Architectural/Artistic Analysis of the Three Rooms of the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Three rooms of the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral were selected for the section of this analysis requiring one to evaluate a piece of architecture. The first section that one arrives at on his/her way into the Cathedral is the Tiler’s Room.

This is part of the entrance to the cathedral and it assumes the shape of a 33ft cube. The ceiling has paintings done by hand, while the walls are entirely made o marble. On the floor of this room, is a brass medallion, bearing all twelve signs of the zodiac.

It also has a number of symbols including the scale of Justice and a double headed eagle. The wooden paneling by its brown color blends in with the bronze and gold on the tiles and windows. The design of the room is fundamentally aesthetically appealing, with all the items arranged in their own unique way, thus avoiding clutter.

This makes it easy for one to point out the various items associated with different practices. For instance on the windows above the main doors one can point out at least 33 emblems, which are known to be associated with the Scottish Rite (Lisle and Fromer, 2000).

The ballroom follows the architecture of the Elizabethan Period. It is 99ft², with a ceiling that is 45ft above the ground. Other immediately recognizable features are a balcony on all sides of the second storey.

There are 15 oak pillars on the center. There is 66ft² dancing area and lounges. The ceiling is hand painted and is designed to blend well with the wood on the floor. For lighting purposes, there is a large chandelier made of bronze and crystal.

It has over 190 bulbs and is held up on a winch, which can be used to drop it down for routine maintenance. Because the room was designed to host high-profile parties, it had to be given a classy look and this is well presented by the neat arrangement of floor paneling, and the lavish chandelier and the art glass windows.

The 99ft²main lounge is designed like a typical English-style living room. The room has wood panels running from the floor to the ceiling, an arrangement that gives a home-like, but classy feeling.

There is a huge clock on one of the walls and the statue of a knight. On the windows on one side of the room are symbols that are dedicated to the arts and sciences.

They have symbols and images of items found in Medicine, Law, Engineering and Music among other fields, indicating that the place was mainly frequented by learned members of the society.

The painting titled our flag, by Frederic Edwin Church is a representational piece of art currently on display at the Paine Turn of the Century American Art Gallery. It is a 21 ½ by 13 ½ in. oil on canvas painting depicting an American Flag standing strong on a rocky mountain.

As far as the artistic style is concerned, the artist used a very fine stroke, accentuating on the edges. The mix of colors is primarily dominated by earth-tone shades, giving the painting a time-less form (Janaro and Altshuler, 2011).

The balance of items on the painting was well thought out, with the main subjects given the prominence and the other items serving to direct the attention of the viewer to one central focus (Janaro and Altshuler, 2011).

Perspective was one of the key items that the artist made sure was well presented in this work. The flag, the smoke and the rocky mountain spring up in the middle-ground with the foreground being represented by the dark twiggy outcrops, and the background majorly dominated by the sky and the glow of the sunset.

This splitting of the painting based on the constituent elements has helped give the final product a three-dimensional feel, as we learnt in class through Chapter Five of the course work.

Church, the artist, as a firm supporter of the Union and in 1864, he created the work of art to symbolize that the Union would eventually emerge supreme in the American Civil War (Ackerman, 1994; Carr, 2007).

This is well-illustrated by the 31-star flag of the union, fluttering high, amidst a cloud of smoke. The flag, represents the will of the majority, while the craggy base on which it is rooted is the bourgeois-the ruling class, whose main desire is to continually make life harder for the rest.

The smoke rising from the base of the rock represents the dying embers of a difficult fight; the fifth from which the Union came out triumphant.

Behind the two fore-ground items, is an orange hue, which easily represents the sunset. Apart from offering the contrast needed to make the mountain and the flag stand out, this setting of the sun can be interpreted to show that after a hard day of challenges, it is the Union that is left standing tall.

On the bottom edge, there is a musky shadow of twigs depicting the less-than-perfect origins of the Civil War. Presented in a silhouette, the shadow also represents the ill motive that kept fuelling the war.

Reference List

Ackerman, G. (1994). American Orientalists. USA: Acr-edition.

Carr, G. (2007). Frederic Edwin Church: romantic landscapes and seascapes. Boston: Adelson Galleries.

Janaro, R., & Altshuler, T. (2011). The Art of Being Human: The Humanities as a Technique for Living. U Pearson Education

Lisle, C., & Fromer, C. (2000). A Guide to the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral Foundation.

Click Here To Order Now!

Architectural/Artistic Analysis of the Three Rooms of the Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)