Architectural Marvels: From Colosseum to Pantheon
The Colosseum
The Colosseum is a monumental building designed to accommodate about 50,000 spectators. This involved incorporating some artificial structures, including one built by Nero in the Domus Aurea. As an act of propaganda, it was called the Coliseum because, beside an artificial lake that connected to the gate of the forums, stood a colossal statue of Nero (portrayed as the God Helio).
The Colosseum features an onion-shaped structure, with different sections of arches used to support the varying heights of the stands. The design utilizes arches and intercolumns. At the bottom are the Tuscan orders, the second part features Ionic and Corinthian orders, and the third order is composite (attached column – column-column terraced townhouse – pilaster).
The Colosseum retains half of its original facade. Although part of the facade has fallen, the stands are still supported by the arches. The facades likely featured sculptures.
The Pantheon
The architect of the Pantheon remains unknown, though it was once believed to be Apollodorus of Damascus, who designed Trajan’s Column and Trajan’s Market.
This temple was built under the rule of Hadrian, a lover of the arts and Hellenic culture. He decided to dedicate this temple to all the gods of Rome and, of course, to himself, as a symbol of the peace he had established.
The Pantheon features an octasytle portal with a fairly conventional pronaos, adorned with Corinthian columns of marble and granite, and different capitals. It presents an entablature with an architrave, a frieze (with epigraphic decoration), and a rather large pediment tympanum (which may have had additional decoration). The reason for the inscription on the frieze is unknown.
The Pantheon is a circular building (symbolizing intuition – Agrippa was a favorite of the people) with a dome. The portico features a highly developed pronaos with an octasytle design. The architecture is mixed, with both architrave and lintel systems. The columns serve more of a decorative purpose than a structural one. The pronaos is divided into three parts, with the largest in the middle.
The cylindrical base of the Pantheon is composed of chapels with architraved columns. The weight of the dome is supported by piers, not columns. The dome itself is covered in gilt bronze. It was once a shining beacon in the Roman sky, visible from all over the city. The building materials include various colored marbles, such as porfido, brought from Egypt.
The building is illuminated by an oculus, a circular opening in the center of the dome, measuring 9 feet in diameter. The columns alternate with niches decorated with statues of Roman gods. While the columns appear to support the dome, the actual support comes from buttresses.
On the original entablature, a second level appears, forming a sort of balcony window (creating a sense of spaciousness). The gigantic dome represents the celestial sphere. To lighten the weight of this massive structure, opus caementicium (Roman concrete) was used, and the dome was built with coffers (resembling the night sky). The building is designed as a perfect sphere with a diameter of 43.5 feet. The square base represents the earthly form, while the circle represents the perfect, unending form of the divine.
Portico de la Gloria
This gate represents the heavenly Jerusalem. It marks the transition from Romanesque to Gothic sculpture. Some consider it the last work of Spanish Romanesque, while others see it as the first of the Gothic period. It was created by Master Mateo in the twelfth century, between the years 1168-1188.
The Gateway has three entrances, corresponding to the basilica plan of the church, with the central nave being taller and wider than the side aisles.
The central nave features a large decorative tympanum supported by a mullion with four columns. The decoration of the tympanum follows a specific program. It depicts a serene Christ surrounded by the tetramorph, the four evangelists. Each evangelist is depicted writing his Gospel: Luke with the bull, Mark with the lion, and John with the eagle. Matthew is the only one who appears with his usual attribute, a man, representing the tax collectors he used to work with. Behind and to the sides of Jesus’ head are two angels.
The archivolt of the tympanum is decorated with musician kings, all in high relief, leaning more towards the Gothic style than the Romanesque.
Below the figure of Jesus, attached to the mullion with four columns, is a seated statue of an apostle. He holds a staff in one hand and a scroll with an inscription in the other. The sculpture is almost in the round. The Apostle seems to be welcoming people into the Temple. The chair on which the Apostle sits rests on a capital depicting the Holy Trinity.
On the jambs, attached to the columns, are sculptures of the apostles. The poses of the figures are innovative, expressive, and natural. Their feet create a zig-zag composition. The sculptures were originally polychromed, adding to their realism. On the other jamb are four statues of prophets: Moses holding the tablets, Isaiah with a cap on his head, a smiling Daniel, and Jeremiah with a long beard.
The two side arches feature figures and scenes from paradise, including Adam and Eve and the captivity of the tribes of Israel, as well as scenes of Judgment.
A work of this scale could not have been done by one man alone. Master Mateo headed a workshop of artists. Differences in quality are noticeable in various parts of the Portico. While the Pantocrator and the figures on the columns are attributed to Master Mateo himself, the angels and evangelists on the tympanum seem to be the work of his disciples.
Master Mateo’s self-portrait can be found on the porch, kneeling facing the altar of the Cathedral.
The Portico de la Gloria, and the style of Master Mateo, greatly influenced the shift towards naturalism in Spanish Romanesque art of the 12th and 13th centuries.