Baroque Architecture

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
GROUP MEMBERS

 Danladi Adamu Barnabas U19PK2002

 Muhammad Usman J. U19PK2008
 Kolawale Emmanuel A. U19PK2010
 Kilawa Khaleed Sani U19PK2015
 Emmanuel Trunche U19PK2017
 Abdullahi Nasir U19PK2022
 Haruna Yushau U19PK2030
 Zainab Shehu Aminu U19PK2032
 Abubakar M. Yerima U19PK2037
 Alhussain Abdulkareem U19PK2041
 Introduction

 Baroque Architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early
17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church,
particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new
architecture that inspired surprise and amazement. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675),
when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Austria. In the
Late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies
in Latin America, Beginning in about 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo
appeared and flourished in Central Europe.
 Baroque architecture is a construction style that began in the 16th century during the Baroque era. This type
of construction adopted the Roman way of architecture but instead modernized it to a new fashion with an
aim to show the might of the Roman Catholic Church. Baroque architecture was used to signify the wealth
and power of the Catholic Church. Baroque architects took the basic elements of Renaissance architecture,
including domes and colonnades, and made them higher, grander, more decorated, and more dramatic. The
interior effects were often achieved with the use of quadratura, or trompe-l'œil painting combined with
sculpture; the eye is drawn upward, giving the illusion that one is looking into the heavens. Clusters of
sculpted angels and painted figures crowd the ceiling. Light was also used for dramatic effect; it streamed
down from cupolas, and was reflected from an abundance of gilding. Twisted columns were also often used,
to give an illusion of upwards motion, and cartouches and other decorative elements occupied every
available space. In Baroque palaces, grand stairways became a central element
Baroque Architecture Era Classification
 I. The Early Baroque 1584–1625 (Rome, Paris and Central Europe)
 Italian Architecture in the Baroque Period
 The Early Baroque (1584–1625) was largely dominated by the work of Roman architects, notably the Church of the Gesù by
Giacomo della Porta (consecrated 1584) facade and colonnade of St. Peter's Basilica by Carlo Maderno (completed 1612) and
the lavish Barberini Palace interiors by Pietro da Cortona (1633–1639). Church of the Gesù by Giacomo della Porta
(consecrated 1584), interior, and Santa Susanna (1603), by Carlo Maderno. In France, the Luxembourg Palace (1615–45) built
by Salomon de Brosse for Marie de Medici was an early example of the style.
 The highly theatrical Baroque architectural style dominated Italy in the 1600s.
 Baroque architecture was linked to the Counter- Reformation, celebrating the wealth of the Catholic Church. It was
characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity.
 Bernini was the master of Baroque architecture in Rome; St. Peter’s Square was one of his greatest achievements.
 Carlo Fontana became Rome’s leading Baroque architect following Bernini’s death in 1680.
 Other influential Baroque architects in Italy included Carol Maderno, Pietro la Cortano, and Francesco Borromini.
 II. The High Baroque 1625–1675 (Italy, France)
 The High Baroque (1625–1675) produced major works in Rome by Pietro da Cortona, including the (Church of
Santi Luca e Martina) (1635–50); by Francesco Borromini (San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1634–1646)); and by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (The colonnade of St. Peter's Basilica) (1656–57). In Venice, High Baroque works included Santa Maria
della Salute by Baldassare Longhena. Examples in France included the Pavillon de l’Horloge of the Louvre Palace by Jacques
Lemercier (1624–1645), the Chapel of the Sorbonne by Jacques Lemercier (1626–35) and the Château de Maisons by François
Mansart (1630–1651).
 French Architecture in the Baroque Period: Versailles
 The Palace of Versailles was built during King Louis XIV’s reign and contains 700 rooms, extensive gardens, and lavish
decoration.
 Identify the most impressive features of Versailles and those artistically responsible
 The Palace of Versailles was executed in the French Baroque style , characterized by its large curved forms , twisted columns ,
high domes , and complicated shapes.
 The architect for the palace was Louis Le Vau, the interior decorator was Charles Le Brun, and the landscape designer was
Andre Le Notre.
 Interior design from this period is known as Louis XIV style. Originated by Le Brun, it is characterized by richly woven red and
gold fabrics or brocades, heavy gilded plaster molding, large sculpted side boards, and heavy marbling.
 The gardens at Versailles cover nearly 2,000 acres of land and were executed in the French formal garden style, or jardin a la
francaise.
 Notable features of the palace include the Hall of Mirrors and the Grande Canal.
  III. The Late Baroque 1675–1750 (England, Central Europe, Spain, and Latin America).

