Misplaced Pages

#888111

111-493: Artus Quellinus II or Artus Quellinus the Younger (alternative first name: Arnold; variation on family name: Quellijn, Quellyn, Quellien, Quellin, Quellinius) (between 10 and 20 November 1625 – 22 November 1700) was a Flemish sculptor who played an important role in the evolution of Northern-European sculpture from High Baroque to Late Baroque. Artus Quellinus II was born at Sint-Truiden , into an artistic family. His uncle

222-420: A building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since ancient Roman times, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering minds of the 16th century. There were certain common elements in these schemes. They all called for a dome to equal that engineered by Brunelleschi

333-524: A century earlier and which has since dominated the skyline of Renaissance Florence, and they all called for a strongly symmetrical plan of either Greek Cross form, like the iconic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, or of a Latin Cross with the transepts of identical form to the chancel, as at Florence Cathedral . Even though the work had progressed only a little in 40 years, Michelangelo did not simply dismiss

444-424: A continuous band, giving the appearance of keeping the whole building in a state of compression. The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world . Its internal diameter is 41.47 metres (136.1 ft), slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of

555-399: A continuous wall surface that is folded or fractured at different angles, but lacks the right angles which usually define change of direction at the corners of a building. This exterior is surrounded by a giant order of Corinthian pilasters all set at slightly different angles to each other, in keeping with the ever-changing angles of the wall's surface. Above them, the huge cornice ripples in

666-434: A forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades . The first space is oval and the second trapezoidal. The façade of the basilica, with a giant order of columns, stretches across the end of the square and is approached by steps on which stand two 5.55-metre (18.2 ft) statues of the first-century apostles to Rome, Saints Peter and Paul . The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in

777-481: A formula. With the exception of the lantern that surmounts it, the profile is very similar, except that in this case, the supporting wall becomes a drum raised high above ground level on four massive piers. The solid wall, as used at the Pantheon, is lightened at St. Peter's by Bramante piercing it with windows and encircling it with a peristyle . In the case of Florence Cathedral , the desired visual appearance of

888-579: A large number of tombs of popes and other notable people, many of which are considered outstanding artworks. There are also a number of sculptures in niches and chapels, including Michelangelo 's Pietà . The central feature is a baldachin , or canopy over the Papal Altar, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini . The apse culminates in a sculptural ensemble, also by Bernini, and containing the symbolic Chair of Saint Peter . The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson described St. Peter's as "an ornament of

999-403: A large wooden model. Giacomo della Porta subsequently altered this model in several ways. The major change restored an earlier design, in which the outer dome appears to rise above, rather than rest directly on the base. Most of the other changes were of a cosmetic nature, such as the adding of lion's masks over the swags on the drum in honour of Pope Sixtus and adding a circlet of finials around

1110-529: A major rebellion in 1789–1790. The Austrian Netherlands were ultimately lost to the French Revolutionary armies , and annexed to France in 1794. Following the war, Austria's loss of the territories was confirmed, and they were joined with the northern Netherlands as a single kingdom under the House of Orange at the 1815 Congress of Vienna . The southeastern third of Luxembourg Province was made into

1221-696: A master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp in 1650–51. Artus Quellinus II married Anna Maria Gabron, the sister of the painter Willem Gabron , in 1653. The couple had six children of whom three became artists: Artus Quellinus III and Thomas Quellinus were both successful sculptors whereas Cornelis Quellinus became a painter about whom little is known. The young Artus joined his cousin Artus Quellinus I in Amsterdam around 1653 where he became one of

SECTION 10

#1732790971889

1332-483: A nave by Carlo Maderno . It is the chancel end (the ecclesiastical "Eastern end") with its huge centrally placed dome that is the work of Michelangelo. Because of its location within the Vatican State and because the projection of the nave screens the dome from sight when the building is approached from the square in front of it, the work of Michelangelo is best appreciated from a distance. What becomes apparent

1443-575: A new type of altar: freestanding, circular and open on all sides. Quellinus also made a number of more contemplative figures. The statue of St. Rosa of Lima in St. Paul's Church in Antwerp is an example of his more contemplative style and is regarded as one of the most beautiful sculptures from the Baroque in the Southern Netherlands. Southern Netherlands The region also included

1554-714: A number of smaller states that were never ruled by Spain or Austria: the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , the Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy , the County of Bouillon , the County of Horne and the Princely Abbey of Thorn . The Southern Netherlands comprised most of modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg , small parts of the modern Netherlands and Germany (the Upper Guelders region, as well as

