HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2 - MIDTERM - BAROQUE & REVIVALARCHITECTURE prepared by: arch.castronuevoBAROQUE ARCHITECTURE- architecture of the curved lineGeneral Features The fundamental characteristic of Baroque art is dynamism (a sense of motion). Strong curves, rich decoration, and general complexity are all typical features of Baroque art. While the full-blown Baroque aesthetic (full Baroque) was embraced in southernWestern

Europe, northernWestern Europe struck a classical-Baroque compromise (restrainedBaroque).

The full Baroque aesthetic emerged during the Early Baroque (ca. 1600-25), then culminatedduring the High Baroque (ca. 1625-75); both periods were led by Italy.

The restrained Baroque aesthetic culminated during the Late Baroque (ca. 1675-1725). The Baroque age concluded with the French-born Rococo style (ca. 1725-1800), in which the

violence and drama of Baroque was quieted to a gentle, playful dynamism. The Late Baroque and Rococo periods were led by France

phase of the Baroque age leading regionEarly Baroque (ca. 1600-25) ItalyHigh Baroque (ca. 1625-75)Late Baroque (ca. 1675-1725) FranceRococo (ca. 1725-1800)

Baroque architecture is distinguished primarily by richly sculpted surfaces. Whereas Renaissance architects preferred planar classicism (flat surfaces veneered in

classical elements), Baroque architects freely moulded surfaces to achievethree-dimensional sculpted classicism.

And while the surface of a Renaissance building is typically neatly divided into sections (inaccordance with classical clarity and order), a Baroque surface is treated asa continuous whole.

Indeed, a Renaissance facade often consists of many similar sections, such that one's eye isnot drawn to any particular part of the building.

A Baroque facade, on the other hand, often features an attention-grabbing concentration ofrich elements (e.g. curved walls, columns, blind arches, statues, relief sculpture) around acentral entrance.

Churches are the most splendid formof Baroque architecture in Italy,while chateaux (country mansions) are the outstanding Baroque works of France.

England should also be noted in a discussion of Baroque architecture, for two reasons. Firstly,this period featured Christopher Wren, often considered the greatest of all English architects.

Wren designed many of London's buildings after the Great Fire, including his masterpiece, StPaul's Cathedral.

Secondly, theBaroque agewitnessed the rise of Palladian style architecture in England, whichbecamemassively popular during the subsequent Neoclassical period.

EARLY BAROQUE1) Carlo Maderno The foremost pioneer of Baroque architecture Hismasterpiece is the facade of Saint Peter's Basilica

(RIGHT), Vatican City. (Constructed under variousarchitects throughout the sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies, Saint Peter's features a mixtureof Renaissance and Baroque components, the facadebeing one of the latter.)

The facade of Saint Peter's contains a number of typical

Baroque elements, including double columns (close-set pairs of columns), layeredcolumns, colossalcolumns(columns thatspanmultiple stories),and brokenpediments (in which thebottomand/or top of apediment features a gap,often with ornamentationthat "bursts through" thepediment).

All of these elements werepioneered during the LateRenaissance, in mannerist architecture.

St Peter's also makes extensive use of coffered ceilings, a common feature of monumentalWestern architecture. (A "coffer" is a sunken ceiling panel, typically square, rectangular, oroctagonal in shape.)

HIGH BAROQUE2) Gian Lorenzo Bernini Famous works found at St Peter's. One is the

four-story baldachin that stands over thehigh altar. (A baldachin is an indoor canopyover a respected object, such as an altar orthrone.) The other is the curving colonnadesthat frame St Peter's Square.

His most famous building is likely the smallchurch of Sant'Andrea alQuirinale (RIGHT)("Saint Andrew's onQuirinal Hill"). Quirinal hill is one of the"seven hills of Rome"

3) Francesco Borromini the master of curved-wall architecture. Though he designed many large buildings,

Borromini'smost famous and influential workmaybethe

small church of San Carlo alle QuattroFontane (LEFT)("Saint Charles at the FourFountains"). This building is also found on QuirinalHill.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2 - MIDTERM - BAROQUE & REVIVALARCHITECTURE prepared by: arch.castronuevoLATE BAROQUE The Late Baroque marks

the ascent of France asthe heart of Westernculture. Baroque art ofFrance (and northernEurope generally) tendsto be restrained, suchthat it can be describedas a classical-Baroquecompromise.

