St Marks Vs Notre Dame

St. Marks vs. Notre Dame St. Mark's Cathedral, built in 829AD, contains a plethora of different architectural and sculptural influences from throughout the centuries. Although it was built in the Byzantine era its style is rooted in the traditions of the Roman Empire (Demus). St. Mark's giant vaulted ceiling contains five large timber frame domes which each rest on a group of four piers. One large central dome is surrounded by four smaller domes in the pattern of a Greek cross (photo). In order to support the base of the largest dome, four pendentives, or spherical triangles spring out from the corners and are locked into a square formed by four huge arches. These pendentives are used to create a smooth transition between the spherical shape of the dome and the square layout of its base. This architectural solution was perfected during the Byzantine era and can be seen in many churches (Demus). Each of the domed regions forms its own, separate Greek cross, yet each of the smaller areas is interconnected with the entire building. Arched openings bring the viewer's eye evenly and smoothly throughout the interior of the church as no area is compartmentalized from the rest. The ceiling of the church is dome in a style which gives it the illusion that it is floating in the air due to the use of giant archways resting on smaller piers (Demus). The lightened visual effect is typical during the Byzantine era and is still an awe-inspiring artistic feat today. This style of "hanging" architecture is amplified by the sheets of polished marble and mosaics that decorate the inside of the church. The decorations are a collection of art throughout the ages, brought in from the world by trading ships (Yarwood). The mosaics and inlaid marble on the floor have a rolling, wave-like pattern which recedes over them due to the constant settling and flooding in piazza San Marco. These beautiful decorations personify the image of the Catholic Church and its use of godly décor. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was built in the High Gothic era and uses a ribbed vault to create its magnificent vertical style (Yarwood). The exterior of the cathedral has large towering buttresses which are the ribs (hence, ribbed vault) that create support for the vaults and keep the church from collapsing. Instead of harnessing the force of the Church wanting to collapse inwardly, such as in St. Marks, Notre Dame Architects needed to control the outward thrust of the Church walls which wanted to collapse outward. Since the outward thrust of the vaults created much pressure of the areas where the ribs begin and adds to the downward force of the pointed arches, flying buttresses were used on the outside of the building to counteract this pressure. Notre Dame Cathedral varies greatly from that of St. Marks not only in it's architectural style, but in it's presence as well. While both have a towering magnificence while viewed from the front where the main entrance is present, it is Notre Dame which can be viewed from 360 degrees and completely appreciated in its Gothic style. St. Marks on the other hand is only meant to be viewed from the piazza or the Basilica, which can only give you a frontal or aerial view. Unfortunately this makes it impossible to view the powerful shape of the building from the exterior. Perhaps this is why the interior and entrance are so heavily decorated with trinkets from around the world, such as the four bronze horsemen brought from ancient Greece which tower over the public from the tops of the entrance archways. St. Mark's large cross shape creates a different atmosphere from the interior than in the Notre Dame. While the former has a variety of intricate spaces from which the eye can move through, the latter is mainly one large open area and does not follow the Romanesque 'Greek cross' style (photo). The interior though, does not lack character in its use of space. The openness of the cathedral and patterns of its vaulted ceiling exemplify the feeling of an upward presence. Each of the churches manages to captivate its audience through different architectural tactics, yet both still serve one purpose as a place to give praise and warship. Notre Dame towers over its views with forbidding towers, while St. Marks uses an intricate myriad of features to pull one in from the outside. While each is unique in its own way, they both still stand today with all the elegance and splendor of the time they were built. 1) http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/St_Marks.html 2) Otto Demus. The Church of San Marco in Venice. Washington, D.C.: The Dumbarton Oaks Research

Library and Collection Trustees for Harvard University, 1960. NA5621.V5D4 3) Doreen Yarwood. The Architecture of Europe. New York: Hastings House, 1974. ISBN 0-8038-0364-8. LC 73-11105. NA950.Y37. aerial perspective drawing, f208, p102