With its com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of fres\u00adco, lime\u00adwash and sec\u00adco tech\u00adniques, the strong\u00adly lit paint\u00ading of the inner dome presents a har\u00admo\u00adny of blue, gold-ochre and red that is best seen in per\u00adspec\u00adtive from the west\u00adern focus of the church\u2019s main ellipse. Odd\u00adly, the some\u00adwhat inde\u00adpen\u00addent tem\u00adple rotun\u00adda (a so-called monopteros) which uni\u00adfies the painting\u2019s com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion does not present the type of illu\u00adsion\u00adis\u00adtic con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion of the church\u2019s archi\u00adtec\u00adtur\u00adal lan\u00adguage which is so typ\u00adi\u00adcal of Baroque art. The base of this cir\u00adcle of columns remains hid\u00adden, and so seems to be weight\u00adless. Medi\u00adat\u00ading between the sub\u00addued light of the real space below and the light-filled heav\u00adens above is a frame-like wood\u00aden coro\u00adna held up by angels around the rim of the out\u00ader dome \u2013 a sym\u00adbol\u00adic rep\u00adre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion of the crown of life that awaits the faith\u00adful at Heaven\u2019s Gate. And peer\u00ading over the south\u00adern edge of this coro\u00adna, we find the smil\u00ading bust of Cos\u00admas Dami\u00adan Asam (cre\u00adat\u00aded by his broth\u00ader), with the sig\u00adna\u00adture oblique\u00adly behind him (dat\u00aded 1721) iden\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading him as the cre\u00adator of the ceil\u00ading fres\u00adcoes and archi\u00adtect of the church.<\/p>\n
The massed fig\u00adures pop\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading the dome rep\u00adre\u00adsent the con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtion of saints assem\u00adbled before the cloud-borne throne of God. Above the per\u00adson\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion of the church tri\u00adumphant which crowns the sanc\u00adtu\u00adary arch, they are arranged in hier\u00adar\u00adchi\u00adcal order from the vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adous fig\u00adure of St. George (trans\u00adposed, as it were, from the high altar) to the Blessed Vir\u00adgin, humbly await\u00ading her coro\u00adna\u00adtion, to the Holy Trin\u00adi\u00adty itself, which forms the cen\u00adtre of the scene. At the north\u00adern edge of the fres\u00adco, the apos\u00adtles are led by St. Peter; with St. Rupert tak\u00ading his place among them as the apos\u00adtle of the Bavar\u00adi\u00adans, to which he is said to have brought the mirac\u00adu\u00adlous Madon\u00adnas of Alt\u00f6t\u00adting and Wel\u00adtenburg (Frauen\u00adberg). Fur\u00adther on, the Archangel Gabriel fore\u00adtells the birth of their son, John the Bap\u00adtist, to the priest Zachary and his wife Eliz\u00ada\u00adbeth; the Holy Kin\u00addred is com\u00adplet\u00aded by the fig\u00adures of Mary\u2019s par\u00adents, Joachim and Anne, and her spouse, Joseph \u2013 all of whom belonged to the House of David. King David him\u00adself is por\u00adtrayed next in con\u00adcert with St. Cecil\u00adia, the patron of church music. Their prox\u00adim\u00adi\u00adty to the monks\u2019 choir and the organ makes the ref\u00ader\u00adence of the paired fig\u00adures unmis\u00adtak\u00adable. A sim\u00adi\u00adlar inten\u00adtion\u00adal ref\u00ader\u00adence is pro\u00advid\u00aded by the pen\u00adi\u00adtent Mag\u00addalen and the Angel of Judg\u00adment which pro\u00advide a tran\u00adsi\u00adtion to the vestibule below.<\/p>\n
Begin\u00adning again on the south\u00adern rim of the dome, one finds St. Peter, the foun\u00adda\u00adtion stone of the Church, stand\u00ading oppo\u00adsite St. Bene\u00addict, the founder of the order and the Rule to which the abbey adheres, and his sis\u00adter St. Scholas\u00adti\u00adca. Under his pro\u00adtec\u00adtion, we find Abbot Mau\u00adrus B\u00e4chl, the builder of Wel\u00adtenburg, and the monks of this com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty. Between this group and the church\u2019s sec\u00adond patron, St. Mar\u00adtin of Tours, stands a fig\u00adure bear\u00ading the facial fea\u00adtures of Egid Quirin Asam \u2013 close to the laugh\u00ading stuc\u00adco bust of his broth\u00ader. This panoply of fig\u00adures is com\u00adplet\u00aded by St. Wolf\u00adgang, one of the patrons of the dio\u00adcese of Regens\u00adburg, the sib\u00adling saints Placidus und Flavia (all mem\u00adbers of the Bene\u00addic\u00adtine Order), and final\u00adly by a dense throng of jubi\u00adlant female saints, among them the saints Hele\u00adna, Ursu\u00adla, Bar\u00adbara, and Catherine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With its com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of fres\u00adco, lime\u00adwash and sec\u00adco tech\u00adniques, the strong\u00adly lit paint\u00ading of the inner dome presents a har\u00admo\u00adny of blue, gold-ochre and red that is best seen in per\u00adspec\u00adtive from the west\u00adern focus of the church\u2019s main ellipse. Odd\u00adly, the some\u00adwhat inde\u00adpen\u00addent tem\u00adple rotun\u00adda (a so-called monopteros) which uni\u00adfies the painting\u2019s com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion does \u2026 <\/p>\n