BAROQUE

ARCHITECTURE
• IS THE BUILDING STYLE OF THE BAROQUE ERA, BEGUN IN
LATE 16TH-CENTURY ITALY, THAT TOOK THE ROMAN
VOCABULARY OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE AND USED
IT IN A NEW RHETORICAL AND THEATRICAL FASHION,
OFTEN TO EXPRESS THE TRIUMPH OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH AND THE ABSOLUTIST STATE.
• IT WAS CHARACTERIZED BY NEW EXPLORATIONS OF
FORM, LIGHT AND SHADOW, AND DRAMATIC INTENSITY.
• 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.
• 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 CHURCH.
• THE NEW STYLE MANIFESTED ITSELF IN PARTICULAR IN
THE CONTEXT OF THE NEW RELIGIOUS ORDERS, LIKE THE
THEATINES AND THE JESUITS WHO AIMED TO IMPROVE
POPULAR PIETY.
• A SYNTHESIS OF BERNINI, BORROMINI AND CORTONA'S
ARCHITECTURE CAN BE SEEN IN THE LATE BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE OF NORTHERN EUROPE WHICH PAVED THE
WAY FOR THE MORE DECORATIVE ROCOCO STYLE.
• IN GENERAL, BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE CONSTITUTED
PART OF THE STRUGGLE FOR RELIGIOUS SUPERIORITY AND
FOR THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF WORSHIPPERS ACROSS
EUROPE.
• MICHELANGELO'S LATE ROMAN BUILDINGS,
PARTICULARLY ST. BASILICA, MAY BE CONSIDERED
PRECURSORS TO BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE.
• HIS PUPIL GIACOMO DELLA PORTA CONTINUED THIS
WORK IN ROME, PARTICULARLY IN THE FACADE OF THE
JESUIT CHURCH II GESÜ, WHICH LEADS DIRECTLY TO THE
MOST IMPORTANT CHURCH FACADE OF THE EARLY
BAROQUE, SANTA SUSANNA (1603), BY CARLO MADERNO.
• ITS FACADE IS "THE FIRST TRULY BAROQUE FAGADE",
INTRODUCING THE BAROQUE STYLE INTO
ARCHITECTURE.

GROUND-PLANS
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.
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. 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
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
CAN INCLUDE:
• 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 (CHIAROSCURO EFFECTS) AS AT THE
ABBEY. OR UNIFORM LIGHTING BY MEANS OF SEVERAL
WINDPYVS (E.G. CHURCH OF WEING ARTEN ABBEY)
• OPULENT USE OF COLOR AND ORNAMENTS (PUTTI OR
FIGURES MADE OF WOOD (OFTEN GILDED). PLASTER OR
STUCCO, MARBLE OR FAUX FINISHING)
• LARGE-SCALE CEILING FRESCOES
• AN EXTERNAL FACADE OFTEN CHARACTERIZED BY A
DRAMATIC CENTRAL PROJECTION
• THE INTERIOR IS A SHELL FOR PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND
STUCCO (ESPECIALLY IN THE LATE BARPQUE)
• 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
                

EARLY BAROQUE
• THE FOREMOST PIONEER OF BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
WAS CARLO MADERNO, WHOSE MASTERPIECE IS THE
FACADE OF SAINT PETER'S BASILICA, VATICAN CITY.
(CONSTRUCTED UNDER VARIOUS ARCHITECTS
THROUGHOUT THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH
CENTURIES, SAINT PETER'S FEATURES A MIXTURE OF
RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE COMPONENTS, THE FACADE
BEING ONE OF THE LATTER.)
• PRIOR TO MADERNO, SAINT PETER'S HAD FEATURED A
CENTRAL PLAN DESIGN, UPON WHICH VARIOUS
ARCHITECTS HAD WORKED (ESPECIALLY MICHELANGELO).
MADERNO CONVERTED THE BUILDING INTO A LATIN
CROSS BASILICA BY EXTENDING THE NAVE, THUS PUSHING
THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE CHURCH FORWARD. SAINT
PETER'S CAN THEREFORE BE ROUGHLY DIVIDED INTO OVO
PARTS: THE CORE (DESIGNED LARGELY BY
MICHELANGELO) AND THE FRONT EXTENSION (DESIGNED
BY MADERNO). THE GREAT DOME OF SAINT PETER'S IS
ALSO CHIEFLY MICHELANGELO'S WORK, THOUGH
MADERNO DID ADJUST ITS PROPORTIONS (BY STRETCHING
IT VERTICALLY).
              