 The Late Baroque (1675–1750) saw the style spread to all parts of Europe, and to the colonies of Spain and
Portugal in the New World. National styles became more varied and distinct. The Late Baroque in France, under
Louis XIV, was more ordered and classical; examples included the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles and
the dome of Les Invalides. An especially ornate variant, appeared in the early 18th century; it was first called
Rocaille in France; then Rococo in Spain and Central Europe. The sculpted and painted decoration covered every
space on the walls and ceiling. Its most celebrated architect was Balthasar Neumann, noted for the
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and the Wurzburg Residence (1749–51)
 English Architecture in the Baroque Period
 English architecture during the 17th century can be characterized by its use of Palladian, Jacobean, and
English Baroque styles.
 Inigo Jones is known for introducing Palladian architecture to England, a highly symmetrical style based on
the principles of formal Classical temple architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
 Popular during the early 17th century, the Jacobean style can be classified by its adoption of decadent and
detailed Renaissance motifs such as columns and pilasters, round arch arcades, and flat roofs with
openwork parapets, as seen in Hatfield House.
 The architect Sir Christopher Wren was responsible for the genesis of the English Baroque style; after the
Great Fire of London in 1666, he rebuilt many of the city’s churches, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral.
 English Baroque architecture can be characterized by heavy structures adorned with elaborate decoration;
compared to the contemporary Baroque of the European continent, however, it tends to be relatively plain,
with more Classical subtleties.
 Spanish Architecture in the Baroque Period
 A particular strand of Baroque architecture evolved in Spain and its provinces and former colonies in the late
17th century.
 Identify characteristics of Spanish Baroque architecture, its most famous examples, and how it differs from the
art of Northern Europe in the 17th century
 In contrast to the art of Northern Europe, the Spanish art of the Baroque period appealed to the emotions rather
than seeking to please the intellect.
 The Churriguera family, which specialized in designing altars and retables, revolted against the sobriety of the
previous Herrerian classicism and promoted an intricate, exaggerated, almost capricious style of surface
decoration known as the Churrigueresque.
 Between 1720 and 1760, the Churrigueresque column, or estipite, in the shape of an inverted cone or obelisk
was established as a central element of ornamental decoration.
 Some of the most notable examples of Spanish architecture from the Baroque period include the façades of the
University of Valladolid (1719) and the western façade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (1750).
 Baroque and Its Association with Colonialism
 The emergence of Baroque architecture coincided with European colonialism. During this period much wealth was
brought in for development. For example, Spain controlled much colonial wealth, and this is the reason the Baroque
style developed extensively in Spain.
 In France, the colonial money led to the construction of palaces and monarchies by powerful people, resulting in
economic industrialization. The industrialization brought about the architectural constructions that employed the
Baroque style.
 Rome in Italy is well known for its history as the home of churches. One of the first structures to be built in Rome
was the Santa Susanna church that used the Baroque architectural style. Caserta Palace was the largest building to
have been erected in the 18th century in Europe, and it was the last of Baroque architecture in Italy.
 In Malta Baroque architecture was introduced during the 17th century. During this period the first structures were
built using the Baroque style. The ornamental feature that often used decoration (such as the Wingnacourt arch) was
among the first Baroque architecture work. After the design of the Jesuits church in Malta, Baroque architecture
became popular, and as a result, many churches were built using this style.
 In Portugal, Santa Engracia church was the first church to be constructed by use of Baroque style. This church was found in
Lisbon and was designed by architect Joao Antunes. By 18th century architects from the northern part of Portugal had
adopted the concept of the Italian Baroque to take full advantage of the plasticity of the granite that was used in building tall
buildings.
 The first Baroque building in the kingdom of Hungary was the Jesuit church of Trvana that was built to resemble the Gesu
Church in Rome.
 In Russian sovereignty, Baroque architecture underwent three phases. That is, the first Moscow Baroque that involved the
use of white decoration on the brick walls that were red common with the construction of ancient churches, the second was
the advanced Petrine Baroque that was brought from the small countries, and the last phase was the Rastrelliesque Baroque.
 The most notable practitioners of the baroque style in Italy included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Maderno, and Francesco
Borromini. Developing later, in central Europe the most notable architect was Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. In
Britain, baroque was adopted by Christopher Wren and Nicolas Hawksmoor.
Some of the most notable buildings incorporating the baroque style are:

