Catholic Baroque: Aesthetics of St. Peter's Basilica

Catholic Baroque:

Aesthetics of St. Peter's Basilica

Bibliography:

St. Peter's basilica today:

Cathedra Petri in apse of St. Peter's

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it is evident that through the aesthetics of St. Peter's Basilica its architecture "represent[s] the culmination of that spirit of extravagant vitality and complex mathematical design, of overweening sense of unity and power as the meaning and significance of creative effort. In creating this, man truly worked in the image of God, the Almighty" (Friedrich, pg. 83). It has often been noted that religions "often manifest their spiritual values in aesthetic expressions" and that overall the ultimate goals of the Counter-Reformation was to reinforce its doctrinal beliefs, which "were clearly reflected in the aesthetic of the Catholic Baroque" (Mulcahy, pg. 150). Overall, in a "carefully calibrated aura of emotional appeal" (Mulcahy, pg. 151), the architecture of St. Peter's Basilica reaffirms the Catholic doctrine through powerful imagery.

The Cathedra Petri "proclaims the unity, justice, and permanence of the Catholic Church" (Hubala, pg. 83), through its immaculate architectural design and "marks the triumphant climax of the Post-Reformation Church and be understood 'emotionally, in the full light of the Catholic faith'" (Lees-Milne, pg. 131). As an object of aesthetics, the Cathedra Petri was often referred to as a "tour de force" (Mulcahy, pg. 145), as its architectural design provided immense conclusions visually, to the cathedral's procession.

The throne itself is decorated with a Biblical scene, "'Feed my lambs; feed my sheep', another iconographic symbol of papacy" (Mulcahy, pg. 145). Furthermore, the throne is situated against an oval window painted with a dove. This backdrop "symbolizes the light of the Holy Spirit emanating from on high" (Kitson, pg. 35). The effect that this backdrop creates, gives the illusion that "the walls of the church appear to have been penetrated by celestial glory: clouds and light carrying the heavenly host pour in between the giant pilasters of Michelangelo's ape to confirm the legitimacy of Christ;s vicar on earth" (Hibbard, pg. 162).

On top of the Cathedra Petri's immense spiritual essence, it also displays symbols of cultural politics, such as, "the Church Fathers supporting the chair symbolize the Catholic doctrine that the Bible is not the sole source of the truth, but its meaning is mediated by the Church's magisterium" (Mulcahy, pg. 145). Overall, the Biblical scene emulated the pope's role in the continuation of the Christ's charge to St. Peter, revealing the symbolization of "ultimate authority of the pope as inspired by the Holy Spirit" (Mulcahy, pg. 145), celebrating the position as successor to St. Peter.

Background information:

The Counter-Reformation

• Friedrich, C.J., 1962. "The age of Baroque", 1610-1660. New York: Harper & Row.
• Mulcahy, Kevin V. 2011. "The Cultural Policy of the Counter-Reformation: The Case of St. Peter's". International Journal of Cultural Policy. (17)2: 131-52.
• Ostrow, S.F., 1996. "Art and Spirituality in Counter-Reformation Rome". New York: Cambridge University Press.
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=svVc3i71uQk
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJBTArCHgX4
• Kitson, M., 1996. "The age of Baroque, 1610-1660. New York: Harper & Row.
• Morrissey, J., 2005. "The genius in the design: Bernini, Borromini, and the rivalry that transformed Rome". New York: Harper Perennial.
• Hibbard, H., 1978. "Bernini". New York: Penguin Books.
• Wittkower, R., 1980. "Art and architecture in Italy, 1600-1750". New York: Penguin Books.
• Gowing, L., 2002. "A history of art". Ann Arbor, MI: Border Press.
• Hubala E., 1989. "Baroque and rococo". New York: Universe Books.
• Lees-Milne, J., 1960. "Baroque in Italy". New York: Macmillan.
• Marder, T.A., 1998. "Bernini and the art of architecture". New York: Abbeville Press.

