History of St. Peter's Pizza
History reveals that the aspirations of the founding pope Alexander VII and his preferred architect, Gian Lorenzo, led to the creation of the original St. Peter's Pizza. The Vatican City, the world's tiniest nation, nevertheless has this building standing. This essay aims to decipher the visual study of this architect's picture in terms of its shapes, materials, techniques, the spiritual, as well as learning the influence that it has on the audience that observes it in order to either obtain religious or educational insights.
Piazza Art and its Features
The general form of the piazza art entails an oval area, the trapezoidal square, the Piazza Oblique, as well as the piazza Retta. Additionally, there is a conspicuous central axis that goes straight to the basilica. In the middle area of the Piazza oblique, there stands an Egyptian Basilica. The original creator of the architect made use of the obelisk as the centerpiece of the Piazza. History talks of how the original pillar was removed all the way from Egypt to the current destination in Rome. Additionally, it is believed that the initial construction stands in the unique place that was the crucifixion of St. Peter.
Coat of Arms and Symbols
There is some coat of arms, as well as symbols that depict the various roles played by the patrons in the basilica, as well as the Piazza. The most noticeable coat of arm is the Chigi star which is a representation of the family of the Pope Alexander VII. Additionally, the image contains pictures of mountains and stars that surround the Obelisk.
Construction and Materials
Majorly, the construction was out of the Cobblestones. The cobblestones was a significant activity in the 16th century. Also known as the Sampietrini, which means the little stones of St. Peter, got used in the construction of the Piazza before its use spread out to other parts of Rome for construction purposes. There is a shadow cast by the Obelisk, probably at noon period of the day. The purpose of the darkness was to give the exact time of the day. Additionally, the marbles contain figures of the Zodiac, which also carries the representation of the cardinal point found on the Compass.
Visual Elements and Designs
The exact placement of the column, as well as location of the center and the foci, played the function of granting visual elasticity between the central, as well as the side elements of the Piazza (Sylvan Barnet 46). More so, the artist’s came up with the idea of putting an iconic entablature. The unit on top of the colonnades on the Doric colonnades. It is through his combination that he intended to offer strength to the columns. Additionally, this creation shows an attractive appearance as compared to the slender columns of the Corinthian columns of façade. Furthermore, the artist of the image included the original pictures of the first endings that contain a portico within the middle of each of the colonnade arms. Within this portico, there is a giant coat of arm that represents Alexander Vii, several mountains, as well as some oaks. The purpose of these porticos is to make the colonnades to appear less dull while maintaining a natural flow at the same time. Above the colonnade found on the Ionic entablature stands statues that were an original idea of the designer of the original building. These sculptures are inclusions of the renowned saints, as well as martyrs of the church. More so, the statues have that urging attraction towards the inner side of the piazza. Consequently, the figures play the same role of attracting toe pilgrims another original architect of the Piazza.
Piazza Retta
Piazza Retta is another component of the St. Peter’s Piazza. The image shows the colonnades that originate from the Piazza Obliqua connecting the corridors of the piazza Retta through the use of the pillars that have oblique edges. The reason for the posts was to offer a kind of smooth transition between the curved-like geometry of the colonnades, towards the linear geometry found within the corridors. According to the information given in the passages, their size tends to be a bit deceptive. Although the size appears small, its length is same to that of the arms of the colonnades.
Visual Effects and Symbolism
In addition to the spiritual, as well as emotional feelings that get denoted from this image’s shape, the artist makes use of the visual effects. He makes use of the light and darkness whereby the viewer gradually sees them, as they are rowing by row while fading into the thick obscurity in the end. Additionally, there is the use of the visual stereoscopic visual impact whereby the closer the columns passes the audience’s eye, the faster the rows fade away. Additionally, the openness depicted within the columns, with no obscuring backgrounds leads to the creation of a constant movement while at the same time causing a sense of ease. The same effect of comfort could not have been an occurrence, if the background had been of a solid rigid circle.
Significance and Symbolism
The image of the reigned Piazza is a clear depiction of the restoration of the city’s various forms of old glory. One could say that it offers a nurturing, as well as a sacred kind of environment for the Christians, just like the church had a great appeal for the early believers of the Catholicism. Additionally, the Piazza is a suitable transformation of the Vatican City, which is a center that creates the commemoration of the triumph of Christ. In summary, the image of the Piazza is not just a piece of ancient art. Instead, it carries the rich history of the martyrs of Christianity. As one sees the art of the Piazza in the museum of the art, they develop an urge of learning more of what St. Peter represented within the church. Additionally, further analysis shows that the Piazza Street had its form of street lights that came from above. The whole idea means that whoever visited the Piazza, especially the pilgrims, were in most cases drawn to look up at the source of the light. The looking up by the pilgrims symbolizes the act of looking up to God. The artist did not only make use of such tricks to beautify his work but made a more profound effort of reminding the visitors that they had an obligation of looking up to God’s guidance, which gets symbolized as the source of the light that enumerated the street f the Piazza.
Works Cited
Anne D’Alleva, “Writing Art Historical Papers,” in Look! Fundamentals of Art History. Prentice
Hall, 2005. See especially pp. 76-81
Sylvan Barnet, “Formal Analysis and Style,” A Short Guide to Writing About Art, pp. 46-68.
