Architecture Styles Spotter's Guide

CLASSICAL TEMPLES TO SOARING SKYSCRAPERS

Sarah Cunliffe Jean Loussier EDITORS

Sarah Cunliffe, Clare Haworth-Maden, Michael Kerrigan, Donna F. Shelmerdine, Stephen Small, M. Jane Taylor CONTRIBUTORS

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THUNDER P'R'E'S'S

San Diego, CalifC)rnia The Classical Heritage The Classical Heritage

THE CLASSICAL STYLE LEVI: The U.S. Capitol Influences from in Washington. DC, Classical features Earlier Civilizations STYLE FILE Roman anel anel It is hard to believe that such inf1uence has Notable Features: grace}ill Corinthian . U been exerted hy a 2,500-year-old civilization Common elements in all was built in 1793 to a by of smal] that were scattered around the Classical styles include and William Thornton aud subse• the eastern Mediterranean. But when the visual order. as well as quently nwdified by Ncod(cIsicist Greeks the architectural traditions the use of columns that supported lintels, • . of their ancI;stors in the region, as well as their es, and vaults. Persian and neighbors, they laid Where and When: down klll1ldations It)!· \'Vestcrn architecture Mediterranean region; that arc still intact. c. 6th century BC to 3rd century AD. Columns and Lintels In the sixth Be, the ancient Greeks the use of columns and lintels supports bearing the wcight of bor- to create structures of unpar• alleled and power. This Classical style is best symboli/.ed by the ele• gant Doric and Ionic temples of the flfth BELOW: Columns that

Be:. T'he pmity and beauty of build• lh] teis were III II() ng ings sucb as the and the I the basic components i Erec1ltlwioll on the Acropolis in , olchiteetllre. 1I1is

I Greece, had influence on later a Creek {elll'u/ein J-tr1ri,uerdo Oil i' ami eSDcciallv on the Homans. the isle ,out/w rn I: The GI'eek Influence I on Later Architecture Grand Ambitions tiieir across the The Romans also set about a much I iVlediternll1ci\l1world ill the Hrst and second wider range of public structures. As well as I clmtmjps Be. he r:OlTlans IIsed Creck styles I, I temples and theaters, they married Classical II (and to build imposing, styles with engineering prowess to create I, Ililil brilliant aqueducts, bridge~, , ,. bath But tbe HomallS did not imitate. They houses, and sewers-many of whieh still materials stand In doing so, the Romans gave to and added curve.s-• posterity a rich architectural vocabulary that domc--!o thc ~traight we have returned to repeatedly whenever we arch ilecturc that have sought symmetry, order, and beauty in the Greeks. our built landscape.

"1 ~3 The Classical Heritage The Classical Heritage

THE CLASSICAL ORDERS THE

The Classical orders of Doric, Ionic, and C0l1nthian are three styles of post The nrst, and simplest, order to develop was the Doric-appearing between and lintel that have been used and developed by architects from Classical about 1O00 and 600 BC. It was perfected inthe late sixth and early fifth cen• times to the present day. Togetber with the Roman dome and arch, they are turies BC. Its roots in earlier architectural styles are clear. Sonle elements are the basic vocabulary of most architecture in the \Vestern, Classical tradition. reminiscences of the structural necessities of wooden construction petrified in stone as ornamental features. What Is an Order? An order defines the style and structure of Simple Supports the columns, capitals, and used in Tbe plain, fluted Doric columns a building. How the is fluted; what emerge directly from the plinth style of decoration the has; the struc• (thcre is no column base). The flut• ture and ommnentation of the and cor• infi may have evolved from tied bun• nice-all of this is set by rules. dles of reeds or sticks, placed into The principal sections of an order are the holes in the ground, that were used column (which has a capital on top and, for supports in earlier times. depcnding on the order, a base below) and The plain, circular echinus (an the entablature (which typically consists of an inverted bell-shaped capital) and flat, , a fricze above that, and thcn a undecorated, square stone layer of stone jutting out above the frieze, togcther form a simple capital that supports a whidi is called a ). plain architrave. Above that, the fricze altere nates between and as you

