An eye on the ceiling

Mantegna, Camera degli Sposi's Oculus, 1471

It sounds odd, but yes, it’s that way. Nowadays we can talk about “oculus”, (“eye” in latin) which in architecture is a round opening in the ceiling. (Then it started to refer to any window with this shape.)

Pannini, Interior of the Pantheon,
1691

The origin is found in the Pantheon of Rome (125 a.C.). It reappears later in Renaissance when architects finally achieve to build stable domes. Its use increased during Baroque, and later, in architecture of neoclassical inspiration.

This is a painting blog, though, so why are we talking about this?

Correggio, Church of  San Giovanni Evangelista,
1523

The vault of a dome leads artists to paint in a circular space and in great heights. This means the figures should be convincing seen from the floor, making “worm’s eye view” foreshortenings (with a really low horizon line) or, as it was called in Renaissance, di sotto in su, from the bottom to the top. The main issue is that artists, when designing the artwork, have to take the oculus into account, that is, the central hole, and they should be sure to carry a symmetrical composition out, since it is needed to have a harmonious circular format.

To the viewer, the vanishing point is the oculus’ centre. If you visit any church or monument with this kind of construction, try the following: stand just in under the centre of the dome and contemplate the frescoes. Imagine the painter working up there! I’ll give you these examples:

Vasari-Zuccari, The Last Judgment, Santa Maria del
Fiore, 1579 (Image: Wikipedia)

Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, designed and painted by Vasari and finished by Zuccari (1579). It’s enormous: the area is around 3600 square meters, and instead of being circular, it’s octagonal (symbol of Resurrection) and with concentric rings that add an impressive dynamism to the composition.

Goya, Regina Martyrum, Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar,
1781

In the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Goya’s fresco "Regina Martyrum" (1781): a work that gave him several dismals: a fight with his step-brother and mentor, and the cancellation of the commissions of the rest of the frescoes. All this was just a consequence of him painting the fresco with sketched brushstrokes, which is far from his style in 1772 (“Adoration of the name of God”).

Goya, Miracles of St. Anthony,
Chapel of St.Anthony of  La Florida,
1798

And the Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida (1798) in Madrid, also by Goya, with the miracles of Saint Anthony. He places the Madrid civilians around the circles, with a railing. So that the figure of Saint Anthony doesn’t lose importance in the composition, he places a tree and mounts in the opposite side.

But there are other types of oculi that are more interesting: the fake ones. They give an illusion of depth on the ceiling, an illusion of opening, but there is no sky, there is no hole. It’s a kind of ‘illusionist’ painture (or perspective). They can be found in plain ceilings or simply, in dome vaults.

Mantegna, Camera degli
Sposi

The most wonderful oculus is the one in Mantegna, in the Camera degli Sposi (1471) in Mantua’s Ducal Palace. It’s a piece of sky, with a fake railing (The “Saint Anthony” by Goya has it as precedent). We can see little angels and other figures in different positions looking downwards. The pot, lying on a cane, enhances the feeling of lightness. The peacock symbolizes fertility. It’s a perfect example of di sotto in su perspective and the first example ever of illusionist painting.

Correggio, Assumption of the Virgin,
Parma Cathedral, 1530

Other highlightable examples: Parma Cathedral (1530) and the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista (1523), also in Parma and both of them by Correggio. The fresco of the Cathedral is about the Assumption of the Virgin, the centre of the composition is empty and Christ is descending to get to her Mother. The area is octagonal and angels and saints surround the Virgin, in concentric rings (like in Santa Maria del Fiore). In San Giovanni Evangelista, the figure of Christ in the Apocalypse is the main character.

Of course, there are thousands of examples: the dome of Les Invalides, Paris (La Fosse, 1673), the Virgin’s Chapel in Church of St. Sulpice in Paris (Lemoine, 1732) or the “Apotheosis of G. Washington” in Capitol building in Washington (Brumidi, 1862).

Brumidi, Apotheosis of G.Washington, Capitol, 1862

Sources: Varios. Oxford History of Art, New York, Oxford University Press, 1998-2003;

Honour, H.-Fleming, J. Weltgeschichte der Kunst, Munich, 1983;

Varios. Propyläen Kunst Geschichte, Berlin, Propyläen V., 1990;

 personal notes.

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