1665-622: A scandal and led to the Protestant Reformation . Pope Julius' scheme for the grandest building in Christendom was the subject of a competition for which a number of entries remain intact in the Uffizi Gallery , Florence. It was the design of Donato Bramante that was selected, and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1506. This plan was in the form of an enormous Greek Cross with a dome inspired by that of

1776-640: A unique position in the Christian world", and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom ." Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter , chief among Jesus 's apostles and also the first Bishop of Rome ( Pope ). Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the high altar of the basilica, also known as the Altar of the Confession . For this reason, many popes, cardinals and bishops have been interred at St. Peter's since

1887-739: Is also one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome . Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop. St. Peter's is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrian's Mausoleum . Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome. The basilica is approached via St. Peter's Square ,

1998-725: Is held by the Pope's cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , the mother church of all churches in communion with the Catholic Church . However, St. Peter's is functionally the Pope's principal church, as most Papal liturgies and ceremonies take place there due to its size, proximity to the Papal residence, and location within the Vatican City proper. The " Chair of Saint Peter ", or cathedra , an ancient chair sometimes presumed to have been used by St. Peter himself, but which

2109-538: Is one of the most renowned works of Italian Renaissance architecture and is the largest church in the world by interior measure. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome (these equivalent titles being held by the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome), St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding

2220-421: Is raised from the piers on a drum. The encircling peristyle of Bramante and the arcade of Sangallo are reduced to 16 pairs of Corinthian columns, each of 15 metres (49 ft) high which stand proud of the building, connected by an arch. Visually they appear to buttress each of the ribs, but structurally they are probably quite redundant. The reason for this is that the dome is ovoid in shape, rising steeply as does

2331-404: Is that the architect has greatly reduced the clearly defined geometric forms of Bramante's plan of a square with square projections, and also of Raphael's plan of a square with semi-circular projections. Michelangelo has blurred the definition of the geometry by making the external masonry of massive proportions and filling in every corner with a small vestry or stairwell. The effect created is of

SECTION 20

#1732790971889

2442-445: Is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. Raphael's plan for the chancel and transepts made the squareness of the exterior walls more definite by reducing the size of the towers, and the semi-circular apses more clearly defined by encircling each with an ambulatory. In 1520 Raphael also died, aged 37, and his successor Baldassare Peruzzi maintained changes that Raphael had proposed to

2553-596: The Bitburg area in Germany, then part of Luxembourg), in addition to (until 1678) most of the present Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, and Longwy area in northern France . The (southern) Upper Guelders region consisted of what is now divided between Germany and the modern Dutch Province of Limburg (in 1713 largely ceded to Prussia ). As they were very wealthy, the Netherlands in general were an important territory of

2664-572: The Habsburg crown which also ruled Spain and Austria among other places. But unlike the other Habsburg dominions, they were led by a merchant class. It was the merchant economy which made them wealthy, and the Habsburg attempts at increasing taxation to finance their wars was a major factor in the Dutch (merchants') efforts to defend their privileges. This, added to resistance to penal laws enforced by

2775-574: The Habsburg monarchy that made heresy a capital crime , led to a general rebellion of the Netherlands against Habsburg rule towards 1570 (protests and hostilities started the Dutch Eighty Years' War for independence c.  1566 –1568). Although the northern seven provinces, led by Holland and Zeeland , established their independence as the United Provinces after 1581, the ten southern Netherlands were reconquered by

2886-796: The Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex , or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door , only opened during jubilees . The interior dimensions are vast when compared to other churches. One author wrote: "Only gradually does it dawn upon us – as we watch people draw near to this or that monument, strangely they appear to shrink; they are, of course, dwarfed by

2997-536: The Pantheon of Ancient Rome , 43.3 metres (142 ft), and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance , 44 metres (144 ft). It has a greater diameter by approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) than Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what

3108-508: The Papacy , the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. St. Peter's is ranked second, after the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran , amongst the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major papal basilica , all four of which are in Rome, and

3219-585: The Prince-Bishopric of Liège ) was overrun by French armies after they won the Battle of Sprimont in 1794. The territory was then annexed to the Republic (October 1, 1795). Only a minority of the population – mostly the local Jacobins and other members of "Societies of Friends of Liberty and Equality" in urban areas – supported the annexation. The majority were hostile to the French regime, above all because of

3330-590: The United States of Belgium (January 1790). However, waylaying Joseph's intended concessions to the Belgians to restore the height of their autonomy and privileges, Austrian imperial power had been restored by Joseph's brother and successor, Leopold II , by the end of 1790. In the course of the French Revolution , the entire region (including territories that were never under Habsburg rule, like

3441-419: The dome of Florence Cathedral, and therefore exerting less outward thrust than does a hemispherical dome, such as that of the Pantheon, which, although it is not buttressed, is countered by the downward thrust of heavy masonry which extends above the circling wall. The ovoid profile of the dome has been the subject of much speculation and scholarship over the past century. Michelangelo died in 1564, leaving

