History of Architecture-IV

Baroque Architecture

Semester-IV
Varish Panchal
Assistant Professor
13.03.2019
Amity School of Architecture and Planning
Baroque:

• Is a highly ornate and often extravagant style of art

• May have been adapted from the Portuguese term Barroco, a flawed pearl
• The Baroque style of architecture was a result of doctrines adopted by the Catholic Church at the
Council of Trent in 1545–63, in response to the Protestant Reformation.
• Came out as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant art and architecture

Martin Luther 1483 -1564

Principles of faith:

In Catholicism, only the Roman Catholic

Principles of faith:

In Catholicism, only the Roman Catholic

Baroque Architecture: Characteristics • Dynamization and systematic organization
Baroque Architecture: Geometry and mathematics

• All the major architects of this period were as much

mathematicians as architects, and so all of the architecture could
have been a subset of geometry.
• Effable shapes: Distorted and unstable shapes were reflected in a
composition that was stable.
• Effable numbers: Since various shapes were formed by varying
ratios, number sequences generated on the same account were also
used for development of church plans.
o Fibonacci sequence: Not just carvings but even several
niches, bays, and columns were made to obey the Fibonacci
sequence.
o Golden ratio: Evidences of using Golden Ratio have also
been found in Baroque buildings. In mathematics, two
quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as
the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities, i.e.
A:B = A + B : A
Baroque Architecture: Characteristics

• Grandeur
• Surprise
• Sense of contrast and movement
• Large central spaces in churches
• Long narrow naves replaced by broader, oval or circular forms
• Dynamic use of light
• Large-scale ceiling frescoes
• Opulent use of colour and ornamentation
• Exuberant details
• Use of Cartouche
• Illusory effect through painting and sculpture
• External facades are characterized by a central projection.
• The use of engaged columns and dynamic shapes of the columns, domes, (Pear dome in some
countries) towers and oval windows
Cartouche:
Baroque Architects:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Carlo Maderno (Maderna) Francesco Borromini

Leading Sculptor in Baroque style Bridged the Gap between High Student of Michelangelo who
Renaissance and Early Baroque developed his own creative methods
in design using the manipulation of
classical architecture
Baroque Architecture: Examples
Church of Gesu, Rome
Church of Gesu, Rome

• In catholic religious order, it is the mother church of the society

of Jesus.
• Is perceived as to be the first truly Baroque façade.
• Was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and Giacomo
della Porta who revised the facade.
• Its construction began in 1568 and was completed in 1580.
Church of Gesu, Rome

• The choir was clearly cut off from the nave to emphasize the
distinction between priests and laity. Side chapels, sold to
individual families, ensured proper endowments.
• Transepts were minimized or done away with, allowing the use
of rectangles and ovals, which also helped to create a sense of
community that these churches were to inculcate.
Church of Gesu, Rome

• The façade of the church is divided into two sections. The

lower section is divided by six pairs of pilasters with
Corinthian capitals, while the upper section is divided with four
pairs of pilasters.
• The lower order, based on the theme of pilaster pairs elevated
on high dadoes, with a similar dado zone separating the upper
and lower orders
• The upper section is joined to the lower section by a volute on
each side.
• The main door stands under a curvilinear tympanum, while the
two side doors are under a triangular tympanum.
• The central axis is emphasized by framed niches as well as by
the attached columns to the right and left of the door.
• Energy seems to ripple horizontally and vertically across the
facade.
Church of Gesu, Rome

Nave and the altar

Church of Gesu, Rome
Baroque Architecture: Examples
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale

• Was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

• Its construction began in 1658 and was completed
in 1670.
• The main façade to the street has an aedicular
pedimented frame at the centre of which a semi-
circular porch with two Ionic columns marks the
main entrance.
• An oval cylinder encases the dome, and large
volutes transfer the lateral thrust.
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale

• Inside, the main entrance is located on the short axis of the church
and directly faces the high altar.

