History of Interior Design II
7. Baroque and Rococo Architecture Tutor : Amal Shah Spring 2021 Faculty of Design, CEPT University
Baroque Architecture The Baroque is a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, theater, and music. The style began around 1600 in Rome and spread to most of Europe. In the Baroque style of architecture, emphasis was placed on bold spaces , domes , and large masses, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence amongst others. In music, the Baroque style makes up a large part of the classical canon. Important composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi. In the later part of the period, the Baroque style was termed Rococo, a style characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works. However, "baroque" has resonance and application that extend beyond a simple reduction to either style or period.
Rococo Architecture 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
Rococo style is characterized by elaborate ornamentation, asymmetrical values, pastel color palette, and curved or serpentine lines. Rococo art works often depict themes of love, classical myths, youth, and playfulness. Antoine Watteau is considered to be the first great Rococo painter who influenced later Rococo masters such as Boucher and Fragonard.
Origin of Baroque Style Geographical: The style began at the start of the 17th century in Rome, then spread rapidly to France, northern Italy, Spain and Portugal, then to Austria, southern Germany and Russia. By the 1730s, it had evolved into an even more flamboyant style, called rocaille or Rococo, which appeared in France and Central Europe until the mid to late 18th century.
Religious:. The most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation ; the development of the Baroque style was considered to be closely linked with the Catholic Church. The popularity of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation .
Major Influences on Baroque Rococo
A large central space, to allow worshippers to be close to the altar
Openings strategically planned to enlighten the central altar.
Primary Influence was Counter Reformation: Catholic Church launched an overtly emotional and sensory appeal to the faithful through art and architecture. Complex architectural plan shapes,, and the dynamic opposition and interpenetration of spaces were favoured to heighten the feeling of motion and sensuality.
To enhance the divinity in the space,, the churches were designed such that the central space is illuminated by natural light. .
The dome was designed as one of the central symbolic features of Baroque architecture illustrating the union between the heavens and the earth, The inside of the cupola was lavishly decorated with paintings of angels and saints, and with stucco statuettes of angels, giving the impression to those below of looking up at heaven.
Types of Baroque Architecture Early Baroque (1584-1625)
High Baroque (1625-1675)
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków
Santa maria della salute, Venice
Key features: It aimed to inspire the common people with the effects of surprise, emotion and awe. To achieve this, it used a combination of contrast, movement, and other dramatic and theatrical effects, such as quadratura the use of painted ceilings that gave the illusion that one was looking up directly at the sky.
Key features: The interiors of Baroque churches became more and more ornate in the High Baroque, and focused around the altar, usually placed under the dome.
Late Baroque (1675-1750) Rococo
Chapel of Les Invalides, Jules Hardouin-Mansart
Key features: This style emerged as a reaction against grandeur and symmetry. It was a more fluid and florid elaborate style, comprising ornate, asymmetric designs and pastel shades. It was an extreme decorative development of baroque.
Baroque Architecture Styles Italian Baroque
Central Europe-Rococo
Portugese Baroque
Italian Baroque includes curving forms including oval shapes and a combination of concave and convex forms that make walls seems to undulate, or appear wavy with a strong sense of motion. There’s massing of elements on building surfaces.
Rococo style, is a distinct, highly ornate, more flamboyant and asymmetric style which emerged from the Baroque.
It follows a plane style without interior, exterior decoration, very simple portal and windows. It is a very practical building, allowing it to be consistent throughout
Spanish Baroque
French Baroque/Classicism
Russian Baroque
The main characteristics of this style in Spain are the use of humble materials, very simple plan layout but very dynamic and volumetric facades and altars.
Features more geometric order, measure than Baroque, and less elaborate decoration on the facades and interiors
The main characteristic of this style was the simple volumes and the flat facades, contrasting with the high level of detail for the interior decoration.
Features: Spatial Organisation
Centrality + Longitudinality
San Giacomo degli Incurabili by Francesco Capriani da Volterra, Rome 1590
Geometry and Spatial Organisation : Broad naves and Oval forms in space and structural organisation By stretching the central circle into an oval, longitudinality is added to the building, without cancelling the feeling of centrality
Transepts were minimized or nonexistent, allowing the use of rectangles and ovals, which also helped to create a sense of community that these churches were to inculcate Ovato tondo (rounded oval) The lines connecting the centres of the arcs can be used as diagonal axes on which to align peripheral chapels in a more regular way than with other patterns.