Artus Quellinus II - Misplaced Pages Continue

3552-451: The province of Limburg . The autonomy of Luxembourg was recognised in 1839, but an instrument to that effect was not signed until 1867. The King of the Netherlands was Grand Duke of Luxembourg until 1890, when William III was succeeded by his daughter, Wilhelmina of the Netherlands – but Luxembourg still followed the Salic law at the time, which forbade a woman to rule in her own right; so

3663-570: The second tallest building in Rome as of 2016 . The dome's soaring height placed it among the tallest buildings of the Old World , and it continues to hold the title of tallest dome in the world . Though the largest dome in the world by diameter at the time of its completion, it no longer holds this distinction. After the crucifixion of Jesus, it is recorded in the Biblical book of the Acts of

3774-733: The Apostles that one of his twelve disciples, Simon known as Saint Peter, a fisherman from Galilee , took a leadership position among Jesus' followers and was of great importance in the founding of the Christian Church . The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek, deriving from petra which means "stone" or "rock" in Greek , and is the literal translation of the Aramaic "Kepa",

3885-531: The Baroque style of Gian Lorenzo Bernini , the main competitor of François Duquesnoy in Rome. Artus the Younger's emphasis on emotion reveals a link with the work of Bernini and Lucas Faydherbe (1617–1697), the leading sculptor from Mechelen who had trained with Peter Paul Rubens . This is reflected in his preference for graceful bodies, flowing draperies, hair that is tussled by the wind and fine facial expressions with little sense of realism. The influence of Bernini became more pronounced after 1670 when Artus

3996-1054: The Chapel of the Presentation of the Virgin , the larger Choir Chapel, the altar of the Transfiguration, the Clementine Chapel with the altar of Saint Gregory , the Sacristy Entrance, the Altar of the Lie, the left transept with altars to the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Saint Joseph and Saint Thomas , the altar of the Sacred Heart , the Chapel of the Madonna of Column, the altar of Saint Peter and

4107-651: The Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than 150 metres (490 ft) from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter's Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter's Basilica

4218-464: The Early Christian period. St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year both within the basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square ; these liturgies draw audiences numbering from 15,000 to over 80,000 people. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the early Christian Church ,

4329-468: The Early Renaissance lantern of Florence Cathedral designed for Brunelleschi's dome by Michelozzo . Bramante had envisioned that the central dome would be surrounded by four lower domes at the diagonal axes. The equal chancel , nave and transept arms were each to be of two bays ending in an apse. At each corner of the building was to stand a tower, so that the overall plan was square, with

4440-734: The French and an increasing portion of the territory came under French control in successive wars. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 the French annexed Artois while Dunkirk was ceded to the English. By the Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle (ending the War of Devolution in 1668) and Nijmegen (ending the Franco-Dutch War in 1678), further territory up to the current Franco-Belgian border

4551-525: The Netherlands separated from Spanish rule and became the United Provinces in 1581 the remainder of the area became known as the Spanish Netherlands and remained under Spanish control. This region comprised modern Belgium, Luxembourg as well as part of northern France. The Spanish Netherlands originally consisted of: The capital, Brussels , was in Brabant. In the early 17th century, there

Artus Quellinus II - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-717: The Paralytic, the apse with the Chair of Saint Peter , the altar of Saint Peter raising Tabitha , the altar of St. Petronilla, the altar of the Archangel Michael , the altar of the Navicella , the right transept with altars of Saint Erasmus , Saints Processo and Martiniano, and Saint Wenceslas , the altar of St. Jerome, the altar of Saint Basil , the Gregorian Chapel with the altar of the Madonna of Succour,

4773-1020: The Spanish Succession , what was left of the Spanish Netherlands was ceded to Austria and thus became known as the Austrian Netherlands or Belgium Austriacum . However, the Austrians themselves generally had little interest in the region (aside from a short-lived attempt by Emperor Charles VI to compete with British and Dutch trade through the Ostend Company ), and the fortresses along the border (the Barrier Fortresses ) were, by treaty, garrisoned with Dutch troops. The area had, in fact, been given to Austria largely at British and Dutch insistence, as these powers feared potential French domination of

4884-453: The Spanish general Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma . Liège, Stavelot-Malmédy and Bouillon maintained their independence. The Habsburg Netherlands passed to the Austrian Habsburgs after the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. Under Austrian rule, the ten provinces' defence of their privileges proved as troublesome to the reforming Emperor Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor as it had to his ancestor Philip II two centuries earlier, leading to