BELOW: and column How Orders Were Used scan horizontally. Triglyphs (meaning "three BELOW: A column and capital at the detail (if II Neoclllssicol Some , like the Parthenon, fol• slits") are possibly a stylized tbrowback to the Doric at , Greece. Iowa single order (i.e., Doric). But many ends of cross beams originally used to support Classical buildings combine orders, s\lch the roof. The metopes carried carved marble as the Propylaea on the Acropolis, which or terra-cotta panels depicting heroic narra• combines Doric and Ionic, and the tives or images of the . Temple of at , Greece, Occasionally, the Doric style has a slightly which has a Doric cxterior, an Ionic inte• heavy look due to the thickness of columns rior, and the first known example of a such as those at the temples at , but COt1nthian column inside. sHch criticism cannot be leveled at the The Homans often combined orders. Parthenon, Athens, which appears perfectly The exterior of the Coliseum, illr cxam• balanced despite its monumental size. pIe, stacks Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian floors on top of each other. Eventually, An Enduring Legacy new orders devcloped, using and modi• The Doric order is seen mostly on the Greek mainland and in the Dorian Greek colonies in fying features of the original models, such as the Tuscan, Roman Doric, and . Modern use of this order can be seen in Composite, which mixed elements of many public buildings, including the Old the Corinthian and Ionic orders. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. 17 6 The Classical Heritage The Classical Heritage

THE IONICORDER THE CORINTHIAN ORDER

The began about ,5,50Be. It has a lighter, more slender feel than The Corinthian was the last of the orders to be developed; it flourished during the Doric, yet is often richly carved and decorated, and includes elaborate, the (fourth to first centuries BC), and its lavish carving and tiered bases for its columns (which are missing entirely from Doric columns), decoration became a hallmark of the Roman architecture that followed.

Scrolls and Scallops The New Leaf STYLE FILE As with the other orders, the Ionic is The order's main distinguishing fea• Notable Features: quickly identified by its capital, ture is an eehinus (see page 17) that is Scrolled capitals; Scalloped at top which curves into scrolls (or ) lavishly dccorated with serrated acan• and base of colurnns; at its edges to frame the top of thc thus leaves, palm leaves, and spirals. Slimrner ; Small volutes at each corner give the CarvE~dfriezes. column. The column fluting is scal• loped at the top and bottom, and the capital the same appearance from all Major Influences: architrave is slimmer than in the sides, making it better suited to cor• Ancient Greek buildings in the Doric order. Doric order. On the frieze, a band of ners than the Ionic capital. stone, often richly carved with fig- Where and \I\lhen; lues, replaces the Doric metopes Monumental Style Turkey ancl Greece; from 5th century Be. and triglyphs. c'== Early, and subtle, examples of the Corinthian capital can be seen on the and Beyond Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, The Ionic order originated, and is most com• completed in 334 Be. Initially this style was ABOVE AND BELOW: Corinthian monly found, in the Greek cities of Ionia used primarily for interior columns. The ear• columns, Classical and Neo• took islands and coast of Asia Minor, now western liest exam pIc of a Corinthian capital used as classical, with elaborate Turkey). Invented around ,550 BC, it was per• the sole exterior column order is probably the at the fected in the early fifth century BC and temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, com• En:chtheioll, Lehieh is ))([1'1 or adopted on the Greek mainland later in the pleted in the second century BC. Perhaps the STYLE FILE the ill Athells same century. Some of its flnest examples arc grandest building of the Corinthian order is Notable Features: BELOW: lrJllie colllilms IlIlhe in Athens, such as the , built in the TClnple of Bacchus at , Lebanon, Lavishly ojAtllI;tlc Nike in Athens. marble between 421 and 406 BC. until thc Classical revivals began. echinus bell-shaped Carved leaves and as Volutes

Major Influences: Previous orders of ancient Gree.k architecture.

Where and When: Greece, ; from c.350 Be.

19 Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture

BYZANTINE

Unlike ancient Home, was conceived as a Clllistian capital. lts greatest monnments were to be its churches. That bias can be overestimated• over time, religious sites would be spared, while secular buildings were cleared-but the pre-eminence of ecclesiastical architecture is still clear.

