Wood model of dome and drum for Saint Peter's Basilica

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I was inspired for this post by the book I'm reading:  Michelangelo Architect.

Excerpt:

"Saint Peter's in the Vatican

For a strong believer such as Michelangelo, what had the responsibility for 

constructing the mother church of Christianity meant in a time when the Christian 

community was shattered, the dogmas refuted, and the authority of the pope 

and Curia contested? Was this conflict not the perfect opportunity and pretext, if 

not the true motive, for the rebuilding of the Vatican church in Rome? Not just in 

Germany but everywhere, the scandal over the selling of indulgences had spread 

and rekindled the old argument about the extravagance of the Curia and the 

corruption of the clergy. More important, it had opened up the critical doctrinal 

issue of the legitimacy of the very existence of the Church, of its mandate, its 

presence, and its actions. Faith was the axis of Michelangelo's thought and the 

basis of his internal dispute with the methodical skepticism of Leonardo da Vinci. 

This faith, rendered more combative in his youthful ardor by the apocalyptic 

preaching of Savonarola in Florence, brought him close to the supporters of 

Catholic reform in Rome. He condemned the immorality of the clergy and the 

luxury of the Curia, and he told Julius II, at the time of his work on the Sistine 

Ceiling, that he would not use gold to decorate the clothing of the ancestors of 

Christ depicted there, because they had been poor. The mandate to continue the 

new Saint Peter's, with the permission to change what had already been done 

(although within reasonable limits), meant first of all to reduce the empty 

triumphalism of the sumptuous and complex design of Antonio da Sangallo the 

Younger, then to render visible in architectural form the true doctrine, and finally 

to make the church-Church a strong weapon in the struggle against heresy. It is 

well known that Michelangelo was scrupulous about this commission to the point 

of obsession; the salvation of his soul would depend upon the result obtained in 

carrying out this enormous task. He was old, and death was near."

MICHELANGELO ARCHITECT

By Giulio Carlo Argan and Bruno Contardi

Translated from the Italian by Marion L. Grayson

HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., PUBLISHERS

1993

ISBN 0-8109-3638-0

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Étienne Dupérac. Exterior view of Saint Peter's in the Vatican, according to Michelangelo's design.
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Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Luigi Vanvitelli. Wood model of dome and drum for Saint Peter's.
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Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Luigi Vanvitelli. Wood model of dome and drum for Saint Peter's.
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Michelangelo. Elevation of drum and lantern of dome for Saint Peter's.
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Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Luigi Vanvitelli. Wood model of dome and drum for Saint Peter's.
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Michelangelo. Studies for dome and lantern of Saint Peter's.
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Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta and Luigi Vanvitelli. Wood model of dome and drum for Saint Peter's.
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Domenico Passignano (1559-1638)
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The painting by Passignano (1619) shows Michelangelo at the ceremony when the 

model of St. Peter's, with the dome he designed, was presented to the Pope. 

With the rebuilding of St. Peters during the Renaissance, the Popes built the 

largest church in the world as a manifestation of their claim to be "Caput mundi", 

the head of the world. Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are also 

world famous.

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Michelangelo. Study for Tomb of Julius II (pontiff supported by angel).
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Étienne Dupérac. Section of elevation of Saint Peter's in the Vatican, according to Michelangelo's design.
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