Visible Spirit: The Art of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Volume III (Visible Spirit: the Art of Gian Lorenzo, 3)

Bernini at St. Peter’s may be a unique case in history: a single artist in change of a grandiose monument in a continuous state of
creativity under constantly changing patrons and a variety of projects, for nearly six decades. This book argues that a continuous
thread of thought may be discerned underlying and connecting the vicissitudes of this spectacular display. From first to last, Bernini conceived of St. Peter’s as a pilgrimage church, a kind of pilgrimage of human life, his own and of the believers who visited the basilica to worship and give testimony.
The book is in large format and richly illustrated with 272 colour illustrations. It represents a fitting tribute to the artist and his monument, St. Peter's Basilica

Table of Contents

Preamble
St. Peter's as summa ecclesiarum
The apse and crossing
The high altar
Baldachins and ciboria
The baldacchino (1624-35)
Paired tombs
The tomb of Urban VIII (1627-47)
The crossing piers (1627-41)
The nave: continuity
"Feed my sheep" (pasce oves meas) (1633-46)
The tomb of Matilda of Tuscany (1633-44)
The nave decoration (1645-9)
Ingress – egress
The piazza and colonnades (1656-67)
Commemoration
The cathedra petri (1657-66)
The equestrian monument of Constantine and the Scala Regia (1662-70)
The tomb of Alexander VII (1671-8)
Passage to the Holy City
The Ponte Sant’Angelo and Castel Sant’Angelo (1667-71)
Consummation
The Sacrament Altar (1673-5)
The church, the city, and the artist
Roma alessandrina: urban unity, public welfare, and universal Christian charity
The blood of Christ (1669-70)
Bibliography
Index.