Body and Soul STYLE FILE Byzantine builders matched their Roman Not",ble Fe",tures: predecessors in ambition and accomplish• Rounded arches; ; ment. taking teehniques like the arch and Interior' . dome to new levels of refinement. To the massive monurnentalisrn of their forebears. Mqjor Influences: Roman technologies; however, they added a new and paradoxical Christian spirituality. dimension, creating impressions of quite Whe"""",nd When: eerie ethereality. Typically, the Byzantine Constantinople structure appears squat and solid from tbe The Basic AnOvE:lnerru,gniAc:enf (Istanbul, Turkey) and the in outside; within, though, the impression is of The basic form for the Christian was Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom"), eastern Mediterrqnean weightlessness and light. Another Roman taken over from that of the Roman basilica• whuse minarets were added and Near East; c. AD 400-1453. technique-that of -was used to the rectangular room in which a magistrate or up on its CO<'11)/:JCsl'on shimmering effect to give an extraordinary public flgure gave audiences, Long and open, church to mosque. sense of spiritual transcendence. with colonnaded at either side, it allowed large congregations to come together and mingle freely. Another popular ground THE HAGIA SOPHIA plan was that of the Greek cross (in which It "seems not to rest cach arm is equal). The obvious Christian upon solid masonry, to cover the space symbolism apart, this layout offered the ideal its golden dome sus• basis for the building of impressive domes. pended from heaven, marveled Procopius of the new ChurCh The Dome from of Hagia Sophia. Built 532-7 in Constantin• The great problem with any dome is that of ople by the emperor controlling the outward thrust of all that Justinian, this famous unsupported weight. The use of' tapering tri• church Cwhi\:hwas con, verted into a mosque HIGHT: Ti,e j(rt/'iIJe Milseum. angular "pendentives" allowed this thrust to under Ottoman rule) }'.!imhlli, tJ/lill in the be directed downward, The word "penden• represents the Byzan• eel/tllry (IS the Church tine achievement at its tive" literally means "hanging," and such height. So daring waS Sm:!ur Olltside the structures Ieally do seem to be suspended in its design, however, Wall, (tJeCliIlSe the air. Vast loads could be distributed around that it twice collapsed and had to be rebuilt. arched and held up by gigantic sup• The see today ports, while still conve)ing an impression of was completed in 1346, (/ !I/O,Wjue gravity-dehing grace. Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture

ROMANESQUE

Hornanesque architecture takes its name from its use of the rounded arches so popular \vith tbc Homans, but beyond tbat the similarity is superficial. European architects in the tenth and eleventh centuries created their own distinctive style of arcbitecture, prodllcing buildings of great dignity and simplicity.

A Virtue of Necessity The Europe of the first millcnnium had lost touch with what should have been its inheri• tance of Classical learning-including the great manuals of . Builders worked by trial and error, then, and many of the features of the Homanesque style reflect the practical steps they found to Major.lnfluEloces: Romelh buildit'1gs, accommodate thcse theoretical limitations. Simplicity ABOVE: The Constantine church especii311ytheir arches. The rounded arch, for example, had been Homanesquc architects were at their case with oISan Lorenzo Ftwri Ie M/{Ta, Where "od When: prized by the Romans on aesthetic grounds: it rectangu lar forms, so the basilica plan H01/{e (no Western Europe was not an especially efficient way of bearing rernained popular for churches; columned (Carolingian , , northern loads. Hcnce the squat forms of so rnany aisles and could readily be added Italy, and ).; Homanesque structures, their massive, win• around the sides. The result was frcquently BELOW: The tower in a c. WOOc1100. dowless walls and the ranks of thick-set crucifCJrln, with perhaps a semicircular at Hom.anesque city wall, Italy. columns to be seen within. But architects of the eastern end for the main altar. Ceilings the time understood clearly how to make wew carried by simple, semicircular arches, or BELOW: 'the SANTIAGO DE these limitations a source of strength: barrel vaulting. Towcrs tended toward stubbi• cfutrch Giovmlld COMPOSTELA Homanesque buildings seem imprcssive now ness-construction techniques simply did not and Paolo, Yenice, in their unity and restraint. The tomb of the Apostle allow for anything morc slender and tall. James made this cathe• dral in , Spain, one of medieval Christendom's most important places of pilgrimage. Its imposing tunnel-like interior nlakes up in atmos" phere \Nhat it lacks in decorative ebullience; light streams sparingly in through \Nindows set high above buttressing aisles. The blankness of the exterior" walls is bro• ken up by ornamental arches; the main portals ale riChly ornamented with sacred statuary.

