High Altar (Detail), Sant'Ignazio, Rome

Posted by MadScientist (Düsseldorf, Germany) on 27 March 2008 in Art & Design.

This is the high altar of Sant'Ignazio, the church we've been visiting often in the last few days. Note the man in the aisle and get a feeling for the proportions.

Credits:
Baroque altarpieces and apse dome fresco: Andrea Pozzo, S.J.
Commision of design and construction: Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi.
Principal: Society of Jesus.

Download my coffee-table book of selected postings here. Enjoy!

Comments (9)

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

Amazing the work and expense that has gone into such a place! A fabulous image!

27 Mar 2008 6:20am

@Michael Skorulski: Sometimes I think the main reason why nobody wants to build massive structures like this one anymore is the price. Buildings have to be built fast and they have to earn profit, that's why representative buildings of today are looking alike.

Craig from Vacaville, California, United States

Magnificent!

27 Mar 2008 9:40am

@Craig: Definitely, but despite its magnitude it's no unhuman architecture (like the one in totalitarian state). As a visitor, you're small but not irrelevant.

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Breathtaking! It is incredible the talent and vision these people had to create such a magnificent piece of work.

27 Mar 2008 11:38am

@MaryB: Though it has to be said that this building isn't just a church but also a power political message about the Society of Jesus and its claim to power.

JoeB from Brampton, Canada

I like this, it shows how massive the whole thing is.

27 Mar 2008 11:54am

@JoeB: I wonder how much this whole building does weigh. Must be several tons of marble and granite!

Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan

This is................!!!!!!! There's no word to describe it! And your shot is excellent as it helps us realize the dimensions of this masterpiece! I think that for the times it was built, it might have been expected to look this way! It also might look extraordinary to us nowadays because we no longer build like this. As you have mentioned yourself, buildings nowadays tend to look so much alike!
You make me very happy with postings like this and I thank you deeply!
Gabriela

27 Mar 2008 3:14pm

@Japanalia: Thank you so much! It's a great pleasure for me to share this and to get great feedback like yours!!

Michael from Wuppertal, Germany

Einfach großartig! Ich denke, so viel Liebe zum Detail wäre heute nicht mehr möglich.

27 Mar 2008 7:26pm

@Michael: Vielleicht wäre es möglich - nur bezahlen würde es keiner mehr! So wie mit der Mondlandung...

Brites from Povoa de Santa Iria, Portugal

Absolutly superb.

29 Mar 2008 12:40am

@Brites: After all, it's not unintimitate. More like a treasure chamber.

Twelvebit from Victoria, United States

You're doing a good job of lighting these images shot in these large chambers of notoriously difficult illumination.

29 Mar 2008 2:52pm

@Twelvebit: Usually I'm using a big ISO or I'm trying to find a well-lit church (as I've written in former postings, some Jesuit churches pamper its visitors with perfect lighting). The Rome shots I'm presenting here were all done in December (Italian December equals a German April, so light is quite acceptable).
But sometimes you can't go without some post processing to reveal the details. I'm still learning (and I need a wide-angle lense).