Features : Elements Dome
Facades
Elongated Centrality
The dome interiors were often painted with a sky filled with angels and sculpted sunbeams, suggesting glory or a vision of heaven. The domes over an oval plan needed new structural ideation to be built with a new geometry
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.: Examples of Spanish Baroque : the lavish details of the facade have little structural use Facade of Santa Susanna by Carlo Maderno: The design elements of this church signaled a departure from the prevailing Mannerist style of architecture at the time.
Features : Elements Doors and Windows
Broken Pediment
A notable feature of Baroque architecture is its use of pediments and hoods on doorways and windows. These often took the form of a small arch above the doorway or window, reflecting the recurring baroque motif of curved lines.These were made of wood or stone and supported by narrow brackets. Richly carved, shallow shells were particularly popular at the start of the century.
Sash Windows Sash windows began to replace clumsy casement windows.. Their flat and symmetrical design allowed inch-by-inch temperature control.
Curved Pediment
Also known as a segmental pediment, as it forms part of a circle, like a small arch, it is sometimes heavily ornamented
Features Elements
Heavy Cornice : The overhanging roof edge, known as a cornice, was revived by baroque designers from the classical style, but in baroque hands was particularly emboldened. Like much in the period, it was adorned with lavish decoration, such as bold, curved shapes and strong lines, using plaster, stucco or marble. The baroque also placed strong emphasis on the earlier Renaissance feature that is still in use today – the interior cornice, a decorative moulding along the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling.
Decoration and Motifs
Balustrade details : In the Baroque era the bulge or belly of balustrades dropped to the bottom. Twisted balusters also began to be seen from around 1660. In the late Baroque period, Rococo influences began to creep in, particularly in guilded details around doors. Notable motifs include shells, leaves and delicate ‘C-shapes.’
Sculptural putti high on entablatures and ledges
Chiesa del Gesu
Frescoed ceiling
Features : Elements Flooring
The Baroque architecture is characterized by its ornamented hardwood floors, especially Parqueted. (Parquet is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring)
Walls
Influenced by the Dutch version of classical architecture, Baroque architecture gradually began to replace the traditional English bond in favour of the more decorative Flemish bond
Significant Examples : San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Francesco Borromini
In earlier oval churches the wall surrounding the nave followed a strict oval curve that was interrupted or opened where it intersected the geometrical axes in order to insert the side altars or chapels. Instead, Borromini designed a sinuous wall whose alternating concavities and convexities enclose both the nave and its niches.
Hence, In San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane the entrance, the symmetrical side chapels, and the main altar recess do not appear as additions external to the oval central space: they are part of it.
Significant Examples : San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Francesco Borromini
Tall Corinthian columns stand on plinths and bear the main entablatures; these define the main framework of two storeys and the tripartite bay division. Between the columns, smaller columns with their entablatures weave behind the main columns and in turn they frame niches, windows, a variety of sculptures as well as the main door,
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. In a hierarchical structuring of light.
Significant Examples : Church of Gesu, Rome
Its facade is "the first truly baroque façade", introducing the baroque style into architecture. The plan synthesizes the central planning of the High Renaissance, expressed by the grand scale of the dome and the prominent piers of the crossing. Everywhere inlaid polychrome marble revetments are relieved by gilding, frescoed barrel vaults enrich the ceiling and rhetorical white stucco and marble sculptures break out of their tectonic framing.
Significant Examples : Residences- Palace of Versailles
The Late Baroque marks the ascent of France as the heart of Western culture. Baroque art of France tends to be restrained. The most distinctive element of French Baroque architecture is the double-sloped mansard roof. Here, the architectural theme of 'creation by division' - a series of simple repetitions rhythmically marked off by the repetition of the large windows - which expresses the fundamental values of Baroque art and in which the focal point of the interior, as well as of the entire building, is the king's bed. Among its celebrated architectural designs is the Hall of Mirrors which is one of the most famous rooms in the world.