The most distinctiveelement of French Baroque architecture is the double-sloped mansard roof (a Frenchinnovation)

The most famous Baroque structures of France are magnificent chateaux (grand countryresidences), greatest of which is the Palace of Versailles. (below)

One of the largestresidences on earth,Versailles was builtmainly under LouisXIV, whose patronageof the arts helpedpropel France to thecrest of Westernculture.

The palace facadeadmirably illustratesthe classical-Baroque compromise ofnorthern Europe. Thewalls are characterizedlargely bysimple planarclassicism, althoughthey do containsuch Baroqueelements as sculptedbusts, a triplestringcourse, doublepilasters, and colossalpilasters.

Additionally,the mansardroof features a sinuousmetal railing and richmoulding around thedormer windows. Versailles becameEurope's model of palace architecture,inspiring similarly grand residencesthroughout the continent (above,an example of A Russian Palace inspired byVersailles)

ROCOCO Rococo artists embraced the curves and

elaborate ornament of Baroque, but reigned inits weighty drama.

The result was a gentle, playful style typified bypastel colours and delicate, asymmetricaldecoration.

ThoughmostRococo art wascentredin France (thebirthplace of thestyle), Rococoarchitectureculminatedin Austria andsouthernGermany,especially in the formof churches

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HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2 - MIDTERM - BAROQUE & REVIVALARCHITECTURE prepared by: arch.castronuevo18TH - 19TH CENTURY REVIVALISM: NEOCLASSICISM + ROMANTIC ARCHITECTUREGENERAL FEATURES As the elaborate age of Baroque and Rococo drewto a close, appreciation for classical

restraint resurfaced. This trend was accelerated by the excavation of numerous ancient ruins, both Roman (e.g.

Pompeii) and Greek (e.g. Athens), which rekindled interest in antiquity and expanded classicalarchitectural vocabulary.Suchexcavations alsomade clear the distinct architectural styles ofthe Greeks and Romans.

This finally allowed architects to deliberately design buildings that were purely Greek, purelyRoman, or a Greco-Roman hybrid.

Concurrent with Neoclassical architecture was the Gothic Revival, a British-born movement.Gothic Revival (aka Neogothic) may be considered the architectural manifestationof Romanticism, given the Romantic affinity for medieval nostalgia and the wild, fancifulnature of the Gothic style (as opposed to the restraint and order of classicism). (It should benoted that Gothic construction had never gone completely dormant inWestern Europe, giventhe style's suitability for churches and university buildings.)

Neoclassicismand Neogothic flourished acrossWestern Europe (especially in the north) andthe United States, and to a lesser extent in Eastern Europe.

Both aesthetics thrived in the formof sacred and secular architecture. Indeed, construction in these styles diminishedonly gradually in the twentieth century, and even

continues (to a limited extent) to this day Formost of history, temples (buildings for religious ceremony) and palaces (grand residences)

served as the leading forms of monumental architecture. During the Neoclassical/Romantic era,these building types were superseded by government architecture (e.g. legislatures, courts,public service buildings, schools) and commercial architecture (e.g. office and apartmentbuildings, performing arts centres, transportation terminals). Today, government andcommercial buildings dominate cityscapes the world over

It should be noted that while Neoclassical and Neogothic architecture were the main focus ofthis period (ca. 1750-1900), they were accompanied by a variety of less popular styles. Inaddition to Gothic, Romanesque was also revived; the resulting style is known specificallyas Neoromanesque, though the term"Neogothic" is often stretched to include it. Likewise, theterm "Neoclassical" is often stretched to include the Neobaroque aesthetic.

