Renaissance Architecture Renaissance Architecture

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE ARCHITECTURAL STYLE TIMELINE ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

Thick walls, Small windows, Round arches, Column, Low to Ground

Durham Word Heritage Site GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Very Tall (Emphasized height), large Arches, Flying Buttresses, stained glass, Spikes, Large windows, vast open spaces.

Amiens Cathedral, France ARCHITECTURAL STYLE TIMELINE RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

• In the late 15th Century and Early 16th Century there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Classical Greek and Roman Thoughts and culture.

• They studied the Architectural concepts of Roman Predecessors and studied the buildings of Rome, Italy and France and develop a new style of Renaissance Architecture.

• It spread over Europe replacing the medieval architecture.

• It used many ancient Roman Forms, including: . Columns . Round arch . Vaults . Dome CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Symmetry and Proportion

• The Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of Classical antiquity and in particular, the architecture of Ancient Rome, of which many examples remained. • Renaissance architects sought to achieve beauty through Proportion as classical architects have before them. This differentiates the renaissance from Gothic

Golden Section of Parthenon Leon Battista Alberti employed the same proportion Proportion 1:1.6 in his buildings during Renaissance CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Alberti’s Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy CHARACTERISTICS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

5 Orders of Columns

• 5 orders were used during the Renaissance, namely Doric, ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan and Composite.

• Corinthian order was highly used during Quattrocento or Early Renaissance period and later Doric Order was highly used during high Renaissance period.

• The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters. ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Arches

• Arches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental. Arches are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals. • There may be a section of entablature between the capital and the springing of the arch. ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Vaults

• Vaults do not have ribs. • They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular. • The barrel vault, is returned to architectural vocabulary ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Vaults

Domes

• Dome is used frequently, both as a very large structural feature that is visible from the exterior, and also as a means of roofing smaller spaces where they are only visible internally.

• Domes had been used only rarely in the Middle Ages, but after the success of the dome in Brunelleschi’s design for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and its use in Bramante’s plan for St. Peter's Basilica (1506) in Rome, the dome became an indispensable element in church architecture.

Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican city, Rome ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Plan • The plans of Renaissance buildings have a square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module. Within a church the module is often the width of an aisle.

• The need to integrate the design of the plan with the façade was introduced as an issue in the work of Filippo Brunelleschi, but he was never able to carry this aspect of his work into fruition. The first building to demonstrate this was St. Andrea in Mantua by Alberti.

Basilica of Saint Andrea Mantua, Italy ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Plan • The plans of Renaissance buildings have a square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module. Within a church the module is often the width of an aisle.

Basilica of Saint Andrea Mantua, Italy ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Typical Latin Cross Plan ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Facade

• Façades are symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church facades are generally surmounted by a pediment and organized by a system of pilasters, arches and entablatures. Arches

• Domestic buildings are often surmounted by a cornice. There is a Entablature regular repetition of openings on each floor, and the centrally placed door is marked by a feature such as a balcony, Pilaster or rusticated surround. ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Catherdral Domestic Building ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE • An early and much copied prototype was the facade for the Palazzo Rucellai (1446 and 1451) in Florence with its three registers of pilasters.

Palazzo Rucellai, Florence, Italy ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Ceilings and Walls

• Roofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings. • They are frequently painted or decorated.

• External walls are generally of highly-finished ashlar masonry, laid in straight courses. • The corners of buildings are often emphasized by rusticated “quoins”. • Basements and ground floors were often rusticated. • Internal walls are smoothly plastered and surfaced with white chalk paint. For more formal spaces, internal surfaces are decorated with frescoes. ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Ceilings and Walls

• Roofs are fitted with flat or coffered ceilings. • They are frequently painted or decorated.

Doors and Windows

• Door usually have square lintels. • They may be set within an arch or Triangular surmounted by a triangular or Pediment segmental pediment. Square • Openings that do not have doors Lintel are usually arched and frequently have a large or decorative keystone Arch

Pilaster • Windows may be paired and set within a semi-circular arch. They may have square lintels and triangular or segmental pediments, which are often used alternately. ELEMENTS OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Doors and Windows

• Door usually have square lintels. • They may be set within an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment. Semi- • Openings that do not have doors Circular are usually arched and frequently Arch have a large or decorative keystone

• Windows may be paired and set within a semi-circular arch. They may have square lintels and triangular or segmental pediments, which are often used alternately. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

Historians often use the following designations:

• Renaissance (1400-1500) also known as the Quattrocento and sometimes Early Renaissance.

• High Renaissance (1500-1525)

• Mannerism (1520-1600) QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

The leading Architects of Early Renaissance were: Brunelleschi, Michelozzo and Alberti

Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446) • Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) is widely considered the first Renaissance architect. • His buildings were based on a modular cube, which determines the height of and distance between the columns, and the depth of each bay.