4995-408: The Spanish sphere of influence, and with Albert's death in 1621 they returned to formal Spanish control, although the childless Isabella remained on as Governor until her death in 1633. The failing wars intended to regain the 'heretical' northern Netherlands meant significant loss of (still mainly Catholic) territories in the north, which was consolidated in 1648 in the Peace of Westphalia , and given

5106-416: The Younger resided at the same time in Antwerp for a long period it is not always clear from the records of the local Guild of Saint Luke (the so-called Liggeren ) whether someone was a pupil of Artus the Younger or the Elder. He died in Antwerp . Artus Quellinus II received many commissions from patrons in the Southern Netherlands as well as from other cultural centres of Europe, such as Copenhagen. Artus

5217-423: The Younger's style marked an evolution in Baroque sculpture in Flanders towards a more dramatic and expressive form. This distinguishes him from his cousin Artus I who had worked in Rome in the workshop of François Duquesnoy and upon his return in Flanders in the 1640s had helped introduce the Baroque style developed by François Duquesnoy, which was based on classical sculpture. This style was less expressive than

5328-411: The Younger's work acquired a distinctively expressive and heroic character. This is apparent in the sculpture group of God the Father , in the St. Salvator's Cathedral in Bruges as well as in the Apotheosis of St. James in the St. James' Church in Antwerp. The twisted columns and the radial rays are borrowed directly from Bernini's Baldachin in the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Here he created

5439-423: The addition of a transept or bema , giving the building the shape of a tau cross . It was over 103.6 metres (340 ft) long, and the entrance was preceded by a large colonnaded atrium . This church had been built over the small shrine believed to mark the burial place of St. Peter , though the tomb was "smashed" in 846 AD . It contained a very large number of burials and memorials, including those of most of

5550-444: The agreement was unimplemented and revoked by the Third Treaty of Versailles (1785) and Austrian rule continued. In 1784, its ruler, Emperor Joseph II , took up the long-standing grudge of Antwerp , whose once-flourishing trade was destroyed by the permanent closing of the Scheldt , and he demanded for the Dutch Republic to open the river to navigation. However, his stance was far from militant, and he called off hostilities after

5661-409: The apses projecting at the cardinal points. Each apse had two large radial buttresses, which squared off its semi-circular shape. When Pope Julius died in 1513, Bramante was replaced with Giuliano da Sangallo and Fra Giocondo , who both died in 1515 (Bramante himself having died the previous year). Raphael was confirmed as the architect of St. Peter's on 1 August 1514. The main change in his plan

SECTION 50

#1732790971889

5772-417: The autonomous Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , because it was claimed by both the Netherlands and Prussia. In 1830 the predominantly Roman Catholic southern half became independent as the Kingdom of Belgium (the northern half being predominantly Calvinist ) . In 1839 the final border between the kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium was determined and the eastern part of Limburg returned to the Netherlands as

5883-455: The bones were those of Peter, the rare vestments suggested a burial of great importance. On 23 December 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb . Old St. Peter's Basilica was the fourth-century church begun by the Emperor Constantine the Great between 319 and 333 AD. It was of typical basilical form, a wide nave and two aisles on each side and an apsidal end, with

5994-400: The building into a short nave with a wide façade and portico of dynamic projection. His proposal for the dome was much more elaborate of both structure and decoration than that of Bramante and included ribs on the exterior. Like Bramante, Sangallo proposed that the dome be surmounted by a lantern which he redesigned to a larger and much more elaborate form. Sangallo's main practical contribution

6105-400: The building of St. Peter's Basilica was the granting of indulgences in return for contributions. A major promoter of this method of fund-raising was Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg , who had to clear debts owed to the Roman Curia by contributing to the rebuilding program. To facilitate this, he appointed the German Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel , whose salesmanship provoked

6216-445: The choir had also been built. Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter's than Nicholas V's program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter's. In 1505 Julius made a decision to demolish the ancient basilica and replace it with a monumental structure to house his enormous tomb and "aggrandize himself in

6327-511: The city of Rome , Italy. It was initially planned in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the ageing Old St. Peter's Basilica , which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great . Construction of the present basilica began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. Designed principally by Donato Bramante , Michelangelo , and Carlo Maderno , with piazza and fittings by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , St. Peter's

6438-399: The cross are set two lead caskets, one containing a fragment of the True Cross and a relic of St. Andrew and the other containing medallions of the Holy Lamb. In the mid-18th century, cracks appeared in the dome, so four iron chains were installed between the two shells to bind it, like the rings that keep a barrel from bursting. As many as ten chains have been installed at various times,