35 Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture

LATE ROMANESQUE TRANSITIONAL buttressing, and though they gave the most spacious interior a boxy, subdivided feel, they 's Tournai In southern Europe-especially Italy-Roman ruins remained an ever-present was begun gave Homanesque architecture a new flexibil• inf1uencc, and for a long time architects kept closely to established f()[ms. in 1146 and completed ity that had never before been seen. The but• almost two centuries Farther north, however, builders were increasingly emboldened by their Illas- tressing dIect of groin-vaulted side aisles later, in 1325; thus, its of'construction techniques and were setting their sights higher-literally. construction bridged the allowed rnain walls to be less massive than Romanesque period and previously, allowing for the inclusion of the high Gothic. Both STYLE FILE styles are clearly windows above the roof. At evident In the finished the elevcnth-century of Cluny, Notable Features: building. Tournai's clus• France, the square bays were replaced at the (iroin vaulting; ter of towers, spectacu• Oen~s·tol-v windows; lar as they are, have all eastern-apse end by circular forms, but the Increased use of the restraint of the chapels still radiated outward from the cen• (semi)circular floor plan. Romanesque, as does the rounded apse and ter, giving the effect of a conical duster of Mqjor Influences: the barrel vaulting of "cells" like those of a beehive. Roman· architecture. the . The wild exuberance of the Where and When: and choir--• New Possibilities Thmughout the both built in the Gothic By the twelfth century, however, it was begin• area, period---serves to architects in the undmline the sobriety ning to look as though the possibilities of north (France and of these sections. Romanesque architecture had been pretty Germanv) were the mo.st much exhausted. Fortunately, new tech• niques were opening up new opportunities c.1100·,·1250. BELOW: To/tmai Cathedml, in II for design: the glories of the Gothic age were World War II just arounc! the corner.

Increased Elaboration Homanesque architecture was essentially aus• tere. The blankness of an external wall may have bcen hroken up by the addition of a por• tico, or nonload-bearing arches or Inay have been incorporated f(J]' decorative effect. But the soaring spires and stained• glass windows of later Gotbic: architecture were as yet unavailable: Hornanesejlle build• ings impress by virtuc of their simple dignity. It was much the same story inside, though new possibilities hac! been opened up by the use of "groin vaults." Architects had learned to intersect barrel vaults at right angles, enclosing a square space known as a \vhich became the basic unit of ground-plan Groin vaults werc built to be nmtllally

:35 Islamic Architecture

MOORISH ARCHITECTURE

Andalusia, sonthern was hOin the encl of the eighth century the stable, pros• perous-clild Islamie-kingdonl of al-Andalus, Under the Moors--Arab and Berber invaders who had made the short from north Africa-some of the world's most beantifill monuments were built here:

The Damascus of the West STYLE FILE AI-Andalus was the one part of the Istunic Notable Features: empire in which the writ of the Abbasids never I-Iorseshoe clrches, often lobed and constructed ran: it remained an Umayyad hold-out fe)r sev• 'vvith polycr-wor1le eral centuries, The C:rand Mosqne at Cordoba patterning; Dorries; was accOl:dingly modeled on that of Damascus, and airiness is exhilarating and is only enhanced ABOVE A~"IJ BELOW: The fVlosaics; thougb the Moorish masterpiece had a charac• by the abundant light that streams iu from so Alhamhra Spain. L..asting legacy a distinct OPPOSITE: The Bano.\' de la rnozarabic influence on ter all of its own. It occupied the site of an old many horseshoe-arched windows, set very high. the :;panish archib~ctule Visigothic church, mnch of whose masomy was Encina was constructed (even ec:cIE~sja5tjcal) of incOllJorated into the northwest corner-so its Within and Without later, Christian tjrrIE~s. by the Moors in 986. "conversion" into a cathedral in 12:36 is an irony. Light, air, and space are all key to the appeal of Major Influence.s: It remains distinctly different, thongh: ahove the Alhamlml, a felrtified complex on an LJrnayyacl; Abbasid. columned aisles nse a riot of interlocking or outcrop above . vVith its delicately orna• stacked-up horseshoe arches, often delicately mented stucco interior walls and ceilings, deco• Where. and \I\Ihe.n: In late 8th imd 9th lobeel j(lr extra ornamental complexity; the alter• rative screens, and ornate brickwork, this jL1Stly Mour-ish nating terra-cotta and crcam slabs of their sur• celebrated monument is an architectnral show• illfluencc\ extended O\lE~r ronnels crcate a decorously festive rnooe!. The case, but is perhaps most remarkable of all f(lr its rnuch b"f' Spain; there• afte~r incr-easingly is massivc-the third-largest rnosqnc intimate courtyards and peaceful gardens. Space f.:rlE'd to' Arlclalusia until ever con.structed-but the stmctnre seems to was as important to the Islamic architect as the the: -13th" century. t10at weiglltlessly, borne lip by its slcnder solid walls and roofs that contained it; gardens colnlllils and shapely arches. The scnsc of space were conceived as symbolic earthly paradises.