 St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.

 Winter Palace, St. Petersburg.
 Karlskirche, Vienna.
 Palace of Versailles, Versailles.
 Les Invalides, Paris.
 St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
 San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome.
 St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta.
 Baroque Architecture Style

 Baroque architecture is characterized by dynamic designs and complex architectural

plan forms; intended to heighten feelings of motion and sensuality, and frequently based on
the oval. There is often a mixture of the repetition, break-up and distortion of Renaissance
classical motifs.
 Building materials
 Baroque architects decided to cast wood aside and use brick and stone in the construction
of new buildings. Limestone and slate were often used for the exteriors, and more noble
materials, like red and gray granite, were often used for the interiors.

Common elements include:

• Grandeur.
• Contrast.
• Curves and twists.
• Rich surface treatments.
• Gilded statuary.
• Bright colours.
• Vividly painted ceilings.
• Fragmented or deliberately incomplete elements.
• Large-scale frescoes.
• Dramatic central projections on an external façade.
• Use of plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing.
• Illusory effects such as trompe l’oeil.
• Pear-shaped domes
• Vaults, Arches, Buttresses
 CHARACTERISTICS

 Though examples are to be found almost throughout Europe and Latin America, they differ notably from one
country to another.
 In Spain the term 'Baroque' originally denoted an irregular, oddly-shaped pearl, whereas in Italy it meant a
pedantic, contorted argument of little dialectic value. As in Renaissance architecture, the two most popular
types of architectural commissions during the Baroque era involved either churches or palaces. In their
different versions they respectively included cathedrals, parish churches, and monastic buildings, and town
and country mansions, and above all royal palaces, these last being especially typical of the period. In addition
to such individual buildings, Baroque architecture was also characterized by what is now known as town
planning: the arrangement of cities according to predetermined schemes, and the creation of great parks and
gardens around residences of importance.
 Baroque architecture often used visual and theatrical effects, designed to surprise and awes the viewer:
 Domes
Domes were a common feature. Their
interiors were often painted with a sky
filled with angels and sculpted
sunbeams, suggesting glory or a vision
of heaven. Pear-shaped domes were
sometimes used in the Bavarian, Czech
, Polish and Ukrainian Baroque

Interior view of Dome of the Church of the Gesù by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, and
Giacomo della Porta
 Quadratura

Paintings in trompe-l'œil of angels and

saints in the dome and on the ceiling,
combined with stucco frames or decoration,
which give the illusion of three dimensions,
and of looking through the ceiling to the
heavens. Sometimes painted or sculpted
figures of Atlantes appear to be holding up
the ceiling. In some Baroque churches,
illusionistic ceiling painting gave the
illusion of three dimensions.

