HISTORY OF ARC-1203/22-03896

ARCHITECTURE 2
COMBALICER, DAN JOSEPH M.
Renaissance
The Renaissance (UK: /rnesns/ rin-AY-snss, US: /rnsns/ (listen) REN-sahnss) is a time in European history that
spans the 15th and 16th centuries and marks the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. It is
characterized by an attempt to revive and outdo ideas and accomplishments of classical antiquity. It followed
the Late Middle Ages Crisis and was marked by significant societal change. Proponents of a "long Renaissance"
may place its start in the 14th century and end in the 17th century in addition to the conventional periodization.

• Early Renaissance (Quattrocento) c.1400-1500 - is the Italian word for "four

hundred" when referring to the years that make up the fifteenth century. It was a pivotal time in
the development of European art and culture. It was the first stage of the Renaissance movement,
which had its origins in Italy.

(BASILICA OF STA MARIA NOVELLA – AR. Leon Battista Alberti)

• High Renaissance c.1500-1525 -

was a brief time of the most outstanding artistic
achievement in the Italian states during the Italian Renaissance, especially in Rome, the capital
of the Papal States, and in Florence. The High Renaissance, according to the majority of art
historians, began about 1495 or 1500 and concluded in 1520 with the passing of Raphael,
however some claim it finished around 1525, in 1527 with the army of Charles V, Holy Roman
Emperor, seizing Rome, or around 1530. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and
Bramante are some of the most well-known High Renaissance painters, sculptors, and
architects. Some academic art historians have regularly criticized the term's use in recent years
for oversimplifying aesthetic trends, neglecting historical context, and concentrating primarily
on a small number of iconic pieces.

(Facade of San Giorgio – AR. Andrea Palladio)

• Mannerism (Late Renaissance) c.1520-1600 - is a period of European art that

began in the latter half of the High Renaissance in Italy around 1520, spread by 1530, and
persisted in Italy until the end of the 16th century, when the Baroque style mainly superseded it.
Early in the 17th century, Northern Mannerism was still prevalent. The term "mannerism" refers
to a range of artistic styles that were influenced by and in response to the harmonious ideals
espoused by figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Vasari, and early Michelangelo. Mannerism
exaggerates these features, whereas High Renaissance art emphasizes proportion, balance, and
ideal beauty, leading to compositions that are frequently asymmetrical or unrealistically
exquisite. This aesthetic movement is distinguished by its artificial (as opposed to realistic)
characteristics, favoring compositional tension and instability above the harmony and clarity of
earlier Renaissance painting. Mannerism is characterized by a highly florid style and intellectual
sophistication in both literature and music.
 (Cathedral Basilica of Salvador)

CHARACTERISTICS
• PLANS - Renaissance structures frequently have square, symmetrical architecture with
proportions based on modules.
• FAÇADE - The facades' vertical axis is symmetrical.
• DETAILS – Following the Middle Ages, Europe had a furious period of cultural, artistic, political,
and economic "rebirth" during the Renaissance.
• TECHIQUES & PRINCIPLES APPLIED - Renaissance art was characterized by realism and
naturalism. Artists strived to depict people and objects in a true-to-life way.

BAROQUE
is a period of artistic flourishing in Europe from the early 17th century through the 1750s, characterized by
music, dance, painting, sculpture, and other forms of art. It persisted together with new styles across the
realms of the Spanish and Portuguese empires, including the Iberian Peninsula, until the first decade of the
19th century. It came after Mannerism and Renaissance art and came before Rococo (before frequently
referred to as "late Baroque") and Neoclassicism. Although Lutheran Baroque art also flourished in some parts
of Europe, it was supported by the Catholic Church as a way to contrast the austerity and simplicity of
Protestant architecture, art, and music.

To evoke awe, the Baroque style employed contrast, movement, flamboyant detail, rich color, grandeur, and
surprise. Rome was the birthplace of the fashion at the beginning of the 17th century, and it quickly traveled
to France, northern Italy, Spain, and Portugal before reaching Austria, southern Germany, and Poland. It
changed into the even more extravagant rocaille or Rococo style by the 1730s, which was used in France and
Central Europe until the mid- to late-18th century.