He began with a unit of measurement whose repetition throughout the building created a sense of harmony.

Ospedale Degli Innocenti, Florence, Italy QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446)

His greatest accomplishments are : • Engineering of the dome of Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo). • San Lorenzo, Florence

He was also the first since antiquity to use the classical orders Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian in a consistent and appropriate manner. Santa Maria Fiore QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

San Lorenzo

The underlying feature of the work of Brunelleschi was "order".

• Brunelleschi's first major architectural commission was for the enormous brick dome which covers the central space of Florence's cathedral, The dome is structurally influenced by the great dome of Ancient Rome, i.e. the dome of the Pantheon.

• The dome in Florence is supported by the eight large ribs and sixteen more internal ones holding a brick shell, with the bricks arranged in a herringbone manner. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

San Lorenzo

• The new architectural philosophy is best demonstrated in the churches which have the shape of the Latin cross.

• Each has a modular plan, each portion being a multiple of the square bay of the aisle. This same formula controlled also the vertical dimensions.

• In the case of Santo Spirito, which is entirely regular in plan, transepts and chancel are identical, while the nave is an extended version of these. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

San Lorenzo

• Brunelleschi adopted the height of the columns of the nave arcade as a module for determining the church's vertical proportions. He

decided that the height of the 1.5x arch openings of the nave arcade should be taller than the height of the columns by half of the column height. Consequently, the arch's height

is one and a half times the x column's height, and their ratio is 3:2. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

San Lorenzo

• Because the spacing of the Entablature columns determines the height of the round arches and this dimension is less than half the column height, it was necessary to add space between the columns and the arches in order Impost to maintain this whole-number Blocks ratio.

• Along the outer wall, this space is detailed as an entablature, and along the nave arcade, the gap between the columns and bases of the nave arches is filled by impost blocks composed of sections of an entablature. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Santa Maria Degli

• In 1434 Brunelleschi designed the first Renaissance centrally planned building, Santa Maria degli Angeli of Florence.

• It is composed of a central octagon surrounded by a circuit of eight smaller chapels. From this date onwards numerous churches were built in variations of these designs. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Santa Maria Degli

• In 1434 Brunelleschi designed the first Renaissance centrally planned building, Santa Maria degli Angeli of Florence.

Leon Battista Alberti (1404 – 1472)

• Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) worked as an architect from the 1450s onward, principally in Florence, Rimini, and Mantua.

• Alberti aspired to re-create the glory of ancient times through architecture.

• For Alberti, architecture was not merely a means of constructing buildings; it was a way to create meaning.

• Dynamic buildings.

• Triumphal facades marked by extreme contrasts. Projection of the order of pilasters that define the architectural elements.

• The light and shade play dramatically over the surface of the building. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Leon Battista Alberti (1404 – 1472)

His famous works includes: • Tempio Malatestiano (Rimini, 1450) • Church of Santa Maria Novella (Florence, 1470), whose facades are based on Roman temple • Palazzo Rucellai • His deep understanding of the principles of classical architecture are also seen in the Church of Sant’Andrea (Mantua, 1470).

Tempio Malatestiano Santa Maria Novella QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Saint Andrea Triumphal

• The church has a single nave without Side aisles while three barrel vaulted chapels are on each side of the nave. • The height of the façade Equals its Width. QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Saint Andrea Triumphal

• Sant'Andrea’s triumphal facade is marked by extreme contrasts. • This contrasts with the gaping deeply recessed arch which makes a huge portico before the main door. • The light and shade play dramatically over the surface of the building because of the shallowness of its moldings and the depth of its porch.

Saint Andrea Triumphal, Mantua QUATTROCENTO (EARLY RENAISSANCE)

Saint Andrea Triumphal

• On the facade, four giant pilasters with Corinthian capitals support an entablature and pediment. • Together these elements recall the front of ancient temples, such as the Pantheon in Rome. There is also a grand arch in the center of the facade that is supported, at least visually, by two shorter fluted pilasters. Taken together, the lower facade, with its tall central arch and flanking side doors evoke ancient triumphal arches such as the Arch of Constantine. HIGH RENAISSANCE

The leading Architects of High Renaissance were: Bramante, Antonio da Sangallo

• Architects of High Renaissance, showed a mastery of the revived style and ability to apply it to buildings such as churches and city palazzo which were quite different from the structures of ancient times.

• The style became more decorated and ornamental, statuary, domes and cupolas becoming very evident. HIGH RENAISSANCE

Donato Bramante (1444–1514)

• Donato Bramante, was an Italian architect who introduced the High Renaissance style in architecture.

