BAROQUE

ARCHITECTURE
LATE 16TH CENTURY – EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Ar226- History of architecture

INTRODUCTION
◦ The building style of the Baroque
era, begun in late 16th- century Italy,
that took the Roman vocabulary of
Renaissance architecture .
◦  In Spain the term 'Baroque'
originally denoted an irregular,
oddly-shaped pearl, whereas in Italy Fernando de Casa Novo's façade of
the Cathedral of Santiago de
it meant a pedantic. Compostela
(1738-1750).
HISTORY and RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
◦ As the 16th century unfolded, the religious, political and philosophical certainties
which had prevailed during the Early (c.1400-85) and High (1486-1520)
Renaissance periods, began to unravel.
◦ Encouraged by Roman catholic church 
◦ A response to the protestant reformation
◦  the Counter-Reformation movement-often to express the triumph of the Catholic
Church and the absolutist state -
◦ 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.
◦  In general, Baroque architecture constituted part of the struggle for religious
superiority and for the hearts and minds of worshippers across Europe.
 Sant Andrea al Quirinale
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES By Gian Lorenzo Bernini

◦ Bold massive colonnade and domes

◦ Broader naves and sometimes oval forms 
◦ Dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade
contrasts (chiaroscuro effects)
◦ Opulent use of colour and ornaments (figures made of
wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux
finishing) 
◦ Portrayed emotional intensity- facial expressions and
dramatic movements.
◦ The skills of reproducing reallistic effects in all media
were developed, e.g.- marble, oil on canvas, etching
etc. 
GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE

BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE’S INFLUENCE

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Baroque
 architecture is
characterised 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. Common
elements include:
Grandeur.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Domes

were a common feature.

Their interiors were often
painted with a sky filled
with angels and sculpted
sunbeams. Pear-shaped
domes were sometimes
used in the Bavarian,
Czech, Polish and
Ukrainian Baroque
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
cartouche

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.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE

columns

In other words, a column is

a compression member. The
term column applies
especially to a large round.

Solomonic Verziere
Plague
column Column
column
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERS OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Quadratura

"opening up" of walls

through architectural
illusion, the term is most
commonly associated with
Italian ceiling painting.
 PERIODS OF BAROQUE ARCITECTURE

• Early • High • Late

Baroque Baroque Baroque
ca. 1600-25 ca. 1625-75 ca. 1675-
Protestant
Reformation as
1725
The style had
already flourished
Protestantism was across the entire
beginning to become During this era, the Europe and to the
more dominant. style gradually Portugal and Spain
More or less a spread beyond Rome colonies in the New
propaganda to attract World. Each country
more people to the developed its own
Catholic faith signature Baroque.
 ◦ The foremost pioneer of
Baroque architecture was
Carlo Maderno, whose
FLORAL\ masterpiece is the facade of
Saint Peter's Basilica,
EARLY
Vatican City.
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE ◦ Prior to Maderno, Saint Peter's
had featured a central plan
LEADING
REGION: ITALY. design, upon which various
architects had worked
◦ The great dome of Saint Peter's
is also chiefly Michelangelo's
Saint Peter's Basilica,
work Vatican City
FLORAL\
EARLY
BAROQUE
 ◦ its facade is "the first
truly baroque façade",.
◦ The church served as
model for innumerable
Jesuit churches all over
the world, especially in
FLORAL\ the Americas.
EARLY ◦ Its paintings in the
BAROQUE nave, crossing, and side
chapels became models
for Jesuit churches
The Church of the throughout Italy and
Gesù is located in the
Piazza del Gesù in
Europe, as well as those
Rome. By Giacomo of other orders.
della Porta
HIGH
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE

LEADING
REGION: ITALY
 San Carlino, is a Roman
Catholic church in
Rome, Italy. By Ar.
Francesco Borromini.

the concave-convex
facade of San Carlo
undulates in a non-
classic way.