6549-448: The crypt of the basilica in an area inaccessible since the ninth century. The excavations revealed the remains of shrines of different periods at different levels, from Clement VIII (1594) to Callixtus II (1123) and Gregory I (590–604), built over an aedicula containing fragments of bones that were folded in a tissue with gold decorations, tinted with the precious murex purple. Although it could not be determined with certainty that

6660-402: The dome to completion in 1590, the last year of the reign of Sixtus V . His successor, Gregory XIV , saw Fontana complete the lantern and had an inscription to the honour of Sixtus V placed around its inner opening. The next pope, Clement VIII , had the cross raised into place, an event which took all day, and was accompanied by the ringing of the bells of all the city's churches. In the arms of

6771-438: The drum and dome, the whole building being pulled together into a unity from base to summit." It is this sense of the building being sculptured, unified and "pulled together" by the encircling band of the deep cornice that led Eneide Mignacca to conclude that the ovoid profile, seen now in the end product, was an essential part of Michelangelo's first (and last) concept. The sculptor/architect has, figuratively speaking, taken all

SECTION 60

#1732790971889

6882-440: The drum of the dome complete, and Bramante's piers much bulkier than originally designed, each 18 metres (59 ft) across. Following his death, the work continued under his assistant Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola with Giorgio Vasari appointed by Pope Pius V as a watchdog to make sure that Michelangelo's plans were carried out exactly. Despite Vignola's knowledge of Michelangelo's intentions, little happened in this period. In 1585

6993-407: The earliest possibly planned by Michelangelo himself as a precaution, as Brunelleschi did at Florence Cathedral. Around the inside of the dome is written, in letters 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) high: TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM ET TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM ("... you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. ... and I will give you the keys of

7104-431: The early years of the Church, been buried near Pope St. Peter in the necropolis beneath the Basilica. Construction of the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and finished in 1615. At length, on 18 November 1626 Pope Urban VIII solemnly dedicated the Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica is neither the Pope's official seat nor first in rank among the Major Basilicas of Rome. This honour

7215-472: The earth ... the sublime of the beautiful." St. Peter's Basilica is one of the papal basilicas (previously styled "patriarchal basilicas") and one of the four Major Basilicas of Rome the others (all of which are also Papal Basilicas) being the Basilicas of St. John Lateran , St. Mary Major , and St. Paul outside the Walls . The rank of major basilica confers on St. Peter's Basilica precedence before all minor basilicas worldwide. However, unlike all

7326-401: The effect of creating both vertical and horizontal ribs while lightening the overall load. At the summit is an ocular opening 8 metres (26 ft) across which provides light to the interior. Bramante's plan for the dome of St. Peter's (1506) follows that of the Pantheon very closely, and like that of the Pantheon, was designed to be constructed in Tufa Concrete for which he had rediscovered

7437-460: The energetic Pope Sixtus V appointed Giacomo della Porta who was to be assisted by Domenico Fontana . The five-year reign of Sixtus was to see the building advance at a great rate. Michelangelo left a few drawings, including an early drawing of the dome, and some details. There were also detailed engravings published in 1569 by Stefan du Pérac who claimed that they were the master's final solution. Michelangelo, like Sangallo before him, also left

7548-426: The engraver. The profile of the wooden model is more ovoid than that of the engravings, but less so than the finished product. It has been suggested that Michelangelo on his death bed reverted to the more pointed shape. However, Lees-Milne cites Giacomo della Porta as taking full responsibility for the change and as indicating to Pope Sixtus that Michelangelo was lacking in the scientific understanding of which he himself

7659-440: The exception of the details of the lantern, is entirely Gothic, its engineering was highly innovative, and the product of a mind that had studied the huge vaults and remaining dome of Ancient Rome. Sangallo's plan (1513), of which a large wooden model still exists, looks to both these predecessors. He realized the value of both the coffering at the Pantheon and the outer stone ribs at Florence Cathedral. He strengthened and extended

7770-424: The experience gained after the War of the Spanish Succession about the difficulty of defending non contiguous possessions, whether she should not instead obtain contiguous territorial compensations in Northern Italy. This latter viewpoint won and the Congress of Vienna allotted the Southern Netherlands to the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands . After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the region separated to become

7881-427: The hands of France, the Habsburgs remained in control of the title of Duke of Burgundy and the other parts of the Burgundian inheritance, notably the Low Countries and the Free County of Burgundy in the Holy Roman Empire. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it (e.g. in the name of the Imperial Circle it was grouped into), until 1794, when the Austrian Netherlands were lost to the French Republic. When part of

7992-609: The heart of the basilica, beneath the high altar, is the Confessio or Chapel of the Confession , in reference to the confession of faith by St. Peter, which led to his martyrdom. Two curving marble staircases lead to this underground chapel at the level of the Constantinian church and immediately above the purported burial place of Saint Peter. The entire interior of St. Peter's is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture and gilding. The basilica contains