• His early works in Milan included the rectory of Sant’Ambrogio and the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

• In Rome, Bramante served as principal planner of Pope Julius II’s comprehensive project for rebuilding the city. St. Peter’s Basilica, of which he was the chief architect, was begun in 1506. Other major Roman works were the Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio (1502) and the Belvedere court in the Vatican (begun c. 1505). HIGH RENAISSANCE

Tempietto at San Pietro

• Simplicity, harmony, symmetry and classical antiquity found throughout the structure. • The Tempietto has a dominating circularity theme and was originally forty feet tall. • The Exterior of the Tempietto is a colonnade of sixteen Doric columns surrounding an inner cella. • Chapel has two stories : the first story in the center of the colonnade (the cella) and the second story directly above the first which is surrounded by a circular balcony. • uppermost part of the Tempietto was a semicircular dome. Tempietto at San Pietro, Montorio HIGH RENAISSANCE

Tempietto at San Pietro

• It has a cylindrical body ,with niches carved relief and surrounded by a Doric colonnade , which runs on top of an Entablature decorated with Triglyphs and Metopes of the liturgical theme Greek origin. • The external colonnade surrounding the cell whose walls are punctuated by pilasters as a projection of the columns of the Peristyle. • The interior of the cell has a diameter of about 4 feet, so there is space for liturgical celebrations. HIGH RENAISSANCE

Tempietto at San Pietro, Montorio HIGH RENAISSANCE

Tempietto at San Pietro

• The dome is made up of concrete. • The radius of the dome is equal to the height of the dome. • It is also equal to the height of the drum on which it rests. • The dome shows a clear relationship with domes made in pantheon. MANNERISM

The leading Architects of Mannersim were: Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Baldassare Peruzzi and Andrea Palladio, that led to the Baroque style in which the same architectural vocabulary was used for very different rhetoric.

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

• Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was one of the creative giants whose achievements mark the High Renaissance.

• His architectural fame lies chiefly in two buildings: the interiors of the Laurentian Library and its lobby at the monastery of San Lorenzo in Florence, and St Peter's Basilica in Rome. MANNERISM

St. Peter’s Church

• St Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. • Work on St. Peter's Church was begun by Bramante and carried on by a succession of the finest artists and architects that Italy produced. • The classical orders, often on a monumental scale, now played the chief role in decoration MANNERISM

St. Peter’s Church

• Michelangelo’s dome of Saint Peter was a masterpiece of design using two masonry shells, one within the other and crowned by a massive lantern supported, as at Florence, on ribs.

• For the exterior of the building he designed a giant order which defines every external bay, the whole lot being held together by a wide cornice which runs unbroken like a rippling ribbon around the entire building. MANNERISM

Architects that worked on St. Peter’s

Donato Bramante • Bramante proposed a Greek cross plan, the centre of which would be surmounted by a dome slightly larger than that of Pantheon. MANNERISM

Architects that worked on St. Peter’s

Raffaello Sanzio • The main change in Raphael’s plan is the nave of five bays, with a row of complex apsidal chapels off the aisles on either side. MANNERISM

Architects that worked on St. Peter’s

Michelangelo • He reverted to Bramante’s original design, the Greek cross and converted its snowflake complexity into massive, cohesive unity. MANNERISM MANNERISM

Andrea Palladio (1508 – 1580)

• Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) was the chief architect of the Venetian Republic. • Due to the new demand for villas in the sixteenth century, Palladio specialized in domestic architecture. • His Villa’s plan rely on classical ideals of symmetry, axiality, and clarity. • The simplicity of Palladian designs allowed them to be easily reproduced in rural England. • When he used the “triumphal arch” motif of a large arched opening with lower square-topped opening on either side, he invariably applied it on a small scale, such as windows. • This Ancient Roman motif is often referred to as the Palladian Arch.

His pioneer works include: • Villa Emo, Treviso • Villa Rotunda, Vicenza • Villa Capra • San Giorgio Maggiore Church MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda

• Characterized by Large Dome. • Equal Rectangles on opposite sides of structure. • Heavy Greek and Roman Influences. MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda

• At the center of the plan, the two story circular hall with overlooking balconies was intended by Palladio to be roofed by a semicircular dome.

• The design reflected the humanist values of Renaissance architecture.

• The proportions of the rooms are mathematically precise, according to the rules Palladio describes in the Quatro Libri. MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda

• At the center of the plan, the two story circular hall with overlooking balconies was intended by Palladio to be roofed by a semicircular dome.

• The design reflected the humanist values of Renaissance architecture.

• The proportions of the rooms are mathematically precise, according to the rules Palladio describes in the Quatro Libri. MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda

• The building is rotated 45 degrees to south on the hilltop, enabling all rooms to receive some sunshine.

• The villa is asymmetrically sited in the topography. MANNERISM

The Villa Rotunda

• Each of the four porticos has pediments graced by statues of classical deities. The pediments were each supported by six Ionic columns.

• Each portico was flanked by a single window. All principal rooms were on the second floor