115 The and Beyond The RE:~nai55anceand Beyond

THE RENAISSANCE

The of thehfteenth centm)' was underwritten byeconom• ic prosperity: trade flourished, increasing wealth while extending cultural hori• zons; the principles of modern banking were imported from the Islamic world. i\rtistic patronage became a way of expressing the pride and prestige of a com• mnnity or private magnatc-and architecture was the most visible of the arts.

ABOVE: Chdtem.t de CharnlJord V5. A Florence dominated by the Medici family (1$19-47), Loire Valley, France. Leonardo da Vinci is thought to may have led the way to the Renaissance in have been involved in its Italy, hut the port city of Venice was not to BELOW: The domed Church of lag too far behind. A wealthy republic in its Santa Maria di Loreto, Rome. own right, Venice had a trading network extending far to the east, frorn where artistic influences were imported, along with materi• lL DUOMO al commodities. The headline story of the art and architecture of the Henaissance may be Renaissance artists and scientists found in the the rediscovery of the Classical heritage, but Classical cc'xample a lib• the impact of trade with the East (and, later, AIlOVI':: Florellce; 13rllllelleschi:y The Human Scale eration from a medleva\ mind set ;3chooled in the Americas) was arguably as crucial. J)lIorliO ill eellfer "Study good architecture," Leonardo da Vinci 5ub5erviE:nt~even urged the readcr hoping to attain expertisc in super5tiboU5--~adher• art; the proportions of a fine bnilding, hc ence to the authority of STYLE FILE the Church. On the face had all the balance of the perfect human of it, Italian architects Notable Features: body. The hnman f()nn was now accepted as had never abandoned Classical :..::;tylE!s, including the nltimatc standard of beauty, jnst as the t:heir Cla~;sical inheri• domes and arches; tance, but in truth the HerrinS-dbVitruvius and others. Their aim may have been self-glorification, recapturing of the Lut they ended up glorifying humankind. F\Orrians' structural engineering skills, and Soon tbese new values were spreading, hrst the enterprising spirit of and bEi,/ond; 15th·· 16th to France, and then to Germanv. thc the etas';Ical builders. ItalY),centunes.sp.re.,adir'i9 to France the British Isles, l'Where_~ and._. __ 'When:. __ . J 81 The Reriaissance and Bc=yonrl The Renaissance and Beyond

MANNERISM

Tbe word "mannerism" comesfi-Oln the Italian word 1!1aniera, "style" or "teeh• " It was first nsed in the mid-sixteenth century to refer to painters of a younger generation who were starting to abandon their elders' (luiet, Classical correctness fe)]'a more adventurously exhibitionistic style,

Over the Top? STYLE FILE "Mannerism" was not necessarily a term of Notable Features: approval: such self~eonseious virtuosity was Renaissance Classical forms taken to viewed with some suspicion, Michelangelo's extrernesof virtuosity; Piazza clel Campidoglio in HOIne was typical, Effects of exagger-ation and even inibaJance. achievcd with breathtaking beauty and .iaw• dropping panache, but almost too brilliant in Major Influences: Crisis of confidence fol, its exeeution,vVhere a High Henaissance IO\Ning Charles V's sack architect would bave worked to ensure that of Rome in 1527; everything looked exactly right, Michelangelo Sense'that the aims of the Rfmaissance had all courted the reaction tbat everything was now·been achieved. somehow perfect and yet slightly wrong, The Commissioned by the city authorities, ABOVE: Palladio\ Il Hcdentore

Where-and When: Museo Capitolino (left, in the picture Michelangelo laiel out the whole trapezoidal church, Venice Italy: c. 1S3Cl·90, Ie))'exarnple, is a work of utterly accomplished piazza as a "frame" lelr the ancient equestrian alld yet unsettling architectural ambiguity, Its statne of Marcus Aurelius, He did so with columns belong to a sing1c- astonishing success, thongh f(lr some this very BI·:LOW: Pia.::11 storied bnilding, whereas the tiered columns enlistment of architecture in the service of riel nOIll(' between suggest a lnore compact creati(lIl, may have underlined the feeling that Mannerisln was about self-indulgence,