MICHELANGELO, GIAN LORENZO
BERNINI, DONATO BRAMANTE, Raffaello
Sanzio da Urbino, Carlo Maderno, Antonio da
Sangallo the Younger, Giacomo della Porta,
Domenico Fontana, Giuliano da Sangallo, ,
Baldassare Peruzzi, Giacomo Barozzi da
Vignola, , Bernardo Rossellino, Pirro Ligorio,

NESCO WORLS HERITAGE SITE 1984

HIGH BAROQUE

• THE TWO FOREMOST NAMES IN BAROQUE

ARCHITECTURE ARE BERNINI
AND BORROMINI, BOTH OF WHOM
WORKED PRIMARILY IN ROME.
• TWO MASTERPIECES OF GIAN
LORENZO BERNIIN ARE FOUND
AT ST. PETER’S. ONE IS THE
FOUR-STOREY BALDACHIN
THAT STANDS OVER THE HIGH
ALTAR. (A BALDACHIN IN AN
INDOOR CANOPY OVER A
REPECTED OBJECT, SUCH AS AN ALTAR OR THRONE.) THE
OTHER IS THE CURVING COLONNADES THAT FRAME ST.
PETER’S SQUARE.
• BERNINI’S MOST FAMOUD BUILDING IS LIKELY THE
SMALL CHURCH OF SANT’ANDREA AL QUIRINAL (‘’SAINT
ANDREW’S ON QUIRINALE HILL’’). QUIINAL HILL IS ONE OF
THE ‘‘SEVEN HILLS OF ROME.’’
• FRANCESCO BORROMINI WAS
THE MASTER OF CURVED-
WALL ARCHITECTURE.
THOUGH HE DESIGNED MANY
LARGE BUILDINGS,
BORROMINI'S MOST FAMOUS
AND INFLUENTIAL WORK
MAY BE THE SMALL CHURCH
OF SAN CARLO ALLE
QUATTRO FONTANE ("SAINT
CHARLES AT THE FOUR FOUNTAINS"). THIS BUILDING IS
ALSO FOUND ON QUIRINAL HILL.

LATE BAROQUE
• THE LATE BAROQUE MARKS THE ASCENT OF FRANCE AS
THE HEART OF WESTERN CULTURE. BAROQUE ART OF
FRANCE (AND NORTHERN EUROPE GENERALLY) TENDS TO
BE RESTRAINED, SUCH THAT IT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS A
CLASSICAL-BAROQUE COMPROMISE. THE MOST
DISTINCTIVE ELEMENT OF FRENCH
BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE IS THE
DOUBLE-SLOPED MANSARD ROOF
(A FRENCH INNOVATION).
• THE MOST FAMOUS BAROQUE STRUCTURES OF FRANCE
ARE MAGNIFICENT CHATEAUX (GRAND COUNTRY
RESIDENCES), GREATEST OF WHICH IS THE PALACE OF
VERSAILLES. ONE OF THE LARGEST RESIDENCES ON
EARTH, VERSAILLES WAS BUILT MAINLY UNDER LOUIS
XIV, WHOSE PATRONAGE OF THE ARTS HELPED PROPEL
FRANCE TO THE CREST OF WESTERN
CULTURE.
• THE PALACE FACADE ADMIRABLY
ILLUSTRATES THE CLASSICAL-
BAROQUE COMPROMISE OF
NORTHERN EUROPE. THE WALLS
ARE CHARACTERIZED LARGELY
BY SIMPLE PLANAR DASSICISM,
ALTHOUGH THEY DO CONTAIN SUCH BAROQUE ELEMENTS
AS SCULPTED BUSTS, A TRIPLE STRINGCOURSE, DOUBLE
PILASTERS, AND COLOSSAL PILASTERS.
• ADDITIONALLY, THE MANSARD ROOF FEATURES A
SINUOUS METAL RAILING AND RICH MOULDING AROUND
THE DORMER WINDOWS. VERSAILLES BECAME EUROPE'S
MODEL OF PALACE ARCHITECTURE, INSPIRING SIMILARLY
GRAND RESIDENCES THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENT.
 ITALIAN
BAROQUE
• THE SACRED ARCHITECTURE OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD
HAD ITS BEGINNINGS IN THE ITALIAN PARADIGM OF THE
BASILICA WITH CROSSED DOME AND NAVE. ONE OF THE
FIRST ROMAN STRUCTURES TO BREAK WITH THE
MANNERIST CONVENTIONS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE GESÜ,
WAS THE CHURCH OF SANTA SUSANNA, DESIGNED BY

CARLO MADERNO.

