Compare and Contrast Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption and San Vitale Church

The cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption is located in San Francisco and replaced two churches previously using the same name. The first cathedral was constructed in the year 1854; the second was built and destroyed in 1962. The third cathedral is the current one, which was commissioned during the convening of Vatican II. The church council allowed the Archdiocese to build the new cathedral, giving birth to the current cathedral (Foster, 50). The current Cathedral was built in three years, blessed in 1971, and dedicated to the Blessed Mary in 1996 as St Mary of the Assumption. Pope John Paul the second conducted the first papal mass in 1987 in the cathedral. It has since become the landmark that brings thousands of people together annually, combining faith and modern technology traditions.

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Basilica of San Vitale is also known as the church of San Vitale. It was built in the 6th century, and it is still viewed as a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Bishop Ecclesius was the church's founder in 526 under the guidance of the Ostrogothic queen, who died in 535 and was consecrated in 547. The basilica was dedicated by martyr Vitalis who was the patron saint of Ravenna. At that period, the city belonged to the Roman Empire (Taliercio, 155). The Catholic Church used the word basilica, which has a horrific title based on ecclesial importance. The Basilica construction was sponsored by Julius Argentarius, who also sponsored the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare construction at the same time. Julius was from the Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire, an area with public benefactions.

The Cathedral architecture of Mary of the assumption was done by Pier Luigi Nervi, Pietro Belluschi, John Michael Lee, Paul A Ryan, and Angus McSweeney. At the same time, the top was constructed by Terracon and DiRegolo. On the other hand, Basilica San Vitale was constructed by Bishop Ecclesius based on Byzantine art. The Cathedral of Mary of the assumption was created on 13 December 1967 and was dedicated on October 5, 1996. The first Papal Mass was celebrated in the Cathedral in 1987. The groundbreaking of Basilica of San Vitale was done in 527 and was completed in 547.

The title of the work is Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption and Basilica of San Vitale. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption is located at 111 Gough St San Francisco, California, in the United States of America. The style used in the design is the structural expressionist modern. On the other hand, the Basilica of Saint Vitale is located in Ravenna, Italy, and is part of Ravenna's early Christian monuments.

The five formal elements of art are the building blocks of art in general. They include line, color, form, shape, and texture. The line is moving in a certain space with the length being greater than the width (Glatstein, 50). The lines considered maybe two or three dimensional or abstract. These lines include broken, continuous, horizontal, jagged, or diagonal. The lines usually form the foundation of drawing or art.

Color is another crucial element of art. The artist used brighter colors for the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption. The line was measuring 255 feet (77.7m) square, its 190 feet(57.9m) high and crowned with a 55 feet(16.7m ) golden cross. The cathedral has a geometric principle of the hyperbolic paraboloid. The structure curves upwards in lines that are graceful from the corners.

Basilica San Vitale was made in an octagonal structure made and capped by a lofty terracotta dome. The church's octagonal structure is surrounded by high arches, enabling the building to get lighting in terms of illumination and building structure (Taliercio, 200). The church has a mosaic of Christian iconography, which decorate the ceilings and the interior. The artists have used golden colors that can be easily seen from far by the viewer. The central vault did not use bricks but instead used a western technique of hollow tubes which were inserted into each other (Binda 113).

Cathedral of St Mary of Assumption

Basilica of San Vitale is designed in an octagonal structure made of marble and capped by a lofty terra-cotta. The mosaic in the basilica is executed based on the Hellenistic –Roman tradition. The artist used rich colors that are lively and imaginative. The inside is decorated with around fifteen mosaics depicting Jesus, twelve apostles, saint Vitale, and saint Gervasius (Taliercio, 155). There are two famous mosaic panels placed at the foot of the apse side walls, which were completed in 547.

Basilica of San Vitale

The Cathedral of St Mary of Assumption is located in San Francisco, California, and was completed in 1971. It was designed by local architects John Michael Lee, Paul a Ryan, and Angus McSweeny. Basilica of San Vitale, on the other, had is located in Ravenna, Italy. It was also completed in 547 by Bishop Ravenna, Maximian (Taliercio, 119).

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Assumption used the precast concrete work where the top of the building was constructed using the Terracon. In Contrast, The Basilica of San Vitale was designed in an octagonal plan which combines the dome, stepped tower, and shape of doorways with the Byzantine elements and the flying buttresses.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Assumption was made in the modern architectural style, which aimed to reflect the status of San Francisco and be the major international urban center (Foster, 150). On the contrary, the Basilica of San Vitale, the 6th-century church of early Christians, was made in a combination of Ancient Roman architecture and byzantine architecture.

The cathedral of St Mary of assumption and the Basilica of San Vitale both churches build by the Roman churches in the early years of Christians to enhance God's worship. These two churches attract a huge number of people who come to worship. Both churches are recognized for the best design and mosaic piece of art.

The message and the function of both art pieces are the same because they all belonged to the Catholic Church. The mosaic displayed on the wall has the same significance in both pieces of art because they both contain the mosaic pictures, which represent the 14 stations used in the way of the cross. Besides, both churches were blessed after completion by the bishops, and they were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The intended audience for both pieces of art is not different. The churches were built to provide the Catholic Christians a place to worship. The Catholic Christians are the audience for both arts. The Christians assemble from all parts of the world to worship in both the cathedral of Saint Mary of assumption and the Basilica of San Vitale.

The cathedral of St Mary of assumption and Basilica of San Vitale is not like. The architecture of the churches used different designs to make them as beautiful as they are. The Cathedral adopted modern architecture while the Basilica adopted two architecture, the Byzantine elements and the ancient Roman architecture, making them different.

The meaning of the Cathedral and Basilica has not changed over time. All catholic Christians have adopted the pieces of art, more especially the mosaic in their church structures. The beliefs that existed at the time of creating the art still exists in the modern world. Therefore, the meaning has not changed and may not change soon.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Assumption and the Basilica of San vale symbolizes a new catholic church. The building manifested a structural expression that aimed to achieve simplicity, which becomes both a symbol and the structure (Stemp, 256). The mosaic symbolizes the power of the church and the power of the administration. The Roman emperors of the past were both religious, military authoritative, and administrative. The mosaics were created colored and shaped.

Despite the Cathedral of saint Mart of Assumption and Basilica of San Vitale being created in different periods and locations. They still had the same message to communicate, which has never changed over time. The architect who played a role in designing made the best piece of art in the world. Both pieces of art symbolize the church of Christ because they provide a platform for Christians to worship.

References

Binda, Luigia, Nora Lombardini, and Franco Guzzetti. "St. Vitale in Ravenna: a survey on materials and structures." Int. Conf. Historical buildings and ensembles, invited lectures. 1996. 113-124).

Glatstein, Jeremy. "Formal visual analysis: The elements & principles of composition." The Kennedy (2009). 20-50

Foster, Ann T. "RICHARD LIPPOLD AND THOMAS AQUINAS: The" Baldacchino" for St. Mary's Cathedral In San Francisco." Soundings (1994): 81-97.

Taliercio, Alberto, and Luigia Binda. "The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna: Investigation on the current structural faults and their mid-term evolution." Journal of Cultural Heritage 8.2 (2007): 99-118.

Stemp, Richard. The Secret Language of Churches and Cathedrals: Decoding the Sacred Symbolism of Christianity's Holy Building. Vol. 3. Watkins Media Limited, 2016. 10-15