The Two-in-One Church (1.508-80) was later to become ;lssoeiated with an almost ostenta•

tiously modest version of (see

pages J :3S-39), but in his own day be was Famed lor his Mannerist works, His 11 llederltUl!' church was built to thauk f(lr Venice's (Ieliverance from plague in 1.57.')-76, but fOl' "II its pious intent, it has an air of it, too, is two huildings in one, The Ihst, seen across the water, is a luassive, squat in structure set ofT by its lofty campanile and vast its c101ninatcd by its dome; the second is defined Way just as its elegant, Greek-templelike facades, The Renaissance and Beyond The Renaissance and Beyond

ENGLISH TUDOR

'While the architects of the Renaissance and periods poured creative energy into the of ever-more-astounding churches and palaces, house• building followcd its own, much quieter, course. Yet the well-designed horne could, in its way, bc every bit as impressive as the grandest monument, as the example of English Tudor architecture clearly shows.

Beauty in Black and White STYLE FILE The system of construction known as haH~ Notable Features: timbering was actually of medieval origin, Timber framEeS,filled in but is generally held to have reached its high with and daub, generally painted in point in Tudor England (148.5-1603), or, contrasting Colors. Tnore specifically, the Elizabethan period often black and white; A "homespun" look; (Queen Elizabeth I, rcigned L5,58-16(),3). Proje!:tingupper stories; Briefly, a timber framework was filled in with Thatched or tiled roofs. what is known as "wattle and daub"-a mesh ABOVE: The Elizahethan-era Major Influences: of interwoven reeds or twigs, eaulkcd with Function was never forgotten, though-in Medieval origins. mud and plaster, and whitewashed over. A fact, it was made a feature: the rough-cut Ahhot Reginald:' Gatewa1j, Evesham. Where and When: rough-and-ready method, it might be wood frame was invariably visible and gem:r• OPPOSITE: A Tudor house A medieval method thought, and yet in the late fHteenth and six• ally painted to contrast starkly with thc refined in 16th- and teenth centuries, this simple, yet effective, walling in between. A style that's come to in a historic, mral 17th-centul"Y England. in Wiltshire. buildi ng style was brought to an unprece• symbolize "timeless" Englishness thus affords dented pitch of decorative creativity. intriguing comparisons with Postmodern monuments like 's Pompidon Center CHIMNEYS page 249), with its exoskeleton of pipes and ducts: both scorn to conceal their status A surprisingly late irlVen• tion, made as recently as artificial, built constructions. as the 14th century, the chimney still seemed innovative in Nostalgic Virtues Tudor times. The transi• It's revealing that this style sho11ld have been tion from a simple hole in the roof to a vertical revived pages 188-89) for the "stock• shaft that sucked up broker Tlldor" of tvventieth-century suburbia; smoke and Fumes, even at their grandest, half~timbered build• had changed horne life Immeasurably for the ings had a cozy and intimate feel. These were better. It is no surprise, comparatively peaceful times, so the English• then, that Tudor archI• tects should have made man's home uo longer had to be his castle: their chimney stacks there was no defensive air, and where build• such a feature: elabo• ings had once been alTayed round central rately curved, even corkscreV\/ing construc• courtyards, more open (often E-shaped) tions of patterned bnck. ground plans were now 11sed. 85 The Renaissance and Beyond The Renaissance and Beyond

