Heaven on Earth
A poem for today.
HEAVEN ON EARTH
It is said that on Judgment Day,
The good ones fly away.
But what if it’s the other way,
And the good ones get to stay?
–––––––
Think about it. If you remove the pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, this big blue marble makes for pretty nice digs. And, I’m not entirely sure which direction I’ll wind up going.
ABOVE: “The Glorification of Saint Ignatius,” Andrea Pozzo, completed 1694. Church of Sant’Ignazio, Rome.
You’ve arrived early for mass. You look around. Your eyes drift to the ceiling. You see the gateway to Heaven.
Or maybe you arrived early for mass because you wanted to have time to look up. This is what you’ve done many times. The masterpiece of illusion painted on the flat ceiling above you is simply too overwhelming to grasp in one sitting. Every time you behold it, you see something new.
The thing is too much for a tourist. I know. I’ve stood under it. You can’t get it all in before your neck begins to ache. But I don’t think it’s painted for idlers. It isn’t meant to be absorbed all at once.
I think it’s painted for that guy in the pew. It’s there to transport him, much as St. Ignatius is transported.
There are many examples of church ceilings like this from what is called the Baroque era. Artists created an optical illusion by extending the real architectural framework of the church up into the ceiling, usually to an opening in the sky.
Pozzo wasn’t the first to do this, but this one is one of the best, and may be the largest. It’s huge. Took him nine years.
It depicts the ascent into Heaven of St. Ignatius. It also invites you to come along. Pozzo was a Jesuit. St. Ignatius was a founder of the Jesuit order.
Four figures, women all (on those four corners), holding different animals – a horse for Europe, a camel for Asia, a crocodile for Africa, and a puma for America – represent the four continents and the global reach of the Jesuit order.
It’s way too much to appreciate on a small screen. It’s a reason to go to Rome.
Of course, when you mention the Last Judgment, you have to give a nod to Michelangelo and his fresco on the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel:
Christ is in the upper center. The dead are delivered to their fates. On the left, the saved ascend. On the right, the damned descend. Charon awaits to boat them into Hell.
Me, I always thought this wall just doesn’t match up that well with the ceiling. It’s not as well-liked as the ceiling. Too many nudes. The sheer invention of the ceiling is missing. Actually, I think he was just tired.
If you want to get a closeup of a dome painting, try the documentary “Mannerism,” by Waldemar Januszczak, Polish born art critic in Britain. He focuses on a fake dome fresco by Antonio da Correggio. Trust me, you’ve never met a more entertaining art guy than Waldemar..
