APAH: Baroque Art – Architecture

Italian Baroque Il Gesù (1575-1584) Patron Cardinal Alexander Farnese Architect Giacomo della Porto Classical echoes Paired pilasters – Michelangelo’s design for St. Peters Pediment – from Alberti and Palladio Seat of the Jesuit order Dedicated to the name of Jesus (“We must follow the name of Jesus”) Triumphal in intent Move toward verticality Clearly defined façade elements Strong two-tiered façade Greater depth – niches

Triumph of the Name of Jesus (1676-1679) Giovanni Battista Gaulli Interior: single nave – no aisles Enhances both visual and acoustic elements Ceiling as theater – Bernini’s influence from Cornaro chapel Fresco with stucco figures Jesus (IHS) in golden light Sinners falling back to earth (in shadow) Image of judgment Overwhelms visitors Illusionistic use of painted wood and stucco Extends fresco

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1634-1641) Francesco Borromini First solo commission Trained with Moderno and Bernini Competed free of charge to launch his career Extraordinary limitations Budget Small, tight space Corner fountain Included cloister and monastery Commissioned by order of Spanish Trinitarians Dynamic & dramatic – sculptured architecture Undulating façade – convex and concave parts Musical and mathematical Circles inscribing triangles Creates drama in a limited space (easy to do when it’s the size of St. Peter’s)

Drama of light White stucco interior Dome set on recessed windows with coffers Compare to Hagia Sophia and the Pantheon Interior-exterior relationship Nested curves at entrance Two-tiered façade with Corinthian columns Niche statues Style typical of Baroque buildings

French Baroque Dominance of Monarchy Louis XIV Absolutism Lack of economic development Dominance of Catholic Church Royal Academy of Painting & Sculpture 1648 Art in service to the state Rigaud, Louis XIV Rejection of fanciful curves of Italian Baroque Change from French gothic style Strong, rectilinear design Château de Blois

Louvre, East Façade Combination of Italian / French Classical Temple Front Colonnade of paired columns End pavilions Mounted on basement/podium Horizontally monumental – not Gothic vertical Official taste for centralized organization and power

Palace at Versailles Louis le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart Former royal hunting lodge Symbol of power & ambition Shifts center of royal life Moves aristocrats away from Paris Expense for king and nobility Control of nobility Every act was drama with roles and actors Carefully planned – orderliness East – West axis arrangement Integrated with urban / garden areas Intersecting boulevards Imposing will on nature

Exterior Horizontal arrangement Like the Louvre Classical and Renaissance in order, harmony, symmetry Refinements of mind, connection to past Courtyard Gold embellishments Louis’ bedchamber overlooks scene Black and white marble Interior Art to reinforce the benefits of Louis’ rule Hall of Mirrors This type of mirror was new Awed visitors Opposite windows A processional hall – light emphasizing his reign Louis XIV – The Sun King Compare to Bernini’s Scala Regia 100s of rooms Includes private church, tennis court, libraries Park Formal gardens / pools / fountains / sculpture Compare to Taj Mahal or Ryoan-ji East – west axis Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater Composed vistas Peasant Village later Marie Antoinette