CHRISTOPHER WRENLondon’s majestic Saint Paul’s Cathe-
dral (FIG. 25-38) is the work of England’s most renowned archi-
tect,Christopher Wren(1632–1723). A mathematical genius and
skilled engineer whose work won Isaac Newton’s praise, Wren be-
came professor of astronomy in London at age 25. Mathematics led
to architecture, and Charles II (r. 1649–1685) asked Wren to prepare
a plan for restoring the old Gothic church of Saint Paul. Wren pro-
posed to remodel the building based on Roman structures. Within a
few months, the Great Fire of London, which destroyed the old
structure and many churches in the city in 1666, gave Wren his
opportunity. Although Jones’s work strongly influenced him, Wren
also traveled in France, where the splendid palaces and state buildings
being created in and around Paris at the time of the competition for
the Louvre design must have impressed him. Wren also closely stud-
ied prints illustrating Baroque architecture in Italy. In Saint Paul’s, he
harmonized Palladian, French, and Italian Baroque features.
In view of its size, the cathedral was built with remarkable
speed—in little more than 30 years—and Wren lived to see it com-pleted. The building’s form underwent constant refinement during
construction, and Wren did not determine the final appearance of
the towers until after 1700.
In the splendid skyline composition, two foreground towers act
effectively as foils to the great dome. Wren must have known similar
schemes that Italian architects devised for Saint Peter’s (FIG. 24-4) in
Rome to solve the problem of the relationship between the facade
and dome. Certainly, the influence of Borromini (FIG. 24-12) ap-
pears in the upper levels and lanterns of the towers and that of Palla-
dio (FIG. 22-31) in the lower levels. Further, the superposed paired
columnar porticos recall the Louvre facade (FIG. 25-31). Wren’s skill-
ful eclecticism brought all these foreign features into a monumental
unity.
Wren designed many other London churches after the Great
Fire. Even today, his towers and domes punctuate the skyline of Lon-
don. Saint Paul’s dome is the tallest of all. Wren’s legacy was signifi-
cant and long-lasting, in both England and colonial America (see
Chapter 29).702 Chapter 25 NORTHERN EUROPE, 1600 TO 170025-38Sir Christopher Wren,
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, England,
1675–1710.
Wren’s cathedral replaced an old Gothic
church. The facade design owes much to
Palladio (FIG. 22-31) and Borromini
(FIG. 24-12). The great dome recalls Saint
Peter’s in Rome (FIGS. 24-3and 24-4).