Christopher Wren Research Paper

Throughout history, there have been many wonderful artists. Whether those artists are painters, sculptors, or architects, their works are known all over the world. They are said to be innovative geniuses and have paved the way for the artists after them. Christopher Wren is just one of those artists. He is the architect that designed Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London and one of the facades of Hampton Court Palace in England. Christopher Wren also designed many other cathedrals and buildings in his time, but I will compare just the two masterpieces mentioned above. Christopher Wren started on Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London in 1675 and completed his master work in 1710, though services started there in 1697 (Cathedral History, np). Saint Paul’s …show more content…
On the inside of the cathedral, Wren used even more arches. He used Gothic arches along each side in an arcade, and in the foyer of the cathedral, he used Roman arches. On the ceiling of the cathedral, Wren almost used a rib vault pattern to further decorate the inside. This eventually led to the construction of the dome. The dome measures “112 feet in diameter and 365 feet tall. The lantern and cross alone weigh 700 tons, while the dome and its superstructure weigh 64,000 tons” (Sporre, pg. 88). Because of the tremendous weight of this dome, Christopher Wren had to find a way to construct it so that it wouldn’t fall in on itself. He came up with a way to defeat gravity by making the shell of the dome out of wood and covering it in lead. With the use of pendentives under the dome, one would never know that this cathedral was built in that …show more content…
Wren started on this part of the palace in 1689 and completed it in 1694 (History Sir Christopher Wren np). Of a lot of the dramatic buildings that he designed, the palace took the least amount of time, but that does not mean that it is not incredible. He used the functions of line, repetition, and balance to portray the themes of power and order, while still maintaining beauty and strength. Along the facade there is implied line and physical line. Toward the top of the palace, there is a white line and toward the bottom, there is an implied line where the colors of the building change. Wren used repetition and balance in a way that is expected, yet unique. There are four main windows on the very outside of the building, which also have windows above and below them. Towards the inside of the palace, there is a set of seven windows on each side. Above the middle window and to each side of it, there are relief sculptures that help to further detail the palace. In the very middle of the building, the color changes and the palace is given even more detail with the use of three windows and four Corinthian columns. It is very interesting how Wren designed this building with such simplicity, but it has been a staple in England for over three hundred years. It just goes to show that if the beauty and power of a work can withstand time, so can its strength and