I feel compelled to discuss the Duomo in Florence briefly. It is not the topic I am choosing, but I must discuss its awe before moving on. I lived in Europe a little less than a year. Some friends came to visit me and we did a two week tour of Italy, by tour I mean hopped on a train. We stayed in Florence for three days. None of us had any art history background. We were walking through the streets eating warm croissants and figuring out which tourist events were open and which were closed. I turned to my friend to ask her a question and I walked right into the backside of the Duomo and hit my head on its might wall. I looked up and down and side to side trying to encompass its greatness. When they say its big, you have no idea! We found the front and couldn't believe our eyes. It is hard to describe the detail. Every inch of that building, every nook and cranny has something magnificent to be seen. The book can't come close to describing its greatness. It would take years for just the average Joe, like me, to uncover and explain everything that is happening with the Duomo. The combination of art and architecture overwhelmed me to a point I had never experienced before. The only thing that comes close was stepping off the train in Venice, walking to the front of the train station and gazing into a wonderland of canals and gondolas. Although my enthusiasm shines for the Duomo, I mean the Dome, I would like to spend this time discussing art I am far less familiar with. That leads me to "The Delivery of The keys to St.Peter", by Pietro Perugino. This painting presents a sense of calmness when I look at it. To better explain the calming hold this picture has on me, I would like to present some background on this period in time. Early Southern Renaissance Art coupled Naturalism with idealism. The figures begin to have more weight and presence. They are painted to look as a perfect figure would look. Some of the figures are muscular, while some show no signs of age, a flawless complexion. Paintings of this period were often done in Fresco. The Fresco style of painting is paint on top of plaster. There was dry fresco, which was paint on dry plaster. There was also wet fresco, which was paint on top of wet plaster. The idea being the drying of the plaster would seal in the paint. Perfection, harmony and balance were very important. They were achieved with Linear Perspective. Linear perspective is a concept that presumes a viewer is standing center at a certain distance from a painting. From this point where the viewer is presumed to be standing, everything would appear to recede in to the distance at the same rate. The eye would follow imaginary lines called orthogonals that meet a single vanishing point at the horizon. This is the technique artists used to create optical illusions. "The Delivery of the Keys to St.Peter" is done with linear perspective. The composition is divided between the figures and the wide spaces of the background. It is even and balanced which gives the painting an ease about it. There is a temple at the very center raised and separate from any other building. This is stating that the church is a strong presence. It conveys to me that the area is protected by god and that the people in the picture are calm and relaxed because they know they have nothing to fear. The poses of the figures in the background are filled with movement and emotion. The mood of their actions strike me as carefree. In the painting, Christ gives St.Peter the authority of the church by handing him keys. It is possibly depicting St.Peter as the first Bishop. Another characteristic of this time is Historia, a history painting that is narrative and instructs the viewer in a pleasurable way. I am mentioning this because "The Delivery of the Keys to St.Peter" represents that kind of painting. There is a variety of colors and figures. The figures also represent decency and modesty. I believe that very decency and modesty painted into the figures in the foreground complete that sense of calmness I feel when I look at this painting. I hope you enjoy "The Delivery of The keys to St.Peter", by Pietro Perugino as much as I have. There were so many great pieces to write on in this chapter, but this one stood out amongst the others.