8103-430: The huge circular Roman temple, the Pantheon . The main difference between Bramante's design and that of the Pantheon is that where the dome of the Pantheon is supported by a continuous wall, that of the new basilica was to be supported only on four large piers. This feature was maintained in the ultimate design. Bramante's dome was to be surmounted by a lantern with its own small dome but otherwise very similar in form to

8214-534: The ideas of the previous architects. He drew on them in developing a grand vision. Above all, Michelangelo recognized the essential quality of Bramante's original design. He reverted to the Greek Cross and, as Helen Gardner expresses it: "Without destroying the centralising features of Bramante's plan, Michelangelo, with a few strokes of the pen converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity." As it stands today, St. Peter's has been extended with

8325-730: The imposition of the assignat , wholesale conscription, and the ferocious antireligious policies of the French revolutionaries. The opposition was first led by the Catholic clergy, which became an irreducible enemy of the French Republic after it dissolved convents and monasteries and confiscated ecclesiastical properties, ordered the separation of Church and State, shut down the University of Louvain and other Catholic educational institutions, regulated church attendance and introduced divorce. In 1797, nearly 8000 priests refused to swear

8436-748: The independent Kingdom of Belgium . St. Peter%27s Basilica This is an accepted version of this page The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( Italian : Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano ), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( Latin : Basilica Sancti Petri ; Italian: Basilica di San Pietro [baˈziːlika di sam ˈpjɛːtro] ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City , an independent microstate enclaved within

8547-523: The integrated design solution that is about visual tension and compression. In one sense, Michelangelo's dome may appear to look backward to the Gothic profile of Florence Cathedral and ignore the Classicism of the Renaissance, but on the other hand, perhaps more than any other building of the 16th century, it prefigures the architecture of the Baroque . Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana brought

8658-481: The internal arrangement of the three main apses, but otherwise reverted to the Greek Cross plan and other features of Bramante. This plan did not go ahead because of various difficulties of both Church and state. In 1527 Rome was sacked and plundered by Emperor Charles V . Peruzzi died in 1536 without his plan being realized. At this point Antonio da Sangallo the Younger submitted a plan which combines features of Peruzzi, Raphael and Bramante in its design and extends

8769-465: The job with pleasure; it was forced upon him by Pope Paul, frustrated at the death of his chosen candidate, Giulio Romano and the refusal of Jacopo Sansovino to leave Venice . Michelangelo wrote, "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." He insisted that he should be given a free hand to achieve the ultimate aim by whatever means he saw fit. Michelangelo took over

8880-701: The larger Chapel of the Holy Sacrament , the Chapel of Saint Sebastian and the Chapel of the Pietà . The Monuments, in a clockwise direction, are to: Maria Clementina Sobieska , The Stuarts , Benedict XV , John XXIII , St. Pius X , Innocent VIII , Leo XI , Innocent XI , Pius VII , Pius VIII , Alexander VII , Alexander VIII , Paul III , Urban VIII , Clement X , Clement XIII , Benedict XIV , St Peter (Bronze Statue), Gregory XVI , Gregory XIV , Gregory XIII , Matilda of Canossa , Innocent XII , Pius XII , Pius XI , Christina of Sweden , and Leo XII . At

8991-562: The latter part of his life Quellinus received many commissions, primarily for church furnishings and tomb sculptures. His pupils include Alexander van Papenhoven , Thomas Quellinus, Jan van den Steen, (1633–1723), the Master of the St. Luke in Antwerp, Cornelis van Scheyck (1679–1680), Balten Rubbens (1685–1686), Adriaen Govaerts (1690–91) and Jacobus de Man (1694–95). As Artus Quellinus the Elder and

9102-480: The members of the team of artists that worked under the direction of Artus I on the decoration of the newly built City Hall on the Dam Square . The artist traveled to Italy and probably visited Turin , Florence and Rome between 1655 and 1657. He was back in Antwerp in 1657 and became an Antwerp burgher on 11 May 1663. His wife died on 15 October 1668 and the next year Artus remarried to Cornelia Volders. In

9213-532: The name given to Simon by Jesus. ( John 1:42 , and see Matthew 16:18 ) Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of thirty-four years, travelled to Rome and met his martyrdom there along with Paul on 13 October 64 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero . His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome . According to Jerome , Peter

9324-508: The newly introduced Oath of Hatred of Kings ("serment de haine à la royauté"), and went into hiding to escape arrest and deportation. The situation, particularly in the religious field, eased with the rise to power of Bonaparte in 1799, but soon, the intensification of conscription, the police state and the Continental System , which brought ruin to Ostend and Antwerp, reignited opposition to French rule. During that period Belgium

