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Discussion 9.1: St. Peter's in a Triplet

Discussion 9.1

Q Let's look at Bernini's piazza through the tripartite structure we have been developing in this course. We will begin by adding another building—Amiens—as the second in our three parts, and by revisiting the Parthenon as the first in our three parts. Chronologically, it is very clear why St. Peter's belongs in the third and final position; but architecturally, spatially, and in terms of the evolutionary developments we've been studying, where the typical movement is from a relatively closed to a more open structure; how could you describe its placement, with respect to these factors? Explain why St. Peter's does or does not fit here in this sequence, and include the Parthenon and Amiens in your description. As we have been doing previously, use at least three examples of works previously studied in the course in order to root your observations here. Use specific terminology and let your descriptions be precise and vivid. And, as always, let yourself find a language that shows the evolution we are exploring without implying that things are getting "better" as we move forward. Think about a human being who is an infant, 20 years old, or 50 years old; any of these are still totally valid, unique human beings, but for different reasons. Again, finding the uniqueness in each allows us to steer clear of the unconscious habit of saying that the mature person is best and the infant/young child is somehow inadequate.

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I can see a stark difference in the first set of three human sculptures. The standing human sculptures became significantly more detailed and also, the use of space and movement increased over the time. The Archaic Kouros sculpture is standing still facing the front. The nude figure of the sculpture has been made realistically but there is no movement and the sculpture looks still. The classical sculpture on the other hand, is also nude but has idealistic proportions and also, there is a little movement in the foot of the figure. The Hellenistic sculpture is the only one with clothes. The drapes are more detailed and the tilted body, slightly bent neck and the feet of the sculpture use more space.