings of the first century.
During the High Renaissance, Michelangelo was hired by the Pope to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling depicts scenes from the Book of Genesis. In fact, Michelangelo’s application of fresco painting and incorporation of larger figures create a strong sense of High Renaissance painting, as well as individualism and humanism. The monumentalism is quite evident and Michelangelo masterfully illustrates each figure’s beauty with it. Meanwhile, there is a sense of strength large in part due to the muscular figures.
Introduction Romanesque architecture started around 1000 to 1200 AD around the middle ages, extending from the decline of the Roman Empire until the begging of gothic architecture. It is one of the most influenced styles of architecture but also one of the most hard to characterize. Unlike other styles it developed independently in diverse locations such as Italy, Spain, England and France. Its characteristics come from the ancient roman architecture that developed into bigger prettier and more complex constructions. However, there are different views in where it spread first as well as where it got more influence from.
The style of the building and the purpose it is built give a brief and thoughtful storybook about the culture of the architect as art, generally, and architecture, particularly, is a language itself. Thus, buildings narrate the stories of the people among the history and tell their traditions and habits to the next generation through its design, inscriptions, and details. In this essay, I will discuss how both the style and function of the Greek Parthenon and the Roman Pantheon served as typical examples of their cultures in Athens and ancient Rome. In addition to the similarities and differences between these two cultures through the two buildings. Both the Greek and the Roman architecture inspired the cultures and architects until these days due to the diverse meaning they carry and symbolize in astonishing ways through the different orders, columns, roofs, friezes, and domes.
Gothicism was an art form that began to form after the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. and came to its pinnacle approximately 1000 years after the fact during the Middle Ages. It was then that it began to be recognized as its own era and own art form. The term ‘Gothic’ encompassed a new style of European architecture, sculpture, and art that was differentiated from Roman and Renaissance, but still was the link between the two and was essential to the ushering in of a new age and new mindset. Vanni’s “Madonna and Child Enthroned” is a classic representation of the time period that left behind Greco-Roman traditional conventions and transitioned the art world into its rebirth.