Raphael and the Pantheon’s Interior: A Pivotal Moment in Architectural Representation

Abstract

Raphael’s drawing of the interior of the Pantheon is situated halfway between the forms of perspective and section. Yet, in a time when neither of these drawing categories was stable, what does this liminal positioning actually explain? This paper re-examines Raphael’s sketch and suggests that the Pantheon’s interior presented a complex problem for the representational conventions of the time. Raphael’s drawing adheres to no known graphic or projective system, and yet it shares qualities with orthography, perspective and cartography. It mediates between conflicting systems of architectural knowledge and seeks a resolution between the geometry of representation and the geometry of architecture. Further, in light of Raphael’s avocation in 1519 for the combined use of plan, section and elevation in his letter to Pope Leo X, I argue that the drawing marks the moment when architectural representation began its transformation from image to system: when it grew out of its role as a tool of execution and became architecture’s conceptual medium.