Art Analysis: St. Peter's Square

Historical and artistic context

• Time: 1656-1657
• Style: 17th century Baroque Art
• Artist: Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (1598-1680)
• Material and technique: Marble. Open, dynamic arquitecture, well integrated in its urban environment
• Location: Vatican City, Rome (Italy)

Iconographic analysis

• Name: Colonnade in St. Peter's Square
• Type of building and function: The open basilica was designed by Bernini as an appropriate forecourt, designed so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace. The project also aimed at highlighting Michelangelo's Dome.

Formal analysis

• Compostion, space, decoration: square framed by two straight and slightly converging arms that open in an elliptical square. Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, originating three passages, the central one being wider. Columns are 15m tall. Entablature with balustrade (horizontal axis) which is crowned by 140 statues (vertical axis). The freestanding columns show a marked architectural chiaroscuro. Awe effect after crossing the colonnade and facing the square's magnificence.
• Size of the square: 340m - 240m. At the centre of the square, flanked by fountains, stands a 25m tall obelisk, surmounted by a cross, reaching 40m in total.

Meaning

• Michelangelo's Dome represents the head of the Church. The elliptical center of the piazza encloses the visitor with the "maternal arms of Mother Church" in Bernini's expression.