• THE DYNAMIC RHYTHM OF COLUMNS AND PILASTERS,

CENTRAL MASSING, AND THE PROTRUSION AND
CONDENSED CENTRAL DECORATION ADD COMPLEXITY TO
THE STRUCTURE. THERE IS AN INCIPIENT PLAYFULNESS
WITH THE RULES OF CLASSIC DESIGN, STILL MAINTAINING
RIGOR. THEY HAD DOMED ROOFS.
 EXAMPLES

CHURCH OF THE GESÚ

GIACOMO DELLA PORTA ADDED THE FAÇADE TO THE
CHURCH OF THE GESÚ IN 1575—IT'S CONSIDERED TO BE
THE FIRST WORK OF THE BAROQUE MOVEMENT.
CONSTRUCTION:
BEGAN IN 1568
ARCHITECTS:
GIACOMO DELLA PORTA, GIACOMO BAROZZI DA VIGNOLA
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

SANTA SUSANNA
CARLO MADERNO’S 1603 VISION FOR SANTA SUSANNA IS
ALSO CONSIDERED AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE. (NOTE THE SIMILARITY TO THE FAÇADE
OF THE CHURCH OF THE GESÚ.) GENERALLY, AS THE
BAROQUE MOVEMENT PROGRESSED, SO DID THE DEGREE
OF ORNAMENTATION.
CONSTRUCTION:
1603
ARCHITECTS:
CARLO MADERNO
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

SANT’IVO ALLA SAPIENZA

SANT’IVO ALLA SAPIENZA IS ONE OF FRANCESCO
BORROMINI’S BEST WORKS. ITS CORKSCREW LANTERN SITS
ATOP A BUILDING THAT PAYS RESPECT TO CLASSICAL
ARCHITECTURE WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY FLOURISHING
WITH DETAIL.
CONSTRUCTION:
1642–1660
ARCHITECTS:
FRANCESCO BORROMINI
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

SAN CARLO ALLE QUATTRO FONTANE

THE INTERIOR OF FRANCESCO BORROMINI’S SAN CARLO
ALLE QUATTRO FONTANE DISPLAYS THE TYPE OF DETAIL
AND ORNAMENTATION THAT WAS PRAISED DURING THE
BAROQUE PERIOD. THIS WAS CONSIDERED
REPRESENTATIVE OF SACRED SPLENDOR.
CONSTRUCTION:
1630S AND EARLY 1640S
ARCHITECTS:
FRANCESCO BORROMINI
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

SANT’ANDREA AL QUIRINALE
GIAN LORENZO BERNINI WAS A HUGELY INFLUENTIAL
BAROQUE ARCHITECT. AS THE STYLE RADIATED FROM
ROME THROUGHOUT EUROPE, HIS NAME WOULD BECOME
SYNONYMOUS WITH THE DESIGN OF THEATRICAL SPACES
THAT STRIVED FOR EMOTIONAL STIMULATION. SEE THE
DRAMA IN THE SANT’ANDREA AL QUIRINALE CHURCH
FROM 1658.
CONSTRUCTION:
GROUNDBREAKING IN 1658 COMPLETED IN 1670

ARCHITECTS:
GIAN LORENZO BERNINI
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

ST. PETER’S SQUARE, VATICAN

THE HEART OF THE VATICAN IS THE MASSIVE ST. PETER’S
SQUARE. IN THE LATE 1600S GIAN LORENZO BERNINI
ADDED FOUR ROWS OF COLUMNS TO THE PERIMETER. THE
284 COLUMNS WERE A DRAMATIC—AND TRULY BAROQUE
—ADDITION TO THE SPACE.
CONSTRUCTION:
GROUNDBREAKING IN 18 APRIL 1506
COMPLETED IN 18 NOVEMBER 1626
ARCHITECTS:
GIAN LORENZO BERNINI
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

TREVI FOUNTAIN
TOSS A COIN INTO THE TREVI FOUNTAIN, WHICH DEPICTS
CLASSICAL FIGURES IN SUMPTUOUS DETAIL. THIS
EXAMPLE OF LATE BAROQUE, OR ALMOST EVEN ROCOCO,
ARCHITECTURE, IS LIGHTER IN MANY WAYS. IT'S NOT AS
FORMAL AS EARLIER ROMAN BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE, AS
IT CONVEYS ITS GRANDEUR LESS STRICTLY WITH MORE
FREE-FLOWING OPULENCE
CONSTRUCTION:
1732-1762
ARCHITECTS:
NICOLA SALVI, GIUSEPPE PANNINI
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

