PERCEPTUAL DEVIATIONS: THE BAROQUE

baroque : (from Portuguese) an irregularly shaped pearl The word baroque was first used to imply strangeness, abnormality and extravagance. Later, it came to mean artistic and architectural forms full of action and drama.

THE COUNTER-REFORMATION was a reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church that arose in 17th-century Europe in response to the Protestant Reformation that started in 1517 in Northern Europe (in Germany with Martin Luther). In architecture, this resulted in a renewed interest in church architecture. The Council of Trent (1545 63) demanded that paintings and sculptures in church contexts should speak to the illiterate not just to the well-informed. Hence, a strive for dramatic and lively forms in the arts and architecture between 1550-1650.

Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) stone mason and architect

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, (San Carlo of the Four Fountains), Rome, 1634-41

Francesco Borromini San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634-41 note the oval geometry and irregular spacing of the columns. Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634-41 a constantly shifting set of perceptual experiences.

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634-41

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634-41 note the complexity of the forms and surfaces

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634-41 note the complexity of the coffers in the dome

Francesco Borromini, Sant Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome, 1640-50

Francesco Borromini, Sant Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome, 1640-50 note the complexity of the surfaces (again)

Churches would reach out to Catholics in order to reaffirm their faith, to heretics to reunite them with the church, and to agnostics to enlighten them with the true faith. Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) sculptor, painter and architect

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Baldachinno inside St. Peter s Basilica, Rome, 1623-33

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sant Andrea al Quirinale, Rome, 1658-61

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sant Andrea al Quirinale, Rome, 1658-61 note combination of ribs and coffers in the dome

St. Peters Basilica, Rome OLD and NEW

Michelangelo Buonarroti, St. Peters Basilica, Rome 1547-1564 (based on a design by Bramante) Carlo Maderno St. Peters Basilica (nave and façade) Rome, 1603-1612 Gian Lorenzo Bernini Colonnade of St. Peter s Piazza, Rome, 1656-67

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Colonnade of St. Peters Piazza, Rome, 1656-67 Bernini compared the oval to maternal arms of the church that embrace Catholics.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Colonnade of St. Peter s Piazza, Rome, 1656-67

Renaissance or Baroque? MICHELANGELO BUONAROTTI (1475 1564) ANDREA PALLADIO (1508 1580)

Michelangelo di Ludivico Buonarrotti Simoni (1475-1564) sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer (a Renaissance Man )

paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti, Facade for San Lorenzo Church, Florence, ITALY, 1515

Michelangelo Buonarroti, Library for San Lorenzo Church, Florence, ITALY, 1525-1571 ( The Laurentian Library )

Michelangelo, Laurentian Library, designed 1525

Because of the seemingly instability of the structure, the viewer cannot discern whether the roof is supported by the columns or the walls. This sense of ambiguity is heightened by the unorthodox forms of the windows and, especially, by the compressed quality of all architectural elements, which creates a sense of tension and constrained energy. Michelangelo, Laurentian Library, designed 1525

Michelangelo, Laurentian Library, designed 1525

The Campidoglio (The Capitoline Hill), Rome TOP: before Michelangelo s project BOTTOM: after Michelangelo s project

Michelangelo, The Campidoglio (The Capitoline Hill), Rome, designed 1538

Michelangelo, The Campidoglio (The Capitoline Hill), Rome, designed 1538 architecture as stage set visual drama

Michelangelo, The Campidoglio (The Capitoline Hill), Rome, designed 1538

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) - Craftmanship background: stone carver - Amateur architect of large countryside estates -Educated in architecture by travelling to Rome to study ancient Roman architecture in place

