Perhaps one of the most famous and recognizable Catholic monuments in the world is the sculptural groups that forms the backdrop for the Altar of the Chair within St. Peter's Basilica. Today, of course, the historical altar itself has -- regrettably -- disappeared, but the sculptural retable of course remains.
This particular masterpiece was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (+1680), considered by many to be the father of the baroque style with tis grandiose sense of movement and use of emotion. Bernini's skills were called upon by various princes and popes and Bernini's own influence can be observed throughout Rome today, but it is St. Peter's Basilica that yet remains the place where this influence is arguably the greatest and most iconic.
The "Cathedra Petri" was designed between 1657-1666, about 23 years after the completion of one of Bernini's other significant achievements within the basilica, the great baldachin over the high altar. It is made from marble, bronze and stucco and its design comprised of a few main components. First and foremost, there is the altar of course, followed by the great reliquary in the form of a chair that houses a relic of the Chair of St. Peter. Around this are found four monumental sculptural figures, two Latin Doctors of the Church (Ss. Ambrose and Augustine) and two Greek (Ss. John Chrysostom and Athanasius) -- representing the universality of the Church. Above this is the great alabaster window containing an image of the dove, representing the Holy Spirit, around which is a scene of glory in the form of rays and clusters of cherubs.
All of this is well enough known of course, but what is perhaps less known is that we still have some of the original sketches drawn by Bernini (or at very least by someone within his workshop, under Bernini's direction), showing us some of the different iterations for this new altar and altarpiece in St. Peter's Basilica.
One such example can be found in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum:
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The Detroit Institute of the Arts holds within its collections a fascinating drawing which is a study done in 1658 for the Cathedral Petri. Here we can see a different design for the Altar of the Chair. At a passing glance in many regards it is familiar, but a closer look will reveal some rather notable differences.
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As well, we still find the four Doctors of the Church in this particular design, but they are grouped in a rather different, much more condensed way, effectively showing two in the foreground and two in the background:
This seemingly small difference has the effect of entirely changing the entire composition of the Altar of the Chair, for while the finally executed design is triangular in its overall compositional design, moving from a wider base upward to a culminating apex point, this alternative proposal would have had a more rectangular composition. What this demonstrates is how a seemingly small design difference can radically change both the composition of a work and how we view and perceive it.
In terms of the altar proper, there are few differences excepting that, being a more compact design and rectangular composition, the result is that the papal arms are now directly adjacent to the altar itself.
In addition to this, we also have another alternative proposal for your consideration, this dated to 1656-57. This particular proposal shares many of the compositional qualities of the previous one, but gone are the two large columns, gone are the monumental kneeling angels, and gone is the image of the dove representing the Holy Spirit. This particular proposal has been placed within a niche, and in place of a representation of the Holy Spirit is instead an image of Christ in Glory, holding the Keys of St. Peter as well as the papal tiara, pointing both to the authority of Peter as well as his successors.
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In terms of the altar proper, there are few differences excepting that, being a more compact design and rectangular composition, the result is that the papal arms are now directly adjacent to the altar itself.
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Finally, before we leave this topic, we may as well also include this very quick and rough sketch by Bernini's workshop, which visualizes how the Cathedra Petri was envisioned to 'dialogue' and interact with the great baldacchino over the high altar of the basilica:
We also still have the terracotta model that was created of the reliquary for the chair:
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In the end, what was finally approved and ultimately erected within the basilica was the arrangement that we all know and love today (see image below). When something is so familiar and so very iconic, it can be difficult to imagine it ever being done or even conceived of in any other way.
These drawings help to remind us of the artistic process that takes place behind the scenes in the creation of these works. At the same time, they also give us the ability to conceive of alternate possibilities and what might have (or might not have, depending on your point of view) been.
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