Significant Examples (Rococo) : Wieskirche, Germany
Church of Wies (1745–54), the work of architect Dominikus Zimmermann, is a masterpiece of Bavarian Rococo – exuberant and colourful
A unique feature is the harmony between art and the countryside. All art forms and techniques used - architecture, sculpture, painting, stucco work, carving, ironwork, etc. - were melded by the architect into a perfect, unified whole, in order to create a diaphanous spatial structure of light and form.
The church, which is oval in plan, is preceded to the west by a semi-circular narthex. Inside, twin columns placed in front of the walls support the capriciously cut-out cornice and the wooden vaulting with its flattened profile; this defines a second interior volume where the light from the windows and the oculi is cleverly diffused both directly and indirectly.
Unique Characteristics : Space as a Canvas
The lively colours of the paintings bring out the sculpted detail and, in the upper areas, the frescoes and stucco work interpenetrate to produce a light and living decor of unprecedented richness and refinement. The abundance of motifs and figures, the fluidity of the lines, the skilful opening of surfaces, and the 'lights' continually offer the observer fresh surprises.
Unique Characteristics : Light and Lightness
While in medieval cathedrals stained glass modulated the light, Baroque churches had plain glass devoid of tracery and the windows were often unseen, designed to create a mysterious and diffused light. One often finds a Baroque church quite luminous upon entering— without first noticing any windows at all. The ceilings painted contribute to the overall lightness of the church as a whole.
Unique Characteristics : Movement and Dynamism
Baroque architects preferred curves to straight lines, deploying niches, walls, pilasters, and attached columns in a seamless way that made architecture seem pliant and rubbery—not framing the liturgical but part of it. They also had an appreciation of rhythmic movement through space, and intensified visual dynamics with the use of painting as well as sculptural putti
Interior Design Decor : Baroque
Hall of Mirrors : 357 mirrors that catch the rising sun’s rays inside the palace and remind users of Louis XIV’s power.
The Palace of Versailles was executed in the French Baroque style as visualized by King Louis XIV to establish his importance and to host France’s nobility. It is characterized by its large curved forms , twisted columns , high domes , and complicated shapes. Infamously known as the ‘Palace of Opulence’, it stands as a prime example of the over-the-top excesses of the French nobility with gold gilded doorways, ostentatious interior decorations. Bedchambers of the King and other nobles
Interior Design Decor : Baroque
Palais de Louvre, Paris The magnificent, baroque-style palace and museum — LeMusée du Louvre in French — sits along the banks of the Seine River in Paris
Frauenkirche Dresden Church, Dresden The brave idea of a centralised church room integrated into an octagonal outline is applied with Baroque styled interiors.
Interior Design Decor : Rococo
After Baroque style, Interior designers, painters developed a lighter and more intimate style of decoration for the new residences of nobles in Paris.
In the Rococo style, walls, ceilings, and moldings were decorated with delicate interlacings of curves and counter-curves based on the fundamental shapes of the “C” and the “S,” as well as with shell forms and other natural shapes. Asymmetrical design was the rule. Light pastels, ivory white, and gold were the predominant colours, and Rococo decorators frequently used mirrors to enhance the sense of open space.
Key Features: Baroque Unfinished elements: A famous element of Baroque architecture is the deliberately unfinished architectural elements that help give the design a unique feature.
Lighting: Another distinctive feature of this architectural works is the use of lighting effects as it employs the use of either intense light as well as shaded lights to bring the contrast. Ornate finishings: The ceiling frescoes in this type of architecture are usually large scale. One feature that is common with Baroque architecture is the use of ornaments, plaster or marble finishing that give it a decorative look.
Key Features: Rococo Rococo describes a type of art and architecture that began in France in the mid-1700s. It is characterized by delicate but substantial ornamentation. Often classified simply as "Late Baroque," Rococo decorative arts flourished for a short period before Neoclassicism swept the Western world. Delicate details: Characteristics of Rococo include the use of elaborate curves and scrolls, ornaments shaped like shells and plants, and entire rooms being oval in shape. Patterns were intricate and details delicate.
Mystic Character: Paintings are characterized by the use of soft colors and fuzzy outlines, curved lines, detailed ornamentation, and a lack of symmetry. The subject matter of paintings from this period grew bolder—some of it may even be considered pornographic by today's standards.