Trompe-l'œil effect on the ceiling of the Church of the Gesu, Rome, by Giovanni Battista
Gaulli (completed 1679)
Illusionistic painting on the ceiling of the Jesuit church in Vienna by Andrea
Pozzo (1703)
 Grand stairways.

Stairways often occupied a central

place and were used for dramatic
effect. Winding upwards in stages,
giving changing views from
different levels, serving as a setting
for ceremonies.

Grand staircase of the Würzburg Residence (1720–1780)

Cartouche

(A cartouche (also cartouch) is an oval or

oblong design with a slightly convex
surface, typically edged with ornamental
scrollwork. It is used to hold a painted or
low-relief design. Since the early 16th
century, the cartouche is a scrolling frame
device, derived originally from Italian
cartuccia. Such cartouches are
characteristically stretched, pierced and
scrolling) in elaborate forms and sculpted
frames break up the surfaces and add three-
dimensional effects to the walls.

Cartouche on a Neo-Baroque house from Bucharest, Romania

Mirrors

Mirrors to give the impression of depth and

greater space, particularly when combined
with windows, as in the Hall of Mirrors at the
Palace of Versailles

Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles

 Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro. Use of strong contrasts of

darkness and light for dramatic effect.

Giovanni Baglione. Sacred and Profane Love. 1602–1603, showing

dramatic compositional chiaroscuro
 Overhead sculpture

Overhead sculpture. Putti (A putto (Italian: [putto];

plural putti [ˈputti] is a figure in a work of art depicted
as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes
winged. Originally limited to profane passions in
symbolism, the putto came to represent the sacred
cherub (plural cherubim), and in Baroque art the putto
came to represent the omnipresence of God. A putto
representing a cupid is also called an amorino (plural
amorini) or amoretto (plural amoretti) or figures on
or just below the ceiling, made of wood (often gilded),
plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing, giving the
impression of floating in the air.

Putti_mantegna
 Solomonic columns

Solomonic columns (The Solomonic column, also

called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column,
characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a
corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific
classical order, although most examples have
Corinthian or Composite capitals. But it may be
crowned with any design, for example, making a
Roman Doric solomonic or Ionic solomonic column)
which gave an illusion of motion

Renaissance gateway in Granada

Elliptical or oval spaces

Elliptical or oval spaces,

eliminating right angles. Sometimes
an oval nave was surrounded by
radiating circular chapels. This was
a distinctive feature of the
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpe
rs
of Balthasar Neumann

Plan of the Late Baroque Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers by

Balthasar Neumann, constructed between 1743 and 1772. The altar is in an oval in
the center.
Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Broad naves

Broad naves: In churches, it is

characterized by broad naves (the
central part of a church where services
are held) with oval forms.
Unfinished elements

 Unfinished elements: A famous element

of Baroque architecture is the
deliberately unfinished architectural
elements that help give the design a
unique feature.

Lighting

 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:
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.
 Domestic Interior Designs
 Two other characteristic themes treated by Baroque architects concerned domestic interior structures: the complex great
staircases that began to appear in all aristocratic buildings from the seventeenth century onwards, sometimes becoming the
dominating feature; and the gallery, in origin a wide, decorated corridor, and another showpiece, of which the Galerie des
Glaces at Versailles is an outstanding example. Often the gallery, like many other rooms in the Baroque period, would be
painted with illusionist scenes, conveying a realistic extension in every direction of the gallery itself which would often
actually intrude upon the architecture, reducing it to a secondary role.

