Bramante's Tempietto

Rome

Donato Bramante

1500 C.E.

Kris Cooley

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<p style="text-align: center">The Tempietto was Donato Bramante's small commemorative martyrium. (Hurl) It was built in a courtyard of the San Pietro in Montorio. This masterpiece rests upon the area of St. Peter's crucifixion. It is centered on the posthole that held the cross upon which St. Peter was killed. This is a very holy site of Christianity. It is believed that St. Peter requested to be crucified upside down, because he didn't think himself worthy of dying as the same way as Jesus Christ. I believe that this building should be admired and taken with us into the future for the sheer perfection of proportions and architecture wonder of the High Italian Renaissance.</p>
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The use of this building was not for use, instead it was created as a symbolic memorial to the religious significance of this particular location in Christian history. It's circular design symbolic of divine perfection. Bramante sought a harmony with its proportions to exemplify this symbolism. He was influenced by,

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"Roman's taste of gravity and majesty" (Hartt 529)

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This can also be seen in Bramante's designs for Santa Maria della Pace.

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During this era, most artists were commissioned by wealthy or influential patrons. The Tempietto was commission by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Pope Julius II was a patron during the High Renaissance also, commissioning Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael to do the Vatican. (Campbell, viii) This was a time during history that people reveled in creating art to glorify religion. This can be seen in painting, architecture and sculpture's motifs

of this time period.

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With that said, artists of the Italian Renaissance were greatly inspired by the ancient world. The populace reveled in the discovery and significance of ancient monuments &amp; works. This would give them tidbits of insight and knowledge of the past. A huge percent of artistic inspiration came from the desire to reconcile their Christian beliefs with the ideas of pagan humanity. This was seen in many works, including Bramante's Tempietto.

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"The human dignity &amp; critical reasoning that was found in the ancient writings played an important role in the transformation of the art &amp; society of the Italian Renaissance."(Hartt, 37)

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"ideals of art and architecture became unified in the acceptance of classical antiquity and in the belief that humanity was a measure of the universe" (Columbia Encyclopedia)

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The Tempietto and St. Peter's Basilica have a few things in common. They both maintain histories of being built on Christian holy sites related to the apostle St. Peter. The question of how they should be proportioned was answered by Vitruvius. His theory of proportions of the human body were applied to the basic circle and square designs found in architecture.(Honours 444) When St. Peter's Basilica was ordered to be redone, these buildings were built on designs created by Donato Bramante. (Vatican, 2) Bramante started on the St. Peter's Basilica design, but it was finished by Michelangelo. Michelangelo established his design in correspondence to Bramante's original design concept.

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The obvious difference of the two is the massive contrast of size. The Tempietto was a small sculpture of a building, standing a height of 13 meters and having a diameter of 8 meters, the attention to detail is what makes this building able to contend with bigger buildings being designed during the High Renaissance. St. Peter's Basilica is drastically bigger then Bramante's Tempietto, being hailed as the tallest dome in the world.

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Even with its small size, Bramante's Tempietto is still cherished today. It is a not to miss gem hidden in the cloister of San Pietro of Montorio. It is considered to be a prime example of the High Renaissance architecture.

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"classically inspired design (a circular interior surrounded by a

columned peristyle and topped by a proportionally perfect dome)

beautifully captured the Renaissance zeitgeist"  (Lonely Planet)

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Personally, the story behind the building is more inspiring to me then it's impressive classical design. I am more interested in thereason behind the circular design being a symbol of divine power. I am from the Christian faith, so it's history of being created as a remembrance of St. Peter's martyred location is especially touching. I am reminded through its beauty of the detail, what God is capable of through us all.

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Bibliography

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Campbell, Gordon. Renaissance Art and Architecture. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

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Hartt, F., and C. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance. Print

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"Saint Peter's Basilica" Vatican CityState -History. 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.

&lt;http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/Saint_Peters_Basilica/History--p--2.htm&gt;.

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Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. The Visual Arts: a History. New York: Abrams, 1995. Print.

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"Bramante, Donato" A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape.    Architecture. 2000. JAMES STEVENS CURL

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