FRENCH
BAROQUE
• FRENCH BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE, SOMETIMES CALLED
FRENCH CLASSICISM, WAS A STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE
DURING THE REIGNS OF LOUIS XIII (1610–43), LOUIS XIV
(1643–1715) AND LOUIS XV (1715–74). IT WAS PRECEDED BY
THE FRENCH RENAISSANCE AND MANNERISM STYLES, AND
WAS FOLLOWED IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH
CENTURY BY NEO-CLASSICISM. THE STYLE WAS
ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY THE ITALIAN BAROQUE STYLE,
BUT, PARTICULARLY UNDER LOUIS XIV, IT GAVE GREATER
EMPHASIS TO REGULARITY, THE COLOSSAL ORDER OF
FACADES, AND THE USE OF COLONNADES AND CUPOLAS,
TO SYMBOLIZE THE POWER AND GRANDEUR OF THE KING.
• THE ATTEMPT OF THE FRENCH COURT TO INTRODUCE
ITALIAN BAROQUE INTO FRANCE, BY SUMMONING BERNINI
IN 1665 TO PARIS AND COMMISSIONING HIM TO DESIGN THE
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ROYAL PALACE - THE LOUVRE -
WAS DOOMED FROM THE OUTSET.
• AT THE COURT OF THE ROI SOLEIL A BAROQUE STYLE
WAS DEVELOPED WHICH WAS MORE RESTRAINED THAN
THE ITALIAN: GROUND-PLANS WERE LESS COMPLEX, AND
FACADES MORE SEVERE, WITH GREATER RESPECT FOR THE
DETAILS AND PROPORTIONS OF THE TRADITIONAL
ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS, AND VIOLENT EFFECTS AND
FLAGRANT CAPRICES WERE ESCHEWED.
• FRENCH BAROQUE PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCED 18TH-
CENTURY SECULAR ARCHITECTURE THROUGHOUT
EUROPE. IN PARTICULAR, THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES AND
THE PRDIN Å LA FRANGAISEWERE COPIED BY OTHER
COURTS ALL OVER EUROPE.

EXAMPLE
PALACE OF VERSAILLES
CONSTRUCTION:
C.1624-98
ARCHITECTS:
ANDRÉ LE NÔTRE, LOUIS LE VAU, JULES HARDOUIN-
MANSART, ANGE-JACQUES GABRIEL, ROBERT DE COTTE,
CLAUDE PERRAULT, JACQUES GABRIEL, PHILIBERT LE ROY,
FRÉDÉRIC NEPVEU
PRESENT STATUS:
WORLD HERITAGE SITE BY UNESCO IN 1979

VAUX-LE-VICOMTE PALACE
THIS PALACE CLEARLY
SHOWS THE USE OF
CLASSICAL ORDERS IN THE
EXTERIORS AND THE
IMPORTANCE GIVEN TO THE
GARDENS. THESE TWO ELEMENTS WOULD BECOME THE
RULE FOR FRENCH BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE. THIS
BUILDING GAVE A NAME TO FRENCH ARCHITECT LOUIS LE
VAU AND IT CAN BE CONSIDERED THE PREDECESSOR OF
VERSAILLES, ONCE LE VAU WAS NAMED ROYAL
ARCHITECT BY LOUIS XIV.
CONSTRUCTION:
1661
ARCHITECT:
LOUIS LE VAU
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

THE LOUVRE FAÇADE

THE NEW FACADE FEATURED THE COLOSSAL ORDER; THAT IS,
A LONG ROW OF DOUBLE COLUMNS TWO STORIES HIGH,
RESTING ON TOP OF A MASSIVE LOWER LEVEL WITH AN
ARCADE OF ROUNDED ARCHES. IT HAD A FLAT ROOF
CONCEALED BY A BALUSTRADE, WITH A TRIANGULAR
FRONTON IN THE CENTER OVER THE MAIN ENTRY. PERRAULT
ALSO DESIGNED A NEW FACADE FOR THE COURTYARD
FACING THE RIVER TO THE SOUTH, A NEW FACADE ON THE
INTERIOR OF THE COURT FACING WEST, AND A MATCHING
NEW FACADE ON THE NORTH.
CONSTRUCTION:
1190
ARCHITECTS:
PIERRE LESCOT, LOUIS LE VAU, CLAUDE PERRAULT
PRESENT STATUS:
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN 1991

LES INVALIDES
LES INVALIDES FEATURES A
MAGNIFICENT FRONT FAÇADE AS WELL
AS 15 CHARMING COURTYARDS. THE
LARGEST OF THE COURTYARDS WAS
NAMED COUR D'HONNEUR, MEANING
COURT OF HONOUR, AND WAS USED
REGULARLY FOR MILITARY PARADES
AND EVENTS.
CONSTRUCTION:
1671
ARCHITECTS:
JULES HARDOUIN-MANSART, LIBÉRAL BRUANT
PRESENT STATUS:
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN 1991

