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Italian Baroque
1630 - 1730
Major themes:
• growing importance of active space– sculpt out urban spaces
• propaganda of the Church– counter reformation
• synthesis of the arts– Concetto
Piazza Navonapride of Baroque Roman art history
defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred to it—
follows the plan of an ancient Roman circus
Palladio’s Villa Rotunda Guarini’s San Lorenzo
ceiling of the Royal Church at
San Lorenzo in Turin, Italy
Allegory of the Missionary Work of the Jesuits
Padre Andrea Pozzo, 1691-94
Nave of S. Ignazio
Sotto in su: in ceiling paintings, extreme foreshortening of figures
synthesis of the arts
architecture
painting
sculpture
textiles
Pazzi Chapel,
Florence, 1429-42 by Brunellesch
i
Cornaro Chapel
Sante Maria della Vittoria
Rome
Bernini, 1650s
designed entire chapel, a subsidiary space along the side of the church, for the
Cornaro family
Cornaro Chapel
Sante Maria della Vittoria
Rome
Bernini, 1650s
Saint Theresa, the focal point of the chapel, is a soft white marble statue
surrounded by a polychromatic marble architectural framing
Ecstasy of Sta. Theresa
described the love of God as piercing her heart
like a burning arrow
Bernini literalizes this image by placing St.
Theresa on a cloud while a cupid holds a golden
arrow and smiles down at her
St. Theresa's face reflects not the
anticipation of ecstasy, but her current
fulfillment
structure works to conceal a window which
lights the statue from above
places viewer as spectator in front of statue with Cornaro family leaning out of their box seats, craning forward to see
St. Peter’s, Vatican, Rome
new emphasis was placed on bold massing, colonnades, domes, light-and-shade (chiaroscuro), 'painterly' color
effects, and the bold play of volume and void
Bernini's ingenious solution was to
create a piazza in
two sections
•part nearest basilica is trapezoid—rather than fanning out from the façade, it narrows, gives the effect of countering the visual perspective•second section of the piazza is a huge elliptical circus which gently slopes downwards to the obelisk
symbolic of the arms of "the symbolic of the arms of "the Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church
reaching out to welcome its reaching out to welcome its communicants communicants
Bernini made the whole complex expansively relate to its environment
Scala Regia Vatican, Rome, Bernini, 1663-67
a flight of steps designed by to connect the Vatican Palace to St. Peter's Basilica
Scala Regia, (popes’ royal Scala Regia, (popes’ royal staircase), Vatican, Rome, staircase), Vatican, Rome,
by Bernini, 1663-67. by Bernini, 1663-67.
site is awkwardly shaped with irregular converging walls on a narrow piece of land between church and palace
Scala Regia
(Popes’ Royal Staircase)
Vatican, Rome
Bernini, 1663-67
Bernini used a number of typically theatrical, baroque effects in order to
exalt this entry point into Vatican
In interiors, Baroque movement around and through a void
informed monumental
staircases that had no parallel in
previous architecture
staircase proper takes the form of a
barrel-vaulted colonnade that
becomes narrower at the end of the vista,
exaggerating the distance
above the arch at the beginning of this vista is the coat of arms of Alexander VII, flanked by two
sculpted angels
The Conversion of Constantine
Vatican, Rome
Bernini, 1663-67
Constantine sees a vision of the cross with the words “In this sign,
you will conquer”
Emperors and other monarchs, having paid respects to the Pope, descended the Scala
Regia, and would observe the light shining down
through the window, with the motto, reminiscent of Constantine's vision, and be reminded to follow the
Cross
In Bernini's statue of Constantine, he
is awed and his horse rears, as
Constantine realizes that he
will win only with the power of the
Christ
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
Rome
Borromini
1634-41
built as part of a complex of monastic buildings on the
Quirinal Hill for the Spanish Trinitarians
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
Rome, Borromini, 1634-41
concave-convex facade of San Carlo undulates in a non-
classic way
the layout of the cramped and difficult site—arrangement seems to refer to a
cross plan
light floods in from windows in the lower dome that are hidden by the oval opening
and from windows in the side of the lantern
hierarchical structuring of light: •illuminated lantern with its symbol of the Holy Trinity is the most brightly lit •coffering of the dome is thrown into sharp and deep relief •light gradually filters downwards to the darker lower body of the church
oval entablature to the dome has a 'crown' of foliage and frames a view of deep set interlocking coffering of octagons, crosses and hexagons which diminish in size the higher they
rise
Royal Hunting Lodge(Palazzina di caccia di Stupinigi)
Stupinigi, near Turin, by Filippo Juvarra, c 1729+ (for
Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy and King of Piedmont-
Sardinia)
Royal Hunting Lodge of Stupinigi
near Turin
Filippo Juvarra
c 1729+
works started in 1729—within two years
construction was far enough advanced for
the first formal hunt to take place
building has a saltire plan: four
angled wings project from the
oval-shaped main hall
Royal Hunting Lodge of Stupinigi, near Turin, by Filippo Juvarra, c 1729+
original purpose of the hunting lodge is symbolized by the bronze stag perched at the apex of the stepped roof of its
central dome, and the hounds' heads that decorate the vases on the roofline
new emphasis
was placed on bold
massing, colonnades, domes, light-
and-shade (chiaroscuro), 'painterly'
color effects, and the bold
play of volume and
void
detail of the central salone
•light-and-shade (chiaroscuro) •'painterly' color effects
Royal Hunting Lodge of Stupinigi, near Turin, by Filippo
Juvarra, c 1729+
the other Baroque innovation in worldly
interiors was the state apartment, a processional sequence of increasingly
rich interiors that culminated in a presence chamber or throne room
or a state bedroom
Italian Baroque Furniture
1640s-1700
Throne Chair, 1640s-1700
Miscellaneous Italian Baroque furniture,
1640s-1700
Miscellaneous Italian Baroque furniture,
1640s-1700
