Art History 1440 Section 1 St.

Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana

Andrew Smith 4/26/12

The Saint Louis Cathedral is the oldest operating Catholic Church in United States that is still in operation today. The building is made from wood and has a frescoed ceiling. On the exterior of the church, your eyes are drawn to the huge towering spire on top of the church complimented by two smaller spires, which lead down to a statue of Andrew Jackson. The tour guide pointed out that the interior church windows are stained glass depicting the life and death of St. Louis IX. The church to me resembled to be more of a renaissance style type of building rather than roman and French style due to the quiet demeanor brought on by it simple design. In the interior keeps its humble design with its open spacing, tiled floor, wooden aisles, and catholic iconography. What pop out most to me was the minimal amount of church which led you to focus more on the sermon then the art. The use of porches and porticos supported by Doric columns reminded of the Greek temples we learned about in class.