St.Paul's and St.Peter's Baroque Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

St.Paul's and St.Peter's Baroque Styles - Essay Example It is worth noting the significance of the two church buildings: St.Peter’s Basilica is the seat of the papacy, while St. Paul’s Cathedral is the Anglican’s biggest cathedral and one of the most recognizable sights in the City of London (Murray, 1970). As such, St.Peter’s Basilica reflects the Roman Catholic aspirations while St. Paul’s Cathedral is a manifestation of the Protestants’ authority. Brigg and Martin (1967) explain that in the 17th Century the Roman Catholic church fought off the encroachment by protestant reformation; The society of Jesus(Jesuits), making it their duty to defend the ways of the church against what they considered to be protestant attacks. In order to fully highlight the variations in Baroque style across Europe and with St. Paul’s and St.Peter’s as the case-studies, it is imperative to identify the design constants and unique features that identified Baroque Art and Architecture. Both Zirpolo (2008 ) and Summerson (1964) found that Baroque Architecture manifested the following salient features: (1) Use of undulating motifs in interior and exterior spaces - even columns was designed to undulate. (2) Distinctive use of vaults arches and buttresses - Churches were characterized with vaulted ceilings. (3) Flamboyant use of sculptures, statues and paintings in spaces. (4) A faà §ade characterized by a prominent dome, and an interior marked with a grand nave, and (5) Stylish exploitation of the play of light in interior spaces. It is these distinctive features. that the author will use as parameters to gauge the regional variations in the architecture of both St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Paul’s Cathedral. However, both churches have their own unique elements that might not be present in the other. For instance, St.Peter has a unique Baldachin below the dome. A major cause