Introduction

The Catholic Baroque aesthetics of St. Peter's Basilica during the Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries used powerful imagery to reinforce its doctrinal beliefs, transmit a message of salvation, fulfill the need for spiritual emotion, and visually recognize the essence of Catholic identity.

Background information:

Catholic Baroque

Angel with crown of thorns

Building St. Peter's

"The Baroque is often thought of as a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. They style began around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe.

The popularity and success of the Baroque's style was encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had declined at the time of the Council of Trent, in response to the Protestant Reformation, that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement. The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumph, power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence" (Wikipedia).

Julius II della Rovere, who was well-known Renaissance popes, thought that the old worn down and dilapidated structure of St. Peter's was not fit for "the holiest places of Christendom". His solution? "To have St. Peter's demolished and a new basilica built in its place"

The challenge to complete the new St. Peter's endured for more than a century after initial foundation had been laid in 1506 and finally in 1605 Paul V Borghes resolved the issue by deciding on a Latin-cross design which was "a better reflection of the Church's spiritual symbolism". (Mulcahy, pg. 132)

Latin-cross design

The 'Angel with the crown of thorns', sculpted by Bernini was part of the Ponte St. Angelo's decoration. Angels lined the bridge, creating an intricate and dramatic gateway to St. Peter's Basilica. The angels were a clear depiction of holiness: "a state of eternal joy and eternal passion, which makes the figures appear to be shining" (Hubula, pg. 82). The angel sculptures transformed what was originally to be seen as a functional entrance to the cathedral into a "processional path and a major iconographical statement" (Mulcahy, pg. 148). The instruments of Passion that the angels are displayed with were a "popular mediation of the sixteenth-century devotional liturgy" (Mulcahy, pg. 148), thus this incorporation invoked Christ's sacrifice while it also "reaffirmed a central tenet of Church doctrine as the celebration of the Mass focused on the transubstantiation of the body and blood of Christ" (Mulcahy, pg. 148). Cloncluding that the ultimate goal of the angel sculptures and the 'Way of the Cross', placed visitors on their way to salvation as "the theme of the route underscores the uniqueness of the Catholic Church as the divinely ordained institution for guarantee of eternal salvation" (Marder, pg. 308-309).

The Latin-cross design was a representation of liturgical celebration. It provided the necessities for "reconciling aesthetics with the liturgical; the ideal with the practical; Renaissance geometry with Tridentine guidelines" (Mulcahy, pg. 136-137). The theoretical elegance it exuded was in accord with the Council of Trent's for this "ecclesiastical design as the ideal visualization of the Divine sacrifice" (Mulcahy, pg. 137), and "the purpose was not for the enjoyment of the knowledge viewer, but rather the kindling and reinforcement of the faith of all viewers" (Mulcahy, pg. 133).

Statue of Longinus

By: Kaitlyn Beatty - 0711097

Facade of st. peter's

The baldacchino

The statue of Longinus is one the tremendously large statues of saints, which "related to the Crucifixion" (Mulcahy, pg. 141). Longinus was situated in one the four piers, which supported the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and the statue of Longinus was the "only one sculpted by Bernini himself" (Mulcahy, pg. 141). The spear of this statue pierces Christ on the Cross, and was produced and created as "another example of counter-reformatory principles" (Mulcahy, pg. 141, which were continuously projected throughout the Baldacchino, as previously mentioned. Overall, the statue of Longinus remains a visual representation of the unified themes pertainting to Christ's sacrifice and the continuation of the Church through display of this larger than life saint, which would draw in viewes with its powerful imagery and spiritual representation of the faithful and the devote.

Maderno's facade "would allow for a glorious entrance which would intensify the entrance into the sacred space, and bring the faithful under Michelangelo's "heavenly dome and over the tomb of St. Peter" (Morrissey, pg. 43-58). The facade would elude the aura or spiritual reconnection for the faithful, the "Catholic Baroque served as an aesthetically powerful force for creating a realm of beauty that embodied the truths of faith which defined community of beliefs" (Johns, pg.8).