9435-511: The other Papal Major Basilicas, it is wholly within the territory, and thus the sovereign jurisdiction, of the Vatican City State , and not that of Italy. It is the most prominent building in the Vatican City . Its dome is a feature of the skyline of Rome and covers an area of 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres). One of the holiest sites of Christianity and Catholic Tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its titular, St. Peter , who

9546-487: The peculiar, inferior status of Generality Lands (jointly ruled by the United Republic, not admitted as member provinces): Zeelandic Flanders (south of the river Scheldt ), the present Dutch province of North Brabant and Maastricht (in the present Dutch province of Limburg). As Spanish power waned in the latter decades of the 17th century, the territory of the Spanish Netherlands was repeatedly invaded by

9657-480: The period of the Avignon Papacy , the old basilica had fallen into disrepair. It appears that the first pope to consider rebuilding or at least making radical changes was Pope Nicholas V (1447–1455). He commissioned work on the old building from Leone Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino and also had Rossellino design a plan for an entirely new basilica, or an extreme modification of the old. His reign

9768-455: The peristyle of Bramante into a series of arched and ordered openings around the base, with a second such arcade set back in a tier above the first. In his hands, the rather delicate form of the lantern, based closely on that in Florence, became a massive structure, surrounded by a projecting base, a peristyle and surmounted by a spire of conic form. According to James Lees-Milne the design

9879-432: The pointed dome existed for many years before Brunelleschi made its construction feasible. Its double-shell construction of bricks locked together in a herringbone pattern (re-introduced from Byzantine architecture), and the gentle upward slope of its eight stone ribs made it possible for the construction to take place without the massive wooden formwork necessary to construct hemispherical arches. While its appearance, with

9990-415: The popes from St. Peter to the 15th century. Like all of the earliest churches in Rome, both this church and its successor had the entrance to the east and the apse at the west end of the building. Since the construction of the current basilica, the name Old St. Peter's Basilica has been used for its predecessor to distinguish the two buildings. By the end of the 15th century, having been neglected during

10101-831: The popular imagination". A competition was held, and a number of the designs have survived at the Uffizi Gallery . A succession of popes and architects followed in the next 120 years, their combined efforts resulting in the present building. The scheme begun by Julius II continued through the reigns of Leo X (1513–1521), Adrian VI (1522–1523), Clement VII (1523–1534), Paul III (1534–1549), Julius III (1550–1555), Marcellus II (1555), Paul IV (1555–1559), Pius IV (1559–1565), Pius V (saint) (1565–1572), Gregory XIII (1572–1585), Sixtus V (1585–1590), Urban VII (1590), Gregory XIV (1590–1591), Innocent IX (1591), Clement VIII (1592–1605), Leo XI (1605), Paul V (1605–1621), Gregory XV (1621–1623), Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Innocent X (1644–1655). One method employed to finance

10212-407: The previous designs in hand and compressed their contours as if the building were a lump of clay. The dome must appear to thrust upwards because of the apparent pressure created by flattening the building's angles and restraining its projections. If this explanation is the correct one, then the profile of the dome is not merely a structural solution, as perceived by Giacomo della Porta; it is part of

10323-563: The region. Throughout the latter part of the eighteenth century, the principal foreign policy goal of the Habsburg rulers was to exchange the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria , which would round out Habsburg possessions in southern Germany. In the 1757 Treaty of Versailles , Austria agreed to the creation of an independent state in the Southern Netherlands ruled by Philip, Duke of Parma and garrisoned by French troops in exchange for French help in recovering Silesia . However

10434-400: The scale of everything in the building. This in its turn overwhelms us." The nave which leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them. There are also chapels surrounding the dome. Moving around the basilica in a clockwise direction they are: The Baptistery ,

10545-570: The so-called Kettle War , so called because its only "casualty" was a kettle. Though Joseph secured in the 1785 Treaty of Fontainebleau that the territory's rulers would be compensated by the Dutch Republic for the continued closing the Scheldt , this failed to gain him much popularity. The people of the Austrian Netherlands rebelled against Austria in 1788 as a result of Joseph II's centralizing policies. The different provinces established

10656-482: The spire at the top of the lantern, as proposed by Sangallo. A drawing by Michelangelo indicates that his early intentions were towards an ovoid dome, rather than a hemispherical one. In an engraving in Galasso Alghisi ' treatise (1563), the dome may be represented as ovoid, but the perspective is ambiguous. Stefan du Pérac's engraving (1569) shows a hemispherical dome, but this was perhaps an inaccuracy of