 The Baroque is essentially an art of illusion, in which all the tricks of scene painting, false perspective and trompe-l'oeil,
are employed without scruple to achieve a total effect. It was also the first step back towards a conception which the
Middle Ages knew, but which the High Renaissance abandoned, that of the subordination of painting and sculpture to the
plastic unity of the building they were to decorate, A Renaissance altarpiece or statue was conceived as an isolated thing by
itself, without very much relation to its surroundings; Baroque painting or carving is an integral part of its setting, and if
removed from it, loses nearly all its effect.
 The Baroque Idea of a Building

 A building can be conceived of in many different ways: as an assemblage of superimposed storeys (the present
attitude); or more like a piece of sculpture (the theory of Greek architecture); as a box defined by walls of regular
shape (as Renaissance architects understood it); or as a skeletal structure, that is, one formed - according to the Gothic
conception - by the various structures needed to sustain it. Baroque architects understood it as a single mass to be
shaped according to a number of requirements. A verbal description of Renaissance forms might be accompanied by
the drawing of imaginary straight lines in the air with an imaginary pencil; but a man describing the Baroque is more
apt to mime the shaping out of an imaginary mass of soft plastic or clay. In short, for Baroque architects a building was
to some extent a kind of large sculpture.
 Ground-Plans
 This conception had a vital effect on the ground-plan - the outlines of the building as seen from above - that came to be
adopted. It led to the rejection of the simple, elementary, analytical plans which were deliberately preferred by Renaissance
architects. Their place was taken by complex, rich, dynamic designs, more appropriate to constructions which were no
longer thought of as 'built', or created by the union of various parts each with its own autonomy, but rather as hollowed out,
shaped from a compact mass by a series of demarcations of contour. The ground-plans common to the architecture of the
Renaissance were the square, the circle, and the Greek cross - a cross, that is, with equal arms. Those typical of Baroque
architecture were the ellipse or the oval, or far more complex schemes derived from complicated geometrical figures.
Francesco Castelli (1599-1667), better known by the name he adopted for himself, Francesco Borromini, designed a
church with a ground-plan in the shape of a bee, in honour of the patron who commissioned it, whose family coat-of-arms
featured bees; and another with walls that were throughout alternately convex and concave. One French architect went so
far as to put forward ground-plans for a series of churches forming the letters which composed the name of his king, LOUIS
LE GRAND, as the Sun-King Louis XIV liked to be called.
 Baroque Architecture's Undulating Motif
 Besides their complex ground-plans, the resultant curving walls were, therefore, the other outstanding characteristic of
Baroque buildings. Not only did they accord with the conception of a building as a single entity, but they also introduced
another constant of the Baroque, the idea of movement, into architecture, by its very nature the most static of all the arts. And
indeed, once discovered, the undulating motif was not confined to walls. The idea of giving movement to an architectural
element in the form of more or less regular curves and counter-curves became a dominant motif of all Baroque art. Interiors
were made to curve, from the Church of S. Andrea al Quirinale by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the main creators and
exponents of Roman Baroque, to that of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane or S. Ivo alla Sapienza by Borromini, his closest
rival. So too were facades, as in almost all Borromini's work, in Bernini's plans for the Palais du Louvre in Paris, and typically
in the work of Italian, Austrian, and German architects. Even columns were designed to undulate. Those of Bernini's great
baldacchino in the centre of St Peter's in Rome were only the first of a host of spiral columns to be placed in Baroque
churches. The Italian architect Guarino Guarini actually evolved, and put to use in some of his buildings, an 'Undulating
order', in the form of a complete system of bases, columns, and entablatures distinguished by continuous curves.
 Even excepting such extremes, during the Baroque period the taste for curves was nonetheless marked, and found further
expression in the frequent use of devices including volutes, scrolls, and above all, 'ears' - architectural and ornamental
elements in the form of a ribbon curling round at the ends, which were used to form a harmonious join between two points at
different levels. This device was adopted primarily as a feature of church facades, where they were used so regularly as to be
