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Baroque Symmetry


Baroque Symmetry
Photo Information
Copyright: George Rumpler (Budapestman) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3822 W: 0 N: 6868] (24451)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 1994-07-21
Categories: Daily Life, Architecture, Artwork
Camera: Olympus OM10
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Beautiful view from Europe, Magnificent architectural memories from Europe [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-11-13 11:04
Viewed: 1436
Points: 46
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Saint Peter's Square, or Saint Peter's Piazza (Piazza San Pietro), is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome (the Piazza borders to the East the rione of Borgo). The open space before the basilica was redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, from 1656 to 1667, under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, 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. Bernini had been working on the interior of St Peter's for decades; now he gave order to the space with his renowned colonnades, using the Tuscan form of Doric, the simplest order in the classical vocabulary, not to compete with the palace-like façade by Carlo Maderno, but he employed it on an unprecedented colossal scale to suit the space and provide emotions of awe.
The site's possibilities were under many constraints from existing structures. The massed accretions of the Vatican Palace crowded the space to the right of the basilicas's façade; the structures needed to be masked without obscuring the papal apartments. The obelisk marked a center, and a fountain by Carlo Maderno stood to one side: Bernini made the fountain appear to be one of the foci of the oval embraced by his colonnades and eventually matched it on the other side, in 1675, just five years before his death. The trapezoidal shape of the piazza, which creates a heightened perspective for a visitor leaving the basilica and has been praised as a masterstroke of Baroque theater, is largely a product of site constraints.
The colossal Doric colonnades, four columns deep, frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive oval area which precedes it. The oval's long axis, parallel to the basilica's façade, creates a pause in the sequence of forward movements that is characteristic of a Baroque monumental approach. The colonnades define the piazza. The oval center of the piazza, which contrasts with the trapezoidal entrance, encloses the visitor with "the maternal arms of Mother Church" in Bernini's expression. On the south side, the colonnades define and formalize the space, with the Barberini Gardens still rising to a skyline of umbrella pines. On the north side, the colonnade masks an assortment of Vatican structures; the upper stories of the Vatican Palace rise above.
(source: Rome guide)
picardo, AiresSantos, Isab, carper, paura, emjleclercq, TeresaT, Scharan, pablominto, berek, clnaef, leo61, Photo65Net, Angeni, robertosalguero has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Paolo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4701 W: 146 N: 9010] (39613)
  • [2006-11-13 11:09]

Hi George, the POV...was the One!
good view of Piazza San Pietro with some quality troubles, but...the POV...!
thanks, ciao

Great POV of the place... unique POV. Nice details and good contrast. Intresting note.
TFS
Picardo

Very nice view of the S. Peter square, dear George !
I like this unusual POV. Very good note and details.
TFS and greetings,
Aires

:)tomorrow

  • Great 
  • Isab Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 261 W: 20 N: 100] (857)
  • [2006-11-13 12:07]

Bonjour
Le point de vue est excellent. Cette photo nous donne une bonne idée de la grandeur de la place St-Pierre de Rome.
Bonne journée
Isabelle

Bonsoir George
la profondeur et la perspective m'impressionnent beaucoup dans cette photo. Une jolie sensation de dominer cet endroit. C'est trčs beau et trčs agréable ŕ regarder. Bravo
Xavier

  • Great 
  • paura Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3817 W: 8 N: 2528] (20295)
  • [2006-11-13 15:11]

Amazing shot here, George.
Excellent POV to show us this incredible architecture composition.

Regards

Paulo

Another beautifull perspective, which show the tremendous size of the place. Nice colors in the freground, perhaps a little to blue in the background. Good sharpness for this old picture with just a little noise.

All the best,

Emmanuel

Hello George,
Fantastic view you've gor here from the Saint Peter Piazza.
Perfect symmetry and good detials of the square.
And a very nice senbse of depht.
Regards
Teresa

Olá George
Bonita foto com um bom enquadramento. Cores contrastantes, excelente ponto de vista, um bom trabalho, parabéns George!
Grande abraço,
Vera.

  • Great 
  • berek Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3876 W: 172 N: 4900] (22175)
  • [2006-11-14 2:33]

good point of view George. I like this symmetric working. and details. have a nice day.
Burak
my overall evaluation -> ***

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 9324 W: 445 N: 14694] (51601)
  • [2006-11-14 3:28]

very good one George,
very nice perspectiv in this fantastic view, good pov and a very nice shot to look at. My compliments for the good job.
gr/ jaap

Hello George,
You were very accurate on the framing here!
And the symmetry is there waiting for you...
Wonderful point of view of course, but the scan is a bit noisy...
Otherwise the image is well composed, and the colours have survived the years!
Greetings,
Pablo -

:-) BRB! OK-

Bonjour,
Cela me rappelle mes derničres vacances ŕ Rome.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

What a stunning scenery! Excellent snapshot. You have captured a beautiful panaroma of this famous place.
Achim

Hi Georges
Excellent shot and a superb pov to capture this scene. Your picture has good colouring and nice details since we can make out many other important parts of the city. Good exposure and good lighting.
Aubrey

Very informative this note George. And you made a nica composition, very nice framed. I don't know but it looks a little colors distortion on the up side of the photo but nothing that bothers me.

Nice days
andre

  • Great 
  • MIG13 Gold Star Critiquer [C: 1854 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2006-11-14 8:51]

Hi, George! Rome is always Rome and your shot makes me "travel" to that wonderful city. Good perspective, nicely showing a well known post card! Well done, my friend! Regards! Miguel.

Hi George - wonderful symmetry once again, I like this even better than the collesseum, the colour balance is a bit strange, that's likely due to the age of the scan.

Great composition, and a great choice of viewpoint. With such architectural splendour and planned geometry, how could you fail. It's a wonderful image.
There's a bit of a blue colour cast going on here, but I'm guessing that's a result of the scanning process.
Good work, and a nice change to see some of your older stuff.
Cheers,
Ben

  • Great 
  • leo61 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3560 W: 316 N: 6987] (29738)
  • [2006-11-14 15:33]

Hi George!
Your POV is excellent here.A fantastic view at this famous square and a great depth.The orange roofs contrast well with the urban landscape and I like the row of statues in the foreground.
Regards,Leo

Hi George,
Very nice view above this famous place.
I like the symetry, and the beautiful view over Rome.
Very nice,
JB.

  • Great 
  • Angeni (69)
  • [2006-12-26 14:37]

Hi George!

This pictures bring up so meny happy memories :) I like the composition and contrast. Good perspective. Very interesting note. Have a nice day!
Anne

  • Great 
  • MikiM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 398 W: 94 N: 391] (1831)
  • [2007-01-12 11:24]

Szia Gyuri,
Utólérhetetlen perspektíva - arról a hatalmas és gyönyörű helyről ami egy világ - (legalábbis egy vallási világ) teteje.
Ha nem tévedek a szobrok 5 méter magasak csak.... én csak lentről láttam és köszönöm, hogy megmutattad!
Jó hétvégét!
Miklós

I hope I will get to visit this beautiful place someday. The high point you used to take this picture is excellent. You captured some good symmetric lines and shapes appealing to the visual senses. Good colors and perspective to show the length of the building and the city on the back. Cheers George :-)

Roberto

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