10767-591: The union of the Dutch and Luxembourgish crowns then ended. The northwestern two-thirds of the original Luxembourg remains a province of Belgium. The Spanish Netherlands (Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden , Spanish: Países Bajos españoles ) was a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714, inherited from the Dukes of Burgundy . Although the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy itself remained in

10878-458: Was "too eclectic, too pernickety and too tasteless to have been a success". Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all that had gone before. His dome, like that of Florence , is constructed of two shells of brick, the outer one having 16 stone ribs, twice the number at Florence but far fewer than in Sangallo's design. As with the designs of Bramante and Sangallo, the dome

10989-469: Was a flourishing court at Brussels, which was under the government of King Philip III's half-sister Archduchess Isabella and her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria . Among the artists who emerged from the court of the "Archdukes", as they were known, was Peter Paul Rubens . Under the Archdukes, the Spanish Netherlands actually had formal independence from Spain, but always remained unofficially within

11100-663: Was a gift from Charles the Bald and used by many popes, symbolizes the continuing line of apostolic succession from St. Peter to the reigning Pope. It occupies an elevated position in the apse of the Basilica, supported symbolically by the Doctors of the Church and enlightened symbolically by the Holy Spirit . As one of the constituent structures of the historically and architecturally significant Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica

11211-432: Was capable. Helen Gardner suggests that Michelangelo made the change to the hemispherical dome of lower profile in order to establish a balance between the dynamic vertical elements of the encircling giant order of pilasters and a more static and reposeful dome. Gardner also comments, "The sculpturing of architecture [by Michelangelo] ... here extends itself up from the ground through the attic stories and moves on into

11322-515: Was ceded, including Cambrai , Walloon Flanders (the area around Lille , Douai and Orchies ), as well as half of the county of Hainaut (including Valenciennes ). Later, in the War of the Reunions and the Nine Years' War , France temporarily annexed other parts of the region that were returned in the 1697 Peace of Ryswick . Under the Treaty of Rastatt (1714), following the War of

11433-423: Was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom . The dome of the Pantheon stands on a circular wall with no entrances or windows except a single door. The whole building is as high as it is wide. Its dome is constructed in a single shell of concrete , made light by the inclusion of a large amount of the volcanic stones tuff and pumice. The inner surface of the dome is deeply coffered which has

11544-440: Was constructed over this site. The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials as for many years after the burial of Saint Peter , many Christians chose to be buried near him. In 1939, in the reign of Pope Pius XII, 10 years of archaeological research began under

11655-475: Was crucified head downwards, by his own request because he considered himself unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero . The obelisk now stands in St. Peter's Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter's death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome . According to tradition, Peter's remains were buried just outside

11766-414: Was divided into nine départements : Deux-Nèthes , Dyle , Escaut , Forêts , Jemmape , Lys , Meuse-Inférieure , Ourthe and Sambre-et-Meuse . Austria confirmed the loss of its territories by the Treaty of Campo Formio , in 1797. In anticipation of Napoleon's defeat in 1814, it was hotly debated inside Austrian ruling circles whether Austria should get the Southern Netherlands back or, in view of

11877-470: Was frustrated by political problems and when he died, little had been achieved. He had, however, ordered the demolition of the Colosseum and by the time of his death, 2,522 cartloads of stone had been transported for use in the new building. The foundations were completed for a new transept and choir to form a domed Latin cross with the preserved nave and side aisles of the old basilica. Some walls for

11988-463: Was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 under criteria (i), (ii), (iv), and (vi). With an exterior area of 21,095 square metres (227,060 sq ft), an interior area of 15,160 square metres (163,200 sq ft), St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church building in the world by the two latter metrics and the second largest by the first as of 2016 . The top of its dome, at 448.1 feet (136.6 m), also places it as

12099-570: Was the head of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome , rendering him the first Pope . Although the New Testament does not mention St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome, tradition, based on the writings of the Fathers of the Church , holds that his tomb is below the baldachin and the altar of the Basilica in the "Confession". For this reason, many Popes have, from

12210-502: Was the respected Antwerp sculptor Erasmus Quellinus I , whose son was Artus Quellinus I , the most successful Flemish Baroque sculptor of the mid 17th century. Artus II is likely to have received his training as a sculptor from his cousin Artus Quellinus I in Antwerp to where he must have moved from his native city of Sint-Truiden (then in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , now in the Belgian province of Limburg ). Artus Quellinus II became

12321-454: Was to strengthen Bramante's piers which had begun to crack. On 1 January 1547 in the reign of Pope Paul III, Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Sangallo the Younger as "Capomaestro", the superintendent of the building program at St Peter's. He is to be regarded as the principal designer of a large part of the building as it stands today, and as bringing the construction to a point where it could be carried through. He did not take on

#888111