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St. Peter's Baldachin

St. Peter's Baldachin is one of Bernini’s most famous works and was created in collaboration with his colleague and rival Francesco Borromini. This monumental Baroque ciborium stands inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and was conceived in the 17th century to mark the site of the saint’s tomb. Set over the semicircular space of the confession, it rises above the basilica’s crypt, now known as the Vatican Grottoes. Measuring 28.5 meters in height, it is remarkable for its scale yet remains in perfect harmony with the surrounding architecture. In the Christian Catholic tradition, the baldachin serves as a liturgical furnishing that directs attention toward the main altar, the focal point of the religious celebration.

St. Peter\'s Baldachin with dark bronze spiraling columns and an ornate canopy beneath the basilica dome.
St. Peter\'s Baldachin stands over the altar inside St. Peter\'s Basilica, with its twisting bronze columns and decorated canopy.
October 2010 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
St. Peter\'s Baldachin beneath the grand dome of St. Peter\'s Basilica
St. Peter\'s Baldachin stands beneath the ornate dome inside St. Peter\'s Basilica.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
St. Peter\'s Baldachin beneath the ornate dome of St. Peter\'s Basilica
St. Peter\'s Baldachin stands at the center of St. Peter\'s Basilica under the grand dome.
October 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Peter\'s Baldachin beneath the ornate interior of St. Peter\'s Basilica, with a congregation gathered on the patterned floor.
St. Peter\'s Baldachin inside St. Peter\'s Basilica, seen from above with the basilica interior around it.
April 2003 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sketches of ornate canopy designs for St. Peter\'s Baldachin with crosses, drapery, cherubs, and winged figures.
Architectural sketches for St. Peter\'s Baldachin showing elaborate canopy designs and decorative figures.
© · Public domain

Identification

TitleSt. Peter's Baldachin
Alternative nameThe Baldachin
Spanish titleEl baldaquino de San Pedro
TypeMonumental Baroque ciborium or baldachin; large sculpted bronze canopy over an altar
Original nameBaldacchino di San Pietro

Historical context

StyleBaroque
Period17th century

Creator

ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini
Nationality of artistItalian
CollaboratorsFrancesco Borromini; Pietro Bernini; Luigi Bernini; Stefano Maderno; François Duquesnoy; Andrea Bolgi; Giuliano Finelli
WorkshopBernini's workshop

Discovery and provenance

Commission significanceBernini's first major public commission after Urban VIII's election in 1623
Age of artist at commission25 years old
Inauguration date28 June 1633
Construction period1623–1634
Commissioned byPope Urban VIII, then Cardinal Maffeo Barberini

Physical characteristics

Height28.5 m
ScaleMonumental; very large structure
Structural formCanopy resting on four helical columns on marble plinths, topped with angels, volutes, a cross, and a sphere

Materials

Primary materialBronze, including gilded bronze
Base materialMarble plinths
Column height20 m (66 ft)
Bronze sourceThe bronze source was controversial; it was believed to have come from the Pantheon, though Urban VIII's accounts say the baldachin bronze came from Venice

Technique

CastingColumn bases and capitals were cast separately, and each shaft was cast in three sections

Appearance

Decorative motifsBarberini heraldry with bees and laurel leaves; radiant sun; scalloped and tasselled bronze border
Plinth decorationEight nearly identical Barberini coats of arms with three bees, framed by a female head at the top and a satyr's head at the bottom, with the papal tiara and crossed keys above
Plinth iconographic variationThe shield changes progressively from the left front plinth onward; on the eighth shield the female head is replaced by a putto head

Iconography and meaning

Solomonic columnsThe design incorporates twisted Solomonic columns associated with the Temple of Solomon and the Old St. Peter's Basilica
Carrying traditionThe name and prestige of the Solomonic column form derive from the ancient columns of the Old St. Peter's Basilica
FunctionCovers the high altar and marks the tomb of Saint Peter beneath it
Traditional precedentA renewal of the traditional ciborium and the early Christian custom of placing altars over martyrs' tombs beneath canopies
PurposeTo make the papal altar prominent and frame the sacred place above Saint Peter's tomb
SymbolismConnects the dome, papal authority, and Saint Peter's tomb on one vertical axis; alludes to the Temple of Solomon, funerary catafalques, and the papal baldacchino carried over the pope on Holy Days

Location and ownership

LocationCenter of the crossing, directly under Michelangelo's dome, in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
BuildingSt. Peter's Basilica
Site relationAbove the high altar and over the tomb of Saint Peter
Architectural settingIntegrated into the basilica's interior architecture and serves as its visual focal point
Associated siteThe crypt below is now called the Vatican Grottoes
Associated remainsThe Vatican Grottoes contain the remains of popes, with some exceptions

History and restoration

Column traditionAccording to tradition, the columns were brought from Greece by Constantine I and in the Middle Ages were believed to come from the Temple of Jerusalem
Catafalque and papal symbolismThe design may allude to a funerary catafalque and to the pope as successor of Saint Peter
Satirical inscriptionQuod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ('What the barbarians did not do, the Barberini did')
Bronze controversyA rumour claimed bronze was taken from the Pantheon; satirical verses blamed the Barberini family, while Louise Rice judged the story papal propaganda
Construction of the workBernini executed the work with his workshop, including founders and stonecutters
Old St. Peter's precedentThe Old St. Peter's Basilica had a screen before the altar supported by twelve 2nd-century Solomonic columns of Greek marble
Named surviving columnColonna degli ossessi ('column of the possessed')
Surviving original columnsEight of the original twelve columns survive and are arranged in pairs halfway up the piers on both sides of the baldachin; two are in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, one is lost, and one is in the Treasury near the Sacristy
Predecessor designCarlo Maderno had been commissioned in the 1610s to design a permanent baldachin for St. Peter's and had already used Solomonic columns
Historical contextTemporary baldachins were used in St. Peter's during Lent and other celebrations; permanent baldachins already existed in many major Roman basilicas
Construction backgroundBernini worked with Francesco Borromini early in their careers, before their later rivalry

Significance

Artistic significanceBernini's first work to fuse sculpture and architecture into a single allegorical object; a major development in Baroque church interior design
Artistic characterA masterpiece with strong scenographic character and vivid movement
Spatial roleCreates a visual mediation between the vast scale of the basilica and the human scale of the officiants at the papal altar
Critical receptionPraised by Sergei Eisenstein as one of Bernini's most spectacular compositions