Andrea Pozzo is an architect, decorator, art theoretician and a stage designer as well. Pozzo was best known in architecture and were the producer of the nave ceiling of the church of Sant’lgnazio. The article produced by Pozzo talks about a Saint Ignatius who went to heaven and the images of the saints description are provided. The Sistine chapel in the Vatican City is a renowned chapel in the palace of Apostolic (Gardener et al 78). This chapel is said to be the Pope’s residence in the city of Vatican. The Sistine chapel is also said to be a place where cardinals normally gather to elect a new pope and is known as the Papal Conclave. This essay has the objective of comparing and contrasting the glorification of Saint Ignatius from the article of Ceiling Fresco in the nave of Sant’lgnazio Rome and the Sistine chapel in the Vatican Rome. What is significant about these two artworks is that they are all architectural and involved several processes in the making. The art of the ceiling fresco was painted by Michelangelo in the years between 1508 and 1512. The glorification of Saint Ignatius, on the other hand, was done by Andrea Pozzo in the years of 1691 and 1694.
The glorification of Saint Ignatius was done by Andrea Pozzo and as described before was in the years of 1691 and 1694. The artist named Pozzo is said to have painted the previous extraordinary fake dome that was only visible in the left part. The extraordinary fake dome in the novel Sant’lgnazio by Andrea Pozzo allowed the widening of the church’s real space. A similar method that was used for decoration of a naïve vault by Andrea Pozzo is that was the same as that of the classic theme of apotheosis in celebration of the founder of Jesus Company. The scene in the book of Sant’lgnazio is described to be settled in a classic heavenly temple. The classic temple is completely exposed through the upper part where the primary activities take place. The novel tells it that Saint Ignatius was welcomed by three persons of the trinity into the sky (Wallace et al 57). The welcoming thus appears very far away from the artist who produced the play, Andrea Pozzo. In the welcoming of Saint Ignatius, God the father and a dove are mentioned to have participated.
Saint Ignatius’ chest is described to have produced several beams of light that reach all the four continents painted in the play. On the other side (right side) of the vault of Saint Ignatius is an angel. The angel is seen to be feeding a big brazier and the brazier’s fire continually lights the streets of those who are needy. The fire still is described and gives the picture of its activity of chasing away the wicked from the vision of heaven. The figures painted in the vault by Andrea Pozzo are done with great attention. The attention in the paintings major in the color of the paintings and the brightness produced and how the brightness changes. These colors and lights have key roles in the paintings, and the light is mentioned to have a key role in the vertigo sense. The sense of vertigo is what Andrea Pozzo in the painting wanted to make the spectator feel so much (Wallace et al 72). In the painting, Andrea makes the spectator feel the colors by using a technical expedient. Two bronze circles indicate the exact points of watching the fake architecture and best appreciating the spaces in the image.
The light is said to have a key role in the image and greatly attracts viewing at large. Andrea Pozzo in his architectural works demonstrates his construction. He further states that the image constructed can only be watched from a particular spot and at a specific angle. By observing the vault, this novel by Andrea Pozzo states that the spectator gets the impression of being at the center of the courtyard. The novel further states that the spectator who observes the vault also gets to see the upper part of the vault and the sides especially through the arches. With the creation of the vault of Saint Ignatius, the novel of Sant’lgnazio involves the watcher to be part of the scene (Gardener et al). By following the description of the vault and further watching what was produced, a reader or an observer will surely enjoy the image and feel like he or she was involved in the making of the vault.
The ceiling fresco of the Sistine chapel depicts a creation of the world. The Sistine ceiling is said to have been originally painted by Piero Matteo d’Amelia that in the image included a star-spangled sky. Towards the end of 1508 Pope Julius II della Rovere made Michelangelo repaint the ceiling. Michelangelo then worked on the project and several paintings wore done, unlike the Andrea Pozzo’s paintings. It is also evident that this artist was old and worked against his will at times. The last judgment was a painting done by Michelangelo on the wall of the altar (Rodin et al 95). The last judgment was the known largest fresco of the century by then and to date it is still an unquestioned masterpiece. During ceremonies that are important, the lowest portions of the Sistine chapel’s side walls were usually covered with a series of tapestries to give more information about the events from the acts and the gospels. The Sistine chapel is carefully restored and with the several deaths of popes, there have been changes. The last judgment architecture has been cleaned and painstaking processes involved by the use of computer analysis. Several activities that were involved in the restoration of the last judgment image were the removal of several modesty drapes that had been added to some nude pictures.
In comparing and contrasting the glorification of Saint Ignatius and the Sistine chapel, several factors have been considered. In comparison, both the images are religious or rather in the context of religion whereby the Sistine church is for worshipping and the glorification of Saint Ignatius an activity of religion. Both the images are also made over a long period and involve keen activities. The images are also a representation of some activities, places and people. The cultural representation of these images is evident in their viewing whereby the Sistine chapel images gave a culture of worship in different periods and trust in the images just like that of the glorification of Saint Ignatius. In contrast, the glorification of Saint Ignatius image is single and has no other images. The Sistine chapel images are several and are placed all over the church. The image of the glorification of Saint Ignatius is descent and only involves the chest as the showing body part yet the Sistine chapel images have nude pictures at some point and are no modest wholly. The image of the glorification of Saint Ignatius is made once by one person, Andrea Pozzo whereas the Sistine chapel images are made severally by different people at different times. The image of the glorification of Saint Ignatius is stated to have lights whereas the Sistine chapel images are not mentioned to attract with light. The image of the glorification of Saint Ignatius is done willingly fully by Andrea whereas the Sistine chapel images are forced on the makers without their consent.
In concluding, these discussed arts can reflect cultural, political and social issues both positively and negatively. Politically, the Sistine chapel images reflect power and the Pope made an artist to make the images unwillingly. Socially, the images were accepted by the society and reflected the societal important belief that is religion. Culturally, the existing society by then must have had a culture of representing the religious systems in the form of images. The society that produced these images must have been religious, and memory was keeping so that they could use the available images for reference.
Works Cited
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Concise Western History. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Concise Global History. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Rodin, Jesse. Josquin's Rome: Hearing and Composing in the Sistine Chapel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print.
Wallace, David R. Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Print.