I Quattro Libri dell'architettura ( The Four Books of Architecture ) 1570 - Architecture as a union of sciences and arts - The universal truth of mathematics is valid for architecture - Practical concerns: to simplify understanding of ancient architecture Book 1 Building materials, techniques, the five orders, parts of a classical building Book 2 Private houses (Palladio s designs and Roman reconstructions) Book 3 Streets, piazzas, bridges, basilicas (Palladio s designs and Roman reconstructions) Book 4 Roman temples

illustrations from Palladio s Quattro Libri

HARMONIC PROPORTIONS Palladio s universal proportions derive from the Greek musical scale and 16th century musical theory. [W]e should make use of each of these heights depending on which one will turn out well to ensure that most of the rooms of different sizes have vaults of an equal height and those vaults will still be in proportion to them, so that they turn out to be beautiful to the eye and practical for the floor or pavement which will go above them. Andrea Palladio

Villa Barbaro (1555-59) Villa Cornaro (1560-65) Villa Capra (1566-69) THE PALLADIAN VILLA Geometry of the villa s plan is always emphasized. A large Hall on the central axis; Two or three rooms at the sides; Spare rooms and staircases in between

Andrea Palladio, Villa Capra, nicknamed Villa Rotonda near Vicenza, ITALY, 1566-69): a suburban home for retirement

Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotonda Palladio (wrongly) assumed that ancient houses were derived from temples. Hence, the temple fronts.

Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotonda

Andrea Palladio, Villa Rotonda, ornamented (Baroque?) interior

3 2 1 Andrea Palladio, il Redentore Church 1: central nave with side chapels (not side aisles) 2: domed oval transept where dignitaries watched the mass 3: semi-concealed choir where the monks sang

Andrea Palladio, il Redentore Church, 1576-92: interior

Andrea Palladio, il Redentore Church, 1576-92 altar at the domed crossing

Andrea Palladio, il Redentore Church, 1576-92 : dome from below

THE IMPORTANCE OF ROME By 1500, Rome became one of the most important centers of the Renaissance. As the capital of the Papal Court, the development of the city was in the hands of the popes. During the 1500s, Rome became a gathering place of the prominent artists of the Renaissance: Da Vinci, Bramante, Rafael, Michelangelo, etc. all came to Rome from elsewhere in Italy. The major urban transformation took place during the time of Pope Sixtus V (1585-90) (pictured at left)

1588 sketch by G.F. Bordino of the Plans of Sixtus V Rome, Planning of Pope Sixtus V Connecting the major churches of Rome with streets and obelisks to turn the city into a single holy shrine.

Rome, plan of Pope Sixtus V obelisks as markers in the city

Rome, plan of Pope Sixtus V The Moses fountain beside the Strada Pia in 1616. The square served both a practical and social function.

Rome, plan of Sixtus V: wash house at the Piazza delle Terme. Two long basins were installed for all to clean their laundry. Covered wash houses for bad weather and greater privacy were also provided.

Renaissance vs. Baroque Order Rationalism Nature Emotional Ornate Dynamic, dramatic

Renaissance (1400-1520) rinascita = rebirth 1. order: symmetry, proportion, balance 2. Rebirth of humanism 3. Artists observe Nature from the model of classical antiquity Baroque (1560-1774) baroco [Portuguese= irregular] Baroque [French>English] 1.Generally as a Counter-reformation reaction to Reformation. 2. Artists have a new interest in Nature.

Renaissance (1400-1520) 1. Appeal to the universal 2. Harmony 3. Balance between horizontal and vertical; centralized 4. Frozen moment-idealized space-time 5. Controlled; certainty 6. Measured; geometry and proportion 7. Tectonic ; monumental space; flat façades; fake columns on façade 8. Fixed, Linear perspective 9. Individual details maintain their identity and independence Baroque (1560-1774) 1. Grandeur 2. Extreme and diverse emotional states 3. Tension between contrasting forces 4. Movement; folding, recessional space; load bearing columns on façade 5. Perception of the infinite 6. Domestic intimacy 7. Oblique perspective, emphasizes on contrast and depth, and movement 8. Use proportion to highlight contrast of importance, esp. class status 9. Organic: in a unified composition, the details are submerged in a whole http://mail.tku.edu.tw/kiss7445/kisshomepage/westernarthistory/table_renaissance-mannerism- Baroque.html