now perhaps the readiest way of identifying a Baroque exterior. In spite of their bizarre shape their function was not purely
decorative, but principally a strengthening, functional one.
 Vaults, Arches, Buttresses
 The churches of the period were always built with vaulted ceilings. A vault - first seen in Roman architecture and afterwards in
Romanesque architecture - is in effect, however, a collection of arches; and since arches tend to exert an outward pressure on
their supporting walls, in any vaulted building a counterthrust to this pressure is needed. The element supplying this
counterthrust is the buttress, an especially typical feature in the architecture of the Middle Ages, when the difficulty was first
confronted. To introduce the buttress into a Baroque construction it had to have a form compatible with that of the other
members, and to avoid reference to the barbaric, 'gothic' architecture of the past. This was a problem of some importance in an
age enamoured of formal consistency - and it was solved by the use of scrolls. The greatest English architect of the age, Sir
Christopher Wren, unable for other reasons to use the convenient scrolls for St Paul's Cathedral, yet having somehow to
provide buttresses, made the bold decision to raise the walls of the outer aisles to the height of those of the nave so that they
might act as screens, with the sole purpose of concealing the incompatible buttresses. False ceilings were sometimes painted
onto the actual ceiling in a trompe l'oeil manner, using the technique of Quadratura (see below). See also works by Wren's
predecessor Inigo Jones (1573-1652).
 Compare the austere whitewashed architecture of Dutch Protestant churches, as depicted in the architectural paintings of
church interiors by Pieter Saenredam (1597-1665) and Emanuel de Witte (1615-92).
 The Baroque Concept of Building Design: Architectural Sculpture
 Another, and decisive, consequence of the conception of a building as a single mass to be articulated was that a construction
was no longer seen as the sum of individual parts - facade, ground-plan, internal walls, dome, apse, and so on - each one of
which might be considered separately. As a result the traditional rules which determined the planning of these parts became
less important or was completely disregarded. For example, for the architects of the Renaissance the facade of a church or a
palace had been a rectangle, or a series of rectangles each of which had corresponded to a storey of the building. For Baroque
architects the facade was merely that part of the building that faced outwards, one element of a single entity. The division into
storeys was generally retained, but almost always the central part of the facade was organised with reference more to what was
above and below it than to what stood on either side: in other words, it was given a vertical emphasis and thrust which was in
strong contrast to the practice of horizontal division by storeys. Furthermore, in the facade the elements - columns, pilasters,
cornices, or pediments - projecting from the wall surface, related in various ways to the centre, which thus came to dominate
the sides. Although at first sight such a facade might seem to be divided horizontally, more careful consideration reveals that it
is organized vertically, in slices, as it were. In the centre is the more massive, more important section, and the sides, as the eye
recedes froth it, appear less weighty. The final effect is that of a building which has been shaped according to sculptural
concepts, rather than put together according to the traditional view of architecture.
 A Baroque building is complex, surprising, dynamic: for its characteristic features to be fully comprehended, however, or for
them to stand out prominently, it needs to catch the light in a particular way. It was this requirement that led Baroque sculptors
to achieve a number of innovations. See, for instance, Bernini's unique use of light in The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) in
the Cornaro Chapel in Rome
 Architectural Manipulation of Light
 It is not the light that falls on a particular point in a given building that varies, but the effect the light produces in striking one
surface by contrast with another. It is obvious that the texture of a brick wall is not the same as that of a similar wall of smooth
marble or of rough-hewn stone. This fact was exploited by Baroque architects for both the exteriors and the interiors of their
buildings. Renaissance constructions, like many modern ones, were based on simple, elementary proportions and relationships;
and their significance rested in the observer's appreciation of the harmony that united the various parts of the whole. These
proportions were perceptible by looking at the fabric alone: all that was required of the light was to make them clearly visible.