CHARACTERISTICS
• PLANS - The ground-plan, or the contours of the building as seen from above, that eventually
came to be chosen, was significantly influenced by this conception. It resulted in the conscious
preference of Renaissance architects for straightforward, elementary, analytical layouts
being rejected. They were replaced with intricate, rich, and dynamic patterns that were better
suited for structures that were no longer regarded of as being "built" or produced by the
fusion of different pieces, each with their own autonomy, but rather as being hollowed out,
 formed from a compact mass by a number of contour demarcations. The square, the circle,
and the Greek cross—a cross with equal arms—were the common ground-plans used in
Renaissance architecture. Those typical of Baroque architecture were the ellipse or the oval,
or considerably more elaborate designs derived from difficult geometrical forms. In honor of
the patron who commissioned it and whose family's coat-of-arms featured bees, Francesco
Castelli (1599-1667), also known by his pen name Francesco Borromini, created two churches:
one with walls that were alternately convex and concave throughout.
• FAÇADE - Vault ceilings were a standard feature of churches of the time. However, a vault is
actually a collection of arches. Since arches tend to press outward against their supporting
walls, a counterthrust is required in any vaulted building. Vaults were first used in Roman and
then Romanesque architecture. The buttress, a particularly common element in Middle Ages
construction, where the problem was first encountered, is what provides this counterthrust.
The buttress needed to have a form that was complementary to the other parts of the Baroque
structure and to steer clear of prior examples of brutal, "gothic" architecture.
• DETAILS – The resultant curving walls were the other distinctive feature of Baroque buildings,
in addition to their intricate ground plans. In addition to conforming to the idea of a building as
a single entity, they also introduced another Baroque constant—the concept of movement—
into architecture, which is by definition the most static of all the arts. And certainly, once
identified, the undulating motif was not confined to walls. All Baroque art adopted the idea of
adding movement to an architectural element through the use of more or less regular curves
and countercurves.
• TECHIQUES & PRINCIPLES APPLIED - A building can be imagined in a variety of ways, including
as a collection of superimposed storeys (the current attitude), more like a work of sculpture
(the theory of Greek architecture), a box defined by walls of regular shape (as understood by
Renaissance architects), or as a skeletal structure, that is, one formed by the various
supporting structures required to support it, as per the Gothic conception. It was viewed by
baroque architects as a single mass that could be moulded in accordance with various
specifications. A man discussing Renaissance shapes may mime drawing imagined straight
lines with an imaginary pencil in the air, but while describing Baroque forms, he is more likely
to mimic sculpting an imaginary mass of soft plastic or clay. In short, for Baroque architects a
structure was to some part a form of huge sculpture.

St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome Italy // DONATO BRAMANTE San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane // Francesco Borromini
ROCOCO (LATE BAROQUE)
Also referred to as Late Baroque, this incredibly ornate and theatrical architectural, artistic, and decorative
style uses asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors, sculpted moulding, and trompe-l'oeil
frescoes to surprise and give the impression of motion and drama. It is frequently referred to as the last word
in the Baroque movement. As a response to the Louis XIV style's more formal and geometric elements, the
Rococo movement took root in France in the 1730s. It was referred to as the "Rocaille style" or "Rocaille
fashion". In particular, northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, Central Europe, and Russia were affected
before it quickly expanded to other regions of Europe. It also came to influence the other arts, particularly
sculpture, furniture, silverware, glassware, painting, music, and drama. Although the Rococo was initially a
secular style that was mostly employed for private home interiors, its spiritual undertones led to its extensive
adoption in church interiors, especially in Central Europe, Portugal, and South America.

CHARACTERISTICS
A lot of curves, countercurves, undulations, and elements inspired by nature are used in rococo
decoration. While the interiors of Rococo buildings are completely dominated by their adornment, the
exteriors of these structures are frequently basic. The style was very theatrical, aiming to impress
and awe at first sight. Church floor layouts were frequently intricate with interlocking ovals; in
palaces, grand staircases served as the focal point and provided various perspectives on the
decoration. Asymmetrical shells, acanthus and other leaves, birds, flower bouquets, fruit, musical
instruments, angels, and Chinoiserie are among the main Rococo embellishments. (pagodas, dragons,
monkeys, bizarre flowers and Chinese people). The illusionist ceiling paintings, known as quadratura,
were used to create the illusion that those entering the room were looking up at the sky, where
cherubs and other characters were staring down at them. The style frequently combined painting,
moulded stucco, wood carving, and quadratura. The aim was to evoke a sense of surprise, awe, and
wonder upon first glance. Materials used included stucco, either painted or left white; combinations
of different colored woods (typically oak, beech, or walnut); lacquered wood in the Japanese style;
ornament of gilded bronze; and marble tops of commodes or tables.

Catherine the Great’s Palace // CHARLES CAMERON Zwinger in Dresden // Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann