Today I am happy to share some amazing art with you. The ceiling at the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius (Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio) was painted by Andrea Pozzo. The amazing fresco that stretches across the nave ceiling set the standard for such types of work in the Late Baroque style. Pozzo began work on his masterpiece in 1685 and completed it in 1694. I did my best here to be able to capture the essence of this spectacular work of art but needless to say there is no substitute for being there in person, tilting your head up and reveling in the rich details of all the different stories that are being told.
What’s even more astonishing is the fact that this was painted on a ceiling that is 17 m wide and features a trompe d’oeil which I’m sure are hard enough to do on a wall, let alone on a curved ceiling. The dome at the top of the photo is not a dome at all and the pillars at the other end are equally deceiving, I just love this painting! There are marble discs on the floor so that visitors know exactly where to stand so as to get the full effect of the deceptive illusions.
You could walk right past the facade of this historic church and not think twice as it is rather humble in appearance compared to the lavish interior but please don’t, as you’d be missing out on something very special. It’s unfortunate that we cant get a closer look at the painting in person so I’ll share some closer up details with you here…
I’ll show you the interior of Sant’Ignazio in a future blog post.
Enjoy more travel photography and stories:
Truly Awesome ! Thanks for this.
I agree, it is awesome and I can’t take any credit for any of the beauty in this photograph, but I am really happy to share it. I feel very lucky to have seen so much wonderful art in Rome and I cant wait to go back.
Incredible!!!!! That’s all I’ve got to say
Every one of your pics has been spectacular but this one is mind blowing. You are very talented. Much future success.
A hot cup of coffee and a couple of very lovely comments, what a nice way to wake up on Saturday morning!
All the praise on this image should go to Andrea Pozzo, I’ll start taking credit again on the next photo ;^)
urs photos are awesome man keep the good work going..
I am running out of words, those are so beautiful..! how could you do that? i think you have worked hard to learn photography…hmm..amazing.. :)
Great pictures. You are absolutely superb photographer. You are artist in your own style.
Thank you all so much :^D
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Breathtaking! Simple breathtaking.
I can’t even fathom this being real… and created by human hands. WOW! The Church of St. Ignatius is a definite “must go and see.”
Thank you for sharing!
Is there a Sunday mass at this church?
That’s awesome! I had a vision while looking at the starry night on psychedelics and to this day this painting is what comes closer to what I saw that night. The celestial mechanics of the higher spheres cascading all the way to our hearts.
Cheers!
GS