Masen Schroeder 1
For my museum contextual analysis, I visited the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park and chose the Interior of St. Peter’s, Rome. This oil on canvas painting was finished by Giovanni Paolo Panini in 1731. Its dimensions are 57 3/8 x 89 7/8 inches. St. Peter’s Basilica is known as one of the greatest works of Renaissance architecture and is located in Vatican City, Rome. The Vatican is a great “canvas” because it has subject matter in both historical and religious aspects. It is the largest standing church in the world, although it is not the mother church of Catholicism. Intended as a keepsake from the original owner's visit to Rome, the picture accurately records the appearance of the great Roman Basilica.1 It became known that St. Peter’s Basilica was a profound canvas for a painting, and Panini took advantage. One can analyze Panini’s work by using the same approach of many art critics. This approach involves a description, analysis, interpretation, background information, and the personal value or relationship of the artwork to the critic.
When I first saw this painting, I was blown away by its vastness and profound color. The first things I noticed were the decorative pillars with tall arches. The numerous angels on the columns also caught my attention. I then noticed the giant size of the building as portrayed in the painting by not only the use of realistic depth perception by the converging lines in the background, but also by the size of the people in the piece. Panini gave the art world a great proportional relationship in regards to the size of St. Peter’s Basilica to a human being. What caught my eye next was the outstanding color displayed in the painting. For example, the gold decorative ceilings with symmetrical squares running along all sides of the overall ceiling really drew my attention to Panini’s detailed coloring and geometry. When first looking at the painting, most will notice the depth created by...