St. Paul
From Londonhua WIKI
Revision as of 19:11, 12 May 2017 by Akgiacoman (talk | contribs)
The Life of St. Paul
 | |
| St Paul's Life | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Attributed to Sir James Thornhill |
| Location | St. Paul's Cathedral, London |
Overview
St. Paul's Cathedral's dome displays a set of paintings from Sir James Thornhill, who was commissioned to provide them in a monochrome style, illustrating the life of St. Paul about three hundred years ago. Saint Paul is one of the most important and influential of all the saints. Many of his writings are contained in the Canon of the Bible and have influenced the growth and development of the Church since the first century.
Contents
Background
We know from Sir Christopher Wren's son that the architect had always intended that the interior of his dome be decorated with mosaics. "For this purpose he had projected to have procured from Italy four of the most eminent artists in that profession; but as this art was a great novelty in England... it did not receive the encouragement it deserved."- Parentalia.[1] So then was when Sir James Thornhill was commissioned to provide monochrome paintings about the life of St. Paul. Thornhill was chosen because, besides his great talent, he fulfilled the characteristics of being a protestant and an English man, which were crucial in this decision. He painted in a style that mimicked rock sculpture which added a fantastic sense of dimension to his artwork and satisfied the conservative political committee of that time. This mainly because they were afraid that the paintings would look ostentatious or too similar to colorful catholic churches.The committee in charge of the project, which was headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and whose other members were ecclesiastics and other professionals appointed by the monarch, had been deliberating the matter since April 1708. The French artist Laguerre (1663-1721) is said to have begun painting, only for work to be halted a month later. Then, in 1709, an open competition was announced. By 1710 the field had narrowed to two contestants, Thornhill and the Venetian, Pellegrini (1675-1741), but no immediate decision was taken.[2]
Use Subsections Headings
Organize each section of this article so that it has a logical flow. If you intend to discuss one aspect of the origin of a person, place, thing, or idea, identify the appropriate existing section of the article, or create that section if it doesn't exist. Then, make a clear subheading. If you notice that some other information is not organized clearly, rearrange the information, but do so cautiously and responsibly! The goal here is clarity for the reader.
Add links to other articles, but do not link to personal student profile pages or milestone pages. Add media as needed in the appropriate sections.
References
If appropriate, add a references section
External Links
If appropriate, add an external links section
Image Gallery
If appropriate, add an image gallery
Category tags
Don't forget to add category tags!!! Your Article Pages MUST contain one or more Category tags like this:
[[Category:Art]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Philosophy & Religion]]
[[Category:Drama & Theater]]
[[Category:Writing & Rhetoric]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:English]]
...and NO OTHER TAGS especially "project" tags.
See the Category Help page for assistance. Don't include irrelevant category tags in your article pages (like the Template category!)
Delete this entire "Category section" when editing this page--Categories don't need a heading.