Bernini's "Apparato Effimero" for the Canonisation of St Elisabeth of Portugal in 1625

• Autores: Loredana Lorizzo
• Localización: Burlington magazine, ISSN 0007-6287, Vol. 145, Nº 1202, 2003, págs. 354-360
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • To celebrate the canonisation of Queen Elisabeth of Portugal by Pope Urban VIII Barberini on 25th May in the jubilee year of 1625, Gian Lorenzo Bernini spent the early months of the year designing and constructing a monumental temporary structure directly beneath Michelangelo's great dome of the basilica of St Peter's.' This 'wooden theatre' can be seen in two anonymous contemporary engravings first published by Irving Lavin in 1968 (Fig. 19). It was an imposing architectural structure, a screen with seven facets articulated by twenty-four Ionic columns placed in pairs; between each set of paired columns were fourteen statues of members of the Portuguese royal house interspersed with five painted 'histories' depicting the principal miracles of the saint. There was also space for various banners and the coats of arms of the cardinals who assisted in the celebration. The intention was to give the impression that the structure was built of expensive materials: precious marble for the columns, gold and bronze for the capitals, and bronze reliefs for the coats of arms and other ornaments.