Bernini's creation, both structurally and ceremonially on a completely different magnitude than ever before. St. Peter's Baldacchino incorporates doctrinal iconography in a decorative format, the columns "rest on stone bases carved with the papal coat of arms. The columns themselves are covered with naturalistic details such as the laurels and bees found on the Barberini coat of arms" (Mulcahy, pg. 141). Above the eight twisted columns, the associated reliquaries are framed. This intricacy is "a projection of counter-reformatory principles: honoring saints, venerating relics, establishing the continuity of both the Church itself and St. Peter in particular" (Mulcahy, pg. 141). Moreover, the Baldacchino was created in the context of themes pertaining to "Christ's divine sacrifice" (Mulcahy, pg. 141). The Balddachino was in essence, the symbol of the Church - "simultaneously poignant, diametric, inspiring and breathing" (Mulcahy, pg. 138).

Dome of St. Peter's

Tomb of urban viii

Piazza S. Pietro and Colonnade

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica "proclaims the miracle that lies beneath it" (Morrissey, pg. 64). In what can be called its "spectacular orientation" (Mulcahy, pg. 134), the architecture of Catholic Baroque used sensory appeals to influence the "emotional susceptibilities" (Kitson, pg. 93). The visual stimuli of the dome presented itself in a heavenly grandeur, which were "immediately apprehendable and in which doctrinal precepts were imaginatively displayed" (Mulcahy, pg. 132).

The tomb of Urban VIII, is a vision and "celebration of the papacy's supreme spiritual authority" (Mulcahy, pg. 138), and the figure of Death represented in the statue "gives a sense of drama to the funerary moment" (Mulcahy, pg. 143). Furthermore, "the Pope's statue is flanked by allegorical figures of 'Justice' (chief cardinal virtues) and of 'Charity' (chief of the theological virtues)" (Mulcahy, pg. 143). These figures add a theatrical sense to the tomb, which gave "dramatic clarity in which Bernini gave ideal expression to the religious attitude of his age" (Hibbard, pg. 107).

The piazza S. Pietro can be considered as the alpha of St. Peter's Basilica, as it can be viewed as, "Probably the greatest achievement of baroque city architecture, gigantic spaces are elegantly woven into a single, unified whole of interrelated parts" (Mulcahy, pg. 145). The piazza provides the perfect setting for this mighty cathedral and was carefully constructed as, "the shape of the piazza had to address two different, but equally important, liturgical considerations" (Mulcahy, pg. 146). These considerations pertained to the frontal space needed to accommodate large crowds and the outward progression of the colonnade. Carl Friedrich states that, "the piazza reflects the Baroque's extraordinary ability to blend several artistic forms into a dramatic whole. These represent the culmination of that spirit of extravagant vitality and complex mathematical design" (Friedrich, pg. 83). Therefore, resulting in Maderno's architectural design of the piazza, which encompasses the image of God, through powerful imagery of extravagant design. However, it is Bernini's organizing concept that allows the space to exude "remarkable spiritual symbolism" (Mulcahy, pg. 147), with the piazza's seemingly "pure architectural creation has an anthropomorphic connotation and function" (Hibbard, pg. 155). The colonnades of the Church were often compared to "maternal arms, which embrace Catholics to reinforce their belief, heretics to reunite them with the Church, and agnostics to enlighten them with he true faith" (Wittkower, pg. 190), thus visually creating a testimony to the power of being faithful. The goal therefore of the piazza was to physically pull viewers "towards the church with an impression of unity and movement" (Gowing, pg. 701), through its shape and design and to be in awe of the immensity and dramatic contrast from the narrow streets of Borgo, which would ultimately promote feelings of elation (Mulcahy, pg. 147).