Baroque Art and Architecture Peter\'s

Baroque Art and Architecture

PETER'S CATHEDRAL in Rome and the PALACE of VERSAILLES convey very different stylistic messages to the viewer. St. Peter's is stately, conservative, and elegantly simple, while the Palace of Versailles seems grander and a little gaudier somehow.

The Palace is much larger than St. Peters, so the architecture must be created on a grander scale. It was also meant as a royal home, so it must convey the majesty and pomp of the French court, while St. Peters must convey the majesty and pomp of the Catholic Church. In that, their missions are similar and so are some of their architecture, such as the "boxy," square appearance of both buildings, and the columns and carvings that decorate both.

They show similar aspects of a culture that grew during the Renaissance and included grand, highly decorative buildings, used as much as monuments to beauty as much as for other useful purposes. Both of these buildings show attention to detail and building techniques that do not exist today, such as the fine stonework of the walls, and the artistic decorations around the tops of the buildings.

It is interesting to see how different architects added to or changed the buildings, and how the interpreted the uses of the buildings. Much of the Palace's grandeur is enhanced by the grand gardens surrounding the Palace, which add to the overall feeling of space and grandeur when viewing the house. St. Peter's seems almost starkly bare, but the building's elegance is in the height of the facade and the beautiful dome capping the effect of the building. All the architects involved used symbolism to convey the building's use and the culture at the time. St. Peter's is clearly a church, it could not be anything else, while the Palace is clearly a building used in state affairs.

Both of these buildings send different messages to the viewer, and they both are architecturally beautiful representations of two different uses for public buildings. They are elegant, breathtaking, and stately, each in their own way.

The three sculptures of DAVID by Michelangelo, Bernini, and Donatello all show very different renditions of the same subject. Each sculpture has a style and beauty all its own, and each shows the style and message of the artist.

It is clear the styles changed as these sculptures were created. Michelangelo's DAVID is classical Greek style, with fluid lines and a muscular body that is very pleasant to look at. Bernini's DAVID is a man, while Michelangelo's is clearly a young boy, and Donatello's looks like a dandy or a cavalier. Even his pose makes him look less manly than the other two sculptures, but does somehow manage to convey power, which is ultimately the goal of all the sculptures.

The message behind these sculptures is the same legend of David slaying Goliath, but they each convey that message very differently. Michelangelo's and Bernini's DAVID's both look like they could slay a giant, while Donatello's looks like the hand of God helped him along. All the statues convey power and force, either by weapons or the bodies of the men. He also has a helmet or hat to protect him, while the others do not need anything to protect them, it seems.