Legend:
1. Main entrance,
2. Chapel of Saint Francis Xavier,
3. Chapel of the Passion,
4. Chapel Saint Stanislas Kostka,
5. Chapel of Saint Ignatius of
Loyola,
6. Main altar,
7. Entrance to novitiate and
access to the rooms of Saint
Stanislas Kostka.
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale

• The oval form of the main congregational

space of the church is defined by the wall,
pilasters and entablature, which frame the
side chapels, and the golden dome above.
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale

• The dome over the oval glistens with golden

decorations, evoking the heavenly space to
which St. Andrew ascends.
• It is patterned between the ribs by finely
worked hexagonal coffers.
• Perched over the windows at the base of the
dome are figures of putti and the fishermen
who were St. Andrew’s companions
Sant‘ Andrea at Quirinale

• The entrance to the church is located on the

short axis of the floor and facing the high
altar. The interior space consists of a large
central area, bounded by the wall with
Corinthian pilasters and entablature, and a
series of chapels around it.
• In contrast to the dark side chapels, the high
altar niche is well lit from a hidden source
and becomes the main visual focus of the
lower part of the interior. As a result, the
congregation effectively become ‘witnesses’
to the theatrical narrative of St Andrew
which begins in the High Altar chapel and
culminates in the dome.
• Large paired columns supporting a curved
pediment differentiate the recessed space of
the high altar from the congregational space.
• Light from a concealed window streams
down into the apse, illuminating a
spectacular picture frame supported by
cherubs and solar rays, all in gold.
Baroque Architecture: Examples
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

• San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane translates to

(Saint Charles at the Four Fountains)
• It is an iconic masterpiece of Baroque
architecture, built as part of a complex of
monastic buildings on the Quirinal Hill.
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

The figures of the four fountains represent the following:

• The Goddess Juno, the symbol of Strength
• The River Arno the symbol of Florence
• The Goddess Diana; the symbol of Chastity
• The River Tiber (the symbol of Rome)
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Plan:
• Two triangles (diamond) inscribed in an oval
• Circles inscribed in triangles
• Intersecting circles
• No right angles—curves
• Sophisticated inter connection of geometrical shapes
• Musical and mathematical
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

The basic concept doesn't really come from an oval, but from the main
theme of the order of religion, that this church was owned by at this
time and it still owns it, the Trinitarians, that is the followers of the
Holy Trinity. Now the Trinity is a triad, God the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. If you think of it as a triangle and make two triangles, draw
them on a piece of paper, put them side by side, that is one of the flat
sides against one of the other flat sides and you have a diamond shape
or a lozenge shape.
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

If you then inscribe around that, it becomes an oval. If you inscribe

within each triangle a circle and then start to draw lines from one point
to another, those are the lines of the architecture of this church.
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

The arrangement seems to refer to a cross plan but all the altars are visible as
the two central columns in each arrangement of four are placed on the oblique
with respect to the axial ordering of the space.
This creates an undulating movement effect which is enhanced by the
variation in treatment of the bays between the columns with niches,
mouldings, and doors.
Baroque Architecture: Examples
By Carlo Maderno

Church of Saint Susanna Sant’Andrea della Valle

Baroque Architecture: Examples
St. Paul’s cathedral, London
St. Paul’s cathedral, London
St. Paul’s cathedral, London
Baroque Architecture: Examples
Church of Saint Ivo, La Sapienza
Church of Saint Ivo, La Sapienza
Baroque Architecture: Examples
Fontana del Tritone
Renaissance vs Baroque
Renaissance
Renaissance architecture was a response to the
ornamentation of the Gothic period.
It was a revival of classical principles like of
symmetry, balance, axis and order .
The Renaissance drew on the wealth and power of
the Italian courts and was a blend of secular and
religious forces.
It drew upon values of humanist movement.
Baroque
In response to the bareness of Renaissance
architecture, Baroque buildings were lavishly
decorated.
Baroque was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church as a
means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant
architecture.
The Baroque was, initially at least, directly linked to the
Counter-Reformation.
Baroque architecture and its embellishments were on
the one hand more accessible to the emotions and on
the other hand, a visible statement of the wealth and
power of the Catholic Church.