St. Peter's Basilica - Table of Contents ................... Architecture Around the World
2013 photos
Bernini's baldachino - St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City, Italy
Baldachino: An ornamental canopy over an altar, usually supported by columns, or a similar form over a tomb or throne.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680):
Italian artist and a prominent architect. He was the leading sculptor
of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture.
TEXT Beneath Illustrations
 Four bronze twisted Baroque columns supporting baldachino. Note mosaic spandrel in one of four pendentives supporting Michelangelo's cupola.  Bronze for the baldachino was "recycled" from the Pantheon.  Note monumental S scrolls ... Dentils ... Roman composite (twisted) columns   Note mosaic spandrels in two of four pendentives supporting Michelangelo's cupola.  Roman composite (twisted) columns  Dove in bronze canopy  |
| Except from Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History By Robert Hughes Vintage Books, 2012, pp. 284-286       |