The ideal effect, sought in almost all the buildings of that period, was that produced by a monochrome, uniform lighting. In place
of the appreciation of logic that such an effect implied, Baroque substituted the pursuit of the unexpected, of 'effect', as it would
be called in the theatre. And as in the theatre, this is achieved more easily by deployment of light if the light itself is concentrated
in one area while others remain in darkness or in shadow - a lesson mastered above all by Caravaggio in Baroque painting.
 How can this effect be achieved in architecture? There are various possibilities: by the juxtaposition of strong projections and
overhangs with abrupt, deep recesses; or by breaking up the surface, making it unsmooth in some way - to return, for example, to
the example used earlier, by altering a marble-clad or plaster-covered wall to one of large, rough stones. Such requirements of
lighting dictated a use in particular for architectonic decoration, the small-scale elements, often carved, which give a effect of
movement to the surfaces of a building. It was in the Baroque period above all that such decoration ran riot. In buildings of the
Renaissance it had been confined to specific areas, carefully detached from the structural forms. Now, parading the exuberance
and fantasy which were its distinguishing characteristic, it invaded every angle, swarmed over every feature, especially corners
and points where two surfaces met, where it had the function of concealing the join so that the surfaces of the building appeared
to continue uninterrupted.
 Undulating Order of Architecture
 To the five traditional orders of architecture - Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite, each of which had particular
forms and proportions for its supporting members, the columns and pilasters, and for the vertical linking members, or
entablature - was added the 'Undulating' order. Another new and popular variant was the 'Colossal order', with columns
running up through two or three storeys. The details, too, of the traditional orders became enriched, complicated, modified:
entablatures had stronger overhangs and more pronounced re-entrants, and details throughout sometimes attained an almost
capricious appearance. Borromini, for instance, in using the Corinthian order, took its most characteristic feature, the curls, or
volutes, which sprout from among the acanthus leaves at the tort of the capital, and inverted them.
 The arches connecting one column or one pilaster to the next became no longer restricted, as in the Renaissance, to a semi-
circle but were often elliptical or oval. Above all they took the form, unique to the Baroque, of a double curve - describing a
curve, that is, not only when seen from in front but also when seen from above. Sometimes arches were interrupted in form,
with sections of straight lines inserted into the curve. This characteristic feature was also used in pediments the decorative
element above a door, a window or a whole building. The canonical shape of a pediment, which is to say that fixed by classical
norms, had been either triangular or semi-circular. In the Baroque period, however, they were sometimes open - as though they
had been split or interrupted at the top - or combining curved and straight lines; or fantastic, as for example in Guarino
Guarini's plan for Palazzo Carignano, where they appeared around doors and windows like draperies rolled back.
 Windows too were often far removed from classical forms: to the rectangular or square shapes sometimes with
rounded tops, which were typical of the Renaissance were added shapes including ovals or squares topped by a
segment of a circle, or rectangles beneath little oval windows.
 Other details, on entablatures, doors, and keystones of arches and at corners - everywhere - included volutes;
stucco figures; huge, complex, and majestic scrolls; and any number of fantastic and grotesque shapes. One form
of decoration not characteristic so much as striking was the use of the tower. Sometimes a single one, sometimes
pairs of them; but always complex and highly decorated, were erected on the facade, and sometimes on the dome,
of churches; and in some countries, in particular Austria, Germany, and Spain, this arrangement was used often
enough to become in effect the norm.
 In England, Blenheim Palace (1724), designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, is one of the most famous examples of solid
mass - notably the flanking square towers - being arranged in a supremely confident way. A trumpet-blast of a
building!
 These, briefly then, were the most obvious and frequently used motifs of Baroque architecture. It must be
remembered however that each individual work created its own balance between its various features; and also that
each country developed these components in different ways; and an understanding of these regional and national
differences is essential to a proper understanding of the Baroque as a whole.
 Urban Planning/settlement pattern