Detail as an expression : Baroque During the Baroque period (c. 1600–1750), architecture, painting, and sculpture were integrated into decorative ensembles. Architecture and sculpture became pictorial, and painting became illusionistic. Baroque art was essentially concerned with the dramatic and the illusory, with vivid colours, hidden light sources, luxurious materials, and elaborate, contrasting surface textures, used to heighten immediacy and sensual delight.
Ceilings of Baroque churches, dissolved in painted scenes, presented vivid views of the infinite to the worshiper and directed him through his senses toward heavenly concerns. Baroque architecture included vibrant materials like bronze and gilding, plaster, marble and stucco, used for architectural elements like twisted columns and overarching cupolas.
Detail as an expression : Rococo In Rococo architecture, decorative sculpture and painting are inseparable from the structure. Simple dramatic spatial sequences or the complex interweaving of spaces of 17th-century churches gave way to a new spatial concept.
In churches, the ceilings of side aisles were raised to the height of the nave ceiling to unify the space from wall to wall. The entire building was often lighted by numerous windows placed to give dramatic effect or to flood the space with a cool diffuse light
Furniture: Baroque style Baroque furniture shares some characteristics with other artistic mediums during this period, the most distinctive being the elaborate ornamentation. Furniture pieces had plenty of details, and the designs featured an exuberant and sometimes exaggerated decoration. In Baroque designs, decorative elements were never too much. Baroque compositions had a delicate balance and a harmonious integration of all elements. The furniture pieces were usually symmetrical, and all the details were replicated on both sides, with very small variations, if any.
Furniture: Baroque style Thomas Chippendale, patterns for chairs, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, London, 1762 ed., No. XII. Etching.
Furniture: Rococo style The most substantial difference in Rococo furniture was the rejection of symmetry. Rococo art is distinctly asymmetrical, giving it a sense of aimless whimsy. In furniture, look for asymmetrical, organic designs running along gilded legs, armrests and backs.Rococo furniture was defined by the needs of comfort and socializing.
Difference between Baroque & Rococo: Colour Palette & Light Baroque: The use of intense light and dark contrast in fine art painting, became widely used in Baroque period art to depict depth, three-dimensionality, and a sense of drama. Baroque art characteristics included radiant colors, sources of hidden light, and experiments with contrasting surface textures.
Rococo: The Rococo art movement, which primarily came about through interior decoration, saw pastels replacing Baroque’s vivid light and shadow; light became present and scattered, not hidden.
Difference between Baroque & Rococo: Decorative motifs Baroque: Baroque works created a decorative unity in the churches and other spaces in which they were commonly seen.
Rococo: Though Rococo emerged from Baroque art, Rococo artists turned away from Baroque’s dramatic symbolism of the church’s power.
Difference between Baroque & Rococo: Style of Paintings Baroque: Baroque paintings were illusionistic (sharing physical space with the viewer, and providing multiple, changing views), while sculptures and architecture were adorned with illustrations. Together, Baroque works created a decorative unity in the churches and other spaces in which they were commonly seen.
Rococo: Though Rococo emerged from Baroque art, Rococo artists honed in on elegantly elevating the power and class of French aristocrats. Rococo represented “secular high fashion.”
Distinctive features of Baroque architecture Baroque: Distinctive features of Baroque architecture can include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10.
In churches, broader naves and sometimes given oval forms. Fragmentary or deliberately incomplete architectural elements. Dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade contrasts or uniform lighting by means of several windows. Opulent use of colour and ornaments (putti or figures made of wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing). Large-scale ceiling frescoes. An external façade often characterized by a dramatic central projection. The interior is a shell for painting, sculpture and stucco Illusory effects like an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions and the blending of painting and architecture. Pear-shaped domes in the Bavarian, Czech, Polish and Ukrainian Baroque Marian and Holy Trinity columns erected in Catholic countries, often in thanksgiving for ending a plague.
Baroque Sculpture: An exaggeration of Curves and Emotions Francesco Borromini, was an Italian architect who, with his contemporaries Gianlorenzo Bernini was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. It was Francesco Borromini who in his sketches banned all straight lines and replaced them with curves and twirls, removing all significance from the basic shapes and giving greater importance to decorations.
Baroque Sculpture: An exaggeration of Curves and Emotions Gianlorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist and a prominent architect who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. In addition, he painted, wrote plays, and designed metalwork and stage sets.
The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers – Vierzehnheiligen