LUXEMBOURG PALACE
FLOOR PLAN (1752) SHOWS THE LARGE ENCLOSED COUR
D'HONNEUR AND THE LONG RUBENS GALLERY IN THE
RIGHT WING. MARIE DE MÉDICIS INSTALLED HER
HOUSEHOLD IN 1625, WHILE WORK ON INTERIORS
CONTINUED. THE APARTMENTS IN THE RIGHT WING ON THE
WESTERN SIDE WERE RESERVED FOR THE QUEEN AND THE
MATCHING SUITE TO THE EAST, FOR HER SON, LOUIS XIII,
WHEN HE WAS VISITING.
CONSTRUCTION:
1615-1645
ARCHITECTS:
SALOMON DE BROSSE, JEAN CHALGRIN, ALPHONSE DE
GISORS, CLÉMENT II MÉTEZEAU
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING

SPANISH BAROQUE
• A STRAND OF BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE THAT EVOLVED
IN SPAIN, ITS PROVINCES, AND FORMER COLONIES.

• THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STYLE PASSED THROUGH

THREE PHASES. BETWEEN 1680 AND 1720, THE
CHURRIGUERA POPULARIZED GUARINI'S BLEND OF
SOLOMONIC COLUMNS AND COMPOSITE ORDER, KNOWN
AS THE "SUPREME ORDER".

• THREE OF THE MOST EYE-CATCHING CREATIONS OF

SPANISH BAROQUE ARE THE ENERGETIC FACADES OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VALLADOLID (DIEGO TOME AND FRAY
PEDRO DE LA VISITACIÖN, 1719), THE WESTERN FACADE
(OR FACHADA DEL OBRADOIRO) OF THE CATHEDRAL OF
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (FERNANDO DE CASAS Y
NOVOA, 1750) AND HOSPICIO DE SAN FERNANDO IN MADRID
(PEDRO DE RIBERA, 1 722), WHOSE CURVILINEAR
EXTRAVAGANCE SEEMS TO HERALD ANTONIO GAUDI AND
ART NOUVEAU.

EXAMPLES

GRANADA CATHEDRAL
GRANADA'S CATHEDRAL HAS A RECTANGULAR BASE DUE
TO ITS FIVE NAVES THAT COMPLETELY COVER THE CROSS.

ALL OF THE FIVE NAVES ARE STAGGERED IN HEIGHT, THE

CENTRAL ONE BEING THE LARGEST. AT THE FOOT OF THE
CATHEDRAL THERE ARE TWO TOWERS.
CONSTRUCTION:
GROUNDBREAKING 1526
COMPLETED 1561
ARCHITECTS:
DIEGO SILOE, ENRIQUE DE EGAS, FELIPE BIGARNY, JUAN
GIL DE HONTAÑÓN
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING
PLAZA MAYOR DE MADRID
GRANADA'S CATHEDRAL HAS A RECTANGULAR BASE DUE
TO ITS FIVE NAVES THAT COMPLETELY COVER THE CROSS.
ALL OF THE FIVE NAVES ARE STAGGERED IN HEIGHT, THE
CENTRAL ONE BEING THE LARGEST. AT THE FOOT OF THE
CATHEDRAL THERE ARE TWO TOWERS.
CONSTRUCTION:
STARTED: 1617
ARCHITECTS:
JUAN GÓMEZ DE MORA, JUAN DE HERRERA, JUAN DE
VILLANUEVA

PRESENT STATUS:
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN 1985
CASA DE LA VILLA DE MADRID
ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE SQUARE IS THE 17TH-
CENTURY FORMER AYUNTAMIENTO (TOWN HALL), IN
HABSBURG-STYLE BAROQUE WITH HERRERIAN SLATE-TILE
SPIRES. ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SQUARE IS THE
GOTHIC CASA DE LOS LUJANES, WHOSE BRICKWORK
TOWER IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN ‘HOME’ TO THE IMPRISONED
FRENCH MONARCH FRANÇOIS I AFTER HIS CAPTURE IN THE
BATTLE OF PAVIA (1525). THE PLATERESQUE (15TH- AND
16TH-CENTURY SPANISH BAROQUE) CASA DE CISNEROS,
BUILT IN 1537 WITH LATER RENAISSANCE ALTERATIONS,
ALSO CATCHES THE EYE.

CONSTRUCTION:
1631-1692
ARCHITECT:
JUAN GÓMEZ DE MORA
PRESENT STATUS:
STILL STANDING