 Going beyond the appearance of individual buildings, a number of more general themes were also typical of the Baroque style
of architecture. The first was the way in which Baroque architects were the first to confront the task of town-planning
practically rather than in theory. Principally they dealt with it in terms of the circus and the straight road. Into the fabric of
the city they cut circuses, each dominated by some structure, a church, a palace, a fountain, and then linked these points with a
network of long, straight avenues aimed, so to speak, at these structures. It was not a perfect solution, but it was ingenious for
the time. Indeed, for the first time a system was devised for planning, or replanning, a city, making it more beautiful, more
theatrical, and above all more comprehensible because subordinate to a rule. Through the use of such schemes for town-
planning, which parallel those of the French type of garden, conceived on the same principle, there evolved the great
monumental fountains, in which architecture, sculpture, and water combined to form an ideal centrepiece and to express the
Baroque feeling for scenography and movement. It was no chance that Rome, the city which more than any other was planned
according to the new norms of the seventeenth century, is par excellence a city of fountains.
Bascillica circus

City of Vatican
Tervi fountain
 Definitions of Terms
 Counter-Reformation: The period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years’ War
(1648); sometimes considered a response to the Protestant Reformation.
 Baroque: A period in western art from c. 1600 to the middle of the 18th century, characterized by drama, rich color, and dramatic contrast between light
and shadow.
 Parterre: A garden with paths between flowerbeds.
 Brocade: A thick, heavy fabric into which raised patterns have been woven.
 Molding: A plane or curved narrow surface, either sunk or projecting, used for decoration by means of the lights and shades upon its surface and to
conceal joints, especially between unlike materials.
 Arcade: A row of arches.
 Parapet: Part of a perimeter that extends above the roof.
 Pilaster: A rectangular column that projects partially from the wall to which it is attached; it gives the appearance of a support but is only for decoration.
 Herrerian: A style of architecture developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598) and continued in
force in the 17th century, transformed then by the Baroque current of the time.
 Moorish: Of or pertaining to a style of Spanish architecture from the time of the Moors, characterized by the horseshoe arch and ornate, geometric
decoration.
 Baroque: A period in western art from c. 1600 to the middle of the 18th century, characterized by drama, rich color, and dramatic contrast between light
and shadow.
 Obelisk: A tall, square, tapered stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
 Summary and Conclusion

 Baroque architecture adopted roman way of architecture but was mordernised. Their purpose is to show the boldness of
the roman. During this period, their civic structure was influenced by private residences, towns houses were developed
into multi- storied structures with elaborated interior decorations. Residence are integrated with graders with natural
landscape.
 References

 Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. Baroque & Rococo. London: Phaidon Press, 2012.
  Cabanne, Perre (1988), L'Art Classique et le Baroque, Paris: Larousse, ISBN 978-2-03-583324-2
 Ducher, Robert, Caractéristique des Styles, (1988), Flammarion, Paris (In French);  ISBN 2-08-011539-1
  Texier, Simon (2012). Paris- Panorama de l'architecture. Parigramme. ISBN 978-2-84096-667-8.
  Oudin, Bernard (1992), Dictionnaire des Architects (in French), Paris: Seghers, ISBN 2-232-10398-6
 Tolman, Rolf, L'Art baroque: Architecture – Sculpture – Peinture, (2015), H.F. Ullmann, Cologne-Paris, (in French);  ISBN 978-3-8480-0856-8
 Robbins Landon, H. C. and David Wyn Jones (1988) Haydn: His Life and Music. Thames and Hudson.
 (top) Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov, Model for the Central Part of the Façade of the Great Kremlin Palace, Moscow, 1769-1773, A. V. Shchusev State Research
Museum of Architecture, Moscow
 (bottom) Studio of Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov, Section for the Oval Plaza of the Great Kremlin Palace, Moscow, 1769, A.V. Shchusev State Research
Museum of Architecture, Moscow
 Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov, Model for the Central Part of the Façade of the Great Kremlin Palace, Moscow, 1769-1773, A. V. Shchusev State Research
Museum of Architecture, Moscow
 Girolamo Frigimelica (architect) and Giovanni Gloria and/or Sante Benato (model makers), Model for the Villa Pisani, Stra, c. 1716, Musei Civici
Veneziani, Museo Correr, Venice