This period also featured significant influence fromnon-Western art and architecture.Elements were borrowed from such exotic traditions as Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and Egyptian

THREE MAIN TYPES1. Temple style buildings - were uncommon during the Renaissance; architects of that periodfocusedmainly on applying classical elements to churchesandmodernbuildings (e.g. palazzos, villas).

Temple style architecture exploded during the Neoclassical age,thanks largely to wider familiarity with classical ruins. Manytemple style buildings feature a peristyle (a continuous lineof columns around a building), which is rarely found inRenaissance architecture.The most famoustemple stylebuildings of theNeoclassical agemay be

the Panthon (ABOVE)(Paris, by Jacques-GermainSoufflot) and the British Museum (RIGHT) (London, by Robert Smirke). The formeris Roman-based (modelled after the Pantheon in Rome), while the latter is Greek-based.

The Rotunda, University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson (1822-26)

2. Palladian architecture - is derived fromthe villas of Andrea Palladio, the greatest architect ofthe Late Renaissance. Palladio, like famousartists generally, was followed bymany successors who absorbed and workedin his style The most famous Palladian architect of

the Neoclassical period isBritain's Robert Adam, who designedmany fine country houses. Thesemansions illustrate that while Palladianarchitecture shares certain basicfeatures (derived from the villas ofPalladio), it takes diverse forms. For instance, Adam's design for Osterley Park (above)

includes a classical gateway, corner towers,and a courtyard, none ofwhichare found inany villa by Palladio. Another famousexample of Adam's creativity is the facadeof Kedleston Hall (left), whichmimics atriumphal arch.

The most famous of all Palladianbuildings are two American civic buildings,the White House and United StatesCapitol. Both were constructed over long

periods under various architects. The buildings usually feature a balustrade (a railing with vertical supports) along the edge of

the roof. (The vertical supports within a balustrade are known as "balusters" or "spindles".) Thebalustrade is a common classical method of crowning a building that has a flat/low-lying roof.

Monticello (house in virginia, thomasjefferson (right)

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2 - MIDTERM - BAROQUE & REVIVALARCHITECTURE prepared by: arch.castronuevo

3. CLASSICAL BLOCK A classical block building features a vast

rectangular (or square) plan, with a flat (orlow-lying) roof and an exterior rich in classicaldetail.

The exterior is divided into multiple levels, each ofwhich features a repeated classical pattern,often a series of arches and/or columns. T

he overall impression of such a building is anenormous, classically-decorated rectangular block.

(The classical block aesthetic is also known as"Beaux-Arts style", since it was developedprincipally by the French cole des Beaux-Arts.)

The leading early practitioner was Henri Labrouste, whosemasterpiece is the Library ofSainte-Genevive. (RIGHT)

The most famous classical block of all isthe Palais Garnier, 1860-75,a Neobaroqueopera house designed by Charles Garnier(LEFT)

classical block architecture flourished moststrongly in the United States, particularly inNewYork

4. GOTHIC REVIVAL The Gothic Revival movement was initiated in

the late eighteenth century bywealthy Britishpursuing the Romantic dreamof living in acastle.

Consequently, the earliest Gothic Revivalbuildings were simply country housesembellished with a veneer of Gothicelements.

Over the ensuing decades, however, architects thoroughlyrevived the Gothic aesthetic and building techniques, allowingthem to design authentically Gothic structures.

The style was especially popular for churches and publicbuildings.

Neogothic buildings feature castellation: crenellated walls andtowers in imitation of medieval castles. Indeed, heavilycastellated Neogothic buildings are often referred to as "castles",even though they never served a defensive purpose

Gothic Revival flourished throughout the West, especiallyin Britain and the United States.

The two favouredbuilding materials were stone and brick.

The foremost Gothic Revival monument of Britainis Westminster Palace (aka the Houses ofParliament (1839-52) ), by Charles Barry (LEFT)

the crowning American work is St. Patrick'sCathedral (NewYork) 1858-79 , by James Renwick(ABOVE)

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BAROQUEARCHITECTURE-architectureofthecurvedlGeneralFeatures