Analysis Of The School Of Athens and St. Peter's Cathedral

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recall Roman architecture and predict the new look of St. Peter's cathedral, the figures are ingeniously arranged around the central pair, being Plato and Aristotle which serves as the focal point for the perspective. On Plato's side, we see the ancient philosophers who seems to be pondering ancient mysteries; on Aristotle's side, the philosophers and scientist are concerned with nature and the social lives of men. The groups move together quite easily with elegant poses and gestures that symbolize their various doctrines. They appear as self-assured with natural dignity which reflects the balance so greatly admired by Renaissance men such as Raphael and Michelangelo. At the lower left, Pythagoras writes as a servant holds up the harmonic scales; in the foreground, Herakleitos contemplates alone. Diogenes is sprawled on the steps, while at the right, students surround Euclid who seems to be demonstrating a theorem.
The artistic renderings of the painting itself shows a vast ...

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in the apse, the Cathedra Petri, also the work of Bernini. In this extremely dramatic setting, the Chair of St. Peter is illuminated by overspreading sunlight in which the dove of the Holy Ghost floats among angels in flight and billowing clouds. Four huge figures in gilt bronze seem to support the chair as if by magic. The two figures in the foreground represent the fathers of the Latin Church, being St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. Behind them stands St. Athanasius and St. Chrysostom which represent the Greek church. With this, everything appears to be in constant motion, yet due to its complexity, each figure and object is difficult to discern by itself; the light beaming down from ...

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