Hum 225: Art and Culture of Rome 9-16

Baldacchino
St. Peter’s Basilica
Dark Bronze

The Baldacchino cannot be missed when you walk into St. Peter’s Basilica. In fact, this is most likely the first object that your eyes will be attracted. It sits in the middle of the basilica covering the papal altar right under Michelangelo’s dome. The pillars leading up to the covering are covered in gold vines/ leave, and on top there are angels on the corners with two baby angels in the middle of one side. Of course there are many details that have been incorporated into the Baldacchino to make it stick out.

Looking at the two baby angels we can see one holding two keys and the other in the air holding the crown creating the part of the Papal coat of arms. Even though the shield has been excluded, it is still obvious that this is part of the coat of arms, which is standing right over the papal altar. The more interesting part of this structure is that fact that everything has to do with angels. As I mentioned before, there are angels on each corner along with the two baby angels. All along the side of the covering are objects representing heaven or angels. I believe this could be symbolic of St. Peter’s ascendance to heaven.


Last Judgment
Sistine Chapel
Fresco
In this piece of art, the space is easy to identify. For the Last Judgment, there are seven different sections that I picked out. The following are the seven: hell or the bottom, the in between where there is a mixture of people from hell and the middle level, the very center where Jesus is, then there are two on the outside of the space with Jesus, then there are two at the very top on the left and right. All of these spaces are separated by the blue sky, which are sort of like paths separating the spaces.

In the artwork, all of the objects including the people and clouds were drawn with wavy lines. This makes the piece look very busy and active. With the color, Michelangelo did a very interesting job of using the color. At the bottom, he used cool colors to depict the horrible nature of hell. To create a sense of life in the middle section, he used a good amount of neutral colors such as white and tan. Then at the very top Michelangelo mainly used red, a warm color, which maybe was to distinguish another level of people.

As far as the medium, the Last Judgment was a fresco. The light in the picture helps make Jesus the center of attention. There is also a skyline between hell and the other level that was created using light, which assists in creating the separation between the two. Lastly, the composition of the Last Judgment was Medieval.