THE BAROQUE PSYCHODRAMA Lift up your eyes in It was, perhaps, inevitable that Hcnaissance should lead to Hefonnation. Rome's 17th-century Protestantism placed the thinking individual at the very center of religious San Ignacio Church, and instead of a ceiling, faith. What did CatholiCism, with its rules and hierarchies, have to ofler the you see a host of self-conscious, self-confIdent humanist? The Church launched a more figures streaming passionate, intensely experienced Catholicism in its Counter . heavenward. Something of a craze in Counter Reformation architec• An Aesthetic of Assault ture, the trompe l'oeil STYLE FILE ("trick the eye") ceiling The architectural expression of the COUll ter was just one in a range Reformation was the Baroque, a style that set of techniques used to disorient, dazzle, and the of Renaissance oft generally bamboozle. against the vvildest extravagances of ornamen• On the one hand, tation, Simple, barrel-vaulted ceilings were "in-your-face" orna• mentation, from gilded transformed by spectacular paintings; florid statues to sweeping columns glowed in gold leaf and marble; plain staircases and spiraling columns; on the other, facades were bedecked with pilasters and games of space with Meijor Influences: ornamental urns, ';\There the statues and wall recesses and disap• Renaissance Classical; of the Gothic had pearing ceilings: all was grovvth in dec- calculated to compel offered scriptural instruction to the unedu• belief in the shell• driven by desire find cated, these interiors ravished the senses and shocked Vie\Ner. architectural represen• tation for a sense of took the soul by storm. religious (and later monarchical) majesty Palaces and Propaganda and mystique. So rich an architectural mixture was far too Where and When : intoxicating to be left to the Church, The Italy,1 )g Baroque style was quickly taken up in the sec• England, and ular sphere. In France and central Europe, central Europe through trle1 7th and early 18th where unpopular monarchies werc attempt• ing the same sort of ideological Fight-back as the Cllllrch, Baroque palaces magni• fled the mystique of the ruling dynasties, Opposrn . AllOVI,: rhe IIweb!" Though sometimes exuberantly ornamented, (,ollp,dioll of il/lcola Salvi:, Trevi exterior facades were often comparatively FOlllltain (17'J2-51) alld the restrained, though this beautiful simplicity /f/(:ade Poli, BO/(Le. only heightened the shock and awe that detail awaited the visitor within, Throughout the latc seventeenth and early eighteenth cen• .RICIIT: The turies, the Baroque style continued to devel• (17.55-65, Anselmo Lllro.~,o.) ill op, with regional cliflerenees reflecting local :, Old 'llnell .'i1!'Wre. traditions and conditions.

89 The Renaissance and Beyond The Renaissance and Beyond

SPANISH BAROQUE LEFT: The elaborate facade of a Bal'Oqlle building in .Madrid. OPPOSITE: The aus-tem By the seventeenth century, Spain already had a long and distinguished architec• tural It could boast some of Europe's oldest Homanesque architecture, near ivfadrid, as well as great Gothic cathedrals like , Toledo, and Leon. The great Islamic monmnents of al-Andalus page 44) were also pmt of its heritage, by Juan de flerrem. BELOW: The almost Hococo even if they were preserved mainly for the propagandistic purpose of underscor• ing the success of the Cluistian reconqldsl;a ("reconquest") of the conntiy. facacw of [vfurcia Cathedral. This huilding is considered the The "Golden Age" peak Churrigueresque STYLE FILE Spain's discoveries and conquests in the style of Spain~,"Colden Age" Notable Features: Americas brought a sixteenth· and seven·· Austere movement pioneered by Juan teenth-century "Golden Age" (Siglo de Oro), de Herrera (1530-97): which corresponded with the Counter More lavishly orna• mented style introduced Reformation and the Baroque. Spain's mon• by Churrlguera. archs took a leading role in promoting CatholiCism and suppressing heresy, and almost aggressively plain in its design. Part• Major- Influences: Italian Baroque prinCiples, that purist fervor is evident in the art and palace, part -Inonastery, part-mausoleum for given a ne'vV slant and architecture of the time. himself and for all the monarchs of Spain, this special impetus by the vast monument was designed by Juan de religious fervor of the As golden ages go, Spain's was a rcmarkably Spanish monarchy. austere, even gloomy, one: think of the paint• Herrera. Its beauty is chaste and intimidating; ings of EI Greco-despite their wild manner• the only COllcession that Herrera and the king Where.and When: Spain; in "Golden Age" ism, fundamentally simple-for example. allowed thf:mselves was to arrange the COl11• of 16th--1 7th centuries. Philip II's great palace complex, San Lorenzo pJex on a gridlike ground plan in honor of the CHEERFUL dc EI Escorial (late sixteenth century), is grid on which St. Lawrence was martyred. CHURRIGUERA

50 much seventy would have been hard to bear had it not been For the very different Bar-oque spirit introduced into Spain by Jose Bonito Churriguera ('1665• 1725) and his followers. Churriguera's energetic, mesmerizingly ornate, yet at the same time dynamic and Fluid style is now known a5 the "Churrigueresque. " Despite its narT18, it would reach its zenith after its originator's death. in the main Facade of Murcia Cathedral (17305).

97