ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY II/

INTRO TO ARCH'L HISTORY II

301-251B/253B (3 cr.)

Winter 1998

Prof. Annmarie Adams

TA: Rhona Kenneally

In many ways, the baroque era was a critique of the art and architecture of the Renaissance. The term "baroque" was originally applied to pearls, referring to their irregular, non-spherical shape. We describe the culture of 17th-century Europe as baroque, because it used classical language in a new way, based on action, movement, emotion, and most importantly, persuasion.

Particularly in Italy, baroque architecture and planning were powerful tools of the Counter-Reformation. The city was a kind of theatre, in which the Catholic church attempted to express its absolute power. Examples of this are the Obelisk of Calligula, which was moved from the rear to the front of St. Peter's by engineer Domenico Fontana and the replanning of Rome under Pope Sixtus V in 1585 as the capital city of Catholicism. Focal points were accentuated with obelisks and fountains; pilgrims could visit all of the city's churches in a day.

A centre of civic life in Rome was the Piazza Navona with its fountain by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; a truly baroque plaza, however, was the Piazza del Popolo, in which twin churches "persuaded" the visitor to enter the Catholic city. Bernini's design for the piazza in front of St. Peter's in 1667 is one of the most successful urban spaces in the world. Sponsored by Pope Alexander VII, the project was intended to tie the Vatican to the city. Bernini's solution provided the full visibility of the church, access to the Vatican palace, and a covered ambulatory for processions. The piazza is baroque in that it is not a closed, finished form, but rather a dynamic, transparent design, intended to convince the pilgrim of the power of the Church.

San Andrea al Quirinale, 1658-70, also by Bernini, is a superb example of a baroque building--a theatre in which to tell the story of St. Andrew. The architecture is much more than a simple framework for this tale. It fully participates in the narrative as visitors are encouraged to experience religion in a new dramatic way.

The statues of David by Michelangelo (Renaissance) and by Bernini (Baroque) make a telling comparison of these two eras. While the art of the Renaissance was calm, confident, and self-assured, baroque art was much more emotional and tense. Both Davids are victorious and we are sure of their abilities, but they go about their tasks very differently.