Tall corinthian columns

stand on plinths and bear
the main entablatures;

these define the main

framework of two
storeys and the tripartite
bay division.
 St. Peter's
Piazza,
Vatican City
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
 Bernini used the obelisk as
the centerpiece for the piazza

constructed with colossal

Tuscan colonnades.
Four columns deep
framed the trapezoidal
entrance of the basilica
 Pavillon de l’Horloge by Jacques Lemercier

The famous structure, with its square-domed

roof, was designed by architect Jacques
Lemercier (1585–1654).

HIGH The name comes from a clock (French:

horloge) later incorporated into its elevation.
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE

IN FRANCE
 Château de Maisons-Laffitte\Château de Maisons

• visitor arrived by one of two avenues that crossed in

a T intersection before the gate to the cour
d'honneur
•  rectangular platform outlined in the French
manner with a dry moat
HIGH • The cour d'honneur was defined by terraces
• The single pile construction typical of its epoch
BAROQUE carries three storeys, a basement supporting a
ARCHITECTURE ground floor and piano nobile with three attic floors
above.
IN FRANCE
 • marks the ascent of France as
the heart of Western culture.

• Baroque art of France (and

northern Europe generally)
LATE tends to be restrained, such
that it can be described as a
BAROQUE classical-Baroque
ARCHITECTURE compromise.
LEADING
REGION:FRANCE
• The most distinctive element
of French Baroque
architecture is the double-
sloped mansard roof (a French
innovation).
 Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles
By Jules Hardouin-Mansart

The grandiose ensemble of the Hall and its

adjoining salons was intended to illustrate the
power of the absolutist monarch Louis XIV.

The Mirror Hall's 17 windows open in the

LATE direction of the park. On the opposite inside wall
BAROQUE of the Hall are 17 equally large mirrors,
• composed of more than 350 individual mirror
ARCHITECTURE
surfaces
LEADING
REGION:FRANCE
 Christopher Wren was the
leading figure of the late
Baroque in England, with his
reconstruction of St. Paul's
Cathedral (1675–1711) inspired
by the model of St. Peter's
ENGLISH Basilica in Rome.
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
 Blenheim Palace
by John Vanbrugh and Nicolas Hawksmoor

English Baroque style, architectural

appreciation of the palace is as divided today
as it was in the 1720s.

ENGLISH
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
 • Political and economic crises in
the 17th century largely delayed
the arrival of the Baroque in
Span until the late period,
though the Jesuits strongly
SPANISH promoted it.
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE • Its early characteristics were a
lavish exterior contrasting with
a relatively simple interior and
multiple spaces.

• They carefully planned lighting Late Baroque facade,

in the interior to give an Cathedral of Santiago de
impression of mystery. Early Compostela (1738–1750)
18th century,
 The cathedral has historically
been a place of pilgrimage on the
Way of St. James since the Early
Middle Ages and marks the
traditional end of the pilgrimage
SPANISH route. The building is a
BAROQUE Romanesque structure, with
ARCHITECTURE later Gothic and Baroque
additions.

Late Baroque facade,

Cathedral of Santiago de
Compostela (1738–1750)
  Palacio de San Telmo

It is built on a rectangular plan,

with several interior courtyards,
including a central courtyard,
SPANISH towers on the four corners, a
BAROQUE chapel, and garden.
ARCHITECTURE

Palacio de San Telmo in

Seville by Leonardo de
Figueroa (1682–1895)
 IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Many of the most extraordinary
buildings of the Late Baroque
were constructed in Austria,
Germany, and Czechia
CENTRAL
EUROPE
BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Austrian architect Austrian architect

Johann Bernhard Johann Lukas

Fischer von Erlach von Hildebrandt

Christoph German architect

Dientzenhofer Johann Balthasar
WORK Neumann
 Melk
  Abbey
by Jakob Prandtauer (1702–
1736)
CENTRAL The abbey contains the tomb of
Saint Coloman of Stockerau
EUROPE
and the remains of several
BAROQUE members of the House of
ARCHITECTURE
Babenberg, Austria's first
ruling dynasty.
 Karlskirche
By Fischer von Erlach
Located just outside of Innere
Stadt in Wieden,
CENTRAL approximately 200 meters outside
the Ringstraße, the church contains
EUROPE a dome in the form of an elongated
BAROQUE ellipsoid.
ARCHITECTURE