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...architectural setting, with its pointed arches, elaborate crenellations and tall minaret, is indicative of a Middle Eastern setting, as too are the turbans and flowing robes of the Arab figures. The warm, golden light and extensive use of red also serve to evoke a sultry, intense atmosphere that might be regarded as typically eastern. The overall sense of a mysterious,...

...architectural surround and that the viewer literally moves through it. On ascending the central staircase, the first thing that the viewer encounters is From the Conquest to the Present, in the five central vaulted bays painted between 1929 and 1931. Above, there are scenes of conquistadors fighting Aztecs in the lower section of this wall and scenes of post-conquest life...

...architectural projects. Prodigies were not an uncommon feature in Renaissance biographies of ‘great men’, but those described by Pico (‘Letter from Pandolfo Pico’) and Michiel (‘Letter from Marcantonio Michiel’) directly reference Christ. A section of the roof of the papal palace had collapsed shortly before the artist’s death, echoing a passage in the Book...

...architectural historian? Discussion There are lots of aspects that you may have noticed, here are some: The map has a ‘bird’s eye’ projection looking at a three-dimensional landscape. Some features are exaggerated and the map features things (ships and defences) which did not yet exist or were not permanent features, so it is not only a map but also a plan of how...