Baroque Architects |
WHAT IS ART? |
Baroque Architects (c.1600-1750)Introduction Baroque art emerged during the second half of the 16th century, partly because of the prevailing political and religious uncertainty. The Protestant Reformation which began in 1517, cast doubt on the integrity and theology of the Roman Church across Europe. In due course, this led to a campaign of Catholic Counter-Reformation art, launched by Rome, to reinspire the masses and woo them away from Protestantism. By the start of the 17th century, religious art in general, and Baroque architecture in particular, had become a significant element in this propaganda campaign, and was also exploited by absolutist Catholic monarchs to buttress their rule. Baroque sculpture was also harnessed to the cause, as was Baroque painting. Frequently, all these art forms were combined in churches, and some of the best Baroque paintings were integral elements of the architectural setting. See, for instance, the glorious ceiling murals of Pietro da Cortona and Andrea Pozzo. |
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN ARCHITECT-SCULPTORS EVOLUTION
OF VISUAL ART |
WORLD'S GREATEST
ART |
The Baroque Style of Architecture Think of Baroque as a much more emotional, more elaborate, more illusionistic form of Renaissance architecture, with greater manipulation of light, colour, texture and perspective. It boasted more ostentatious exteriors; more complex less geometric but more unified floor-plans; a whole new series of trompe l'oeil effects, plus a host of wall and ceiling fresco decorations. All these architectural features were designed to dazzle the spectator, as were the surroundings of the building itself. This is exemplified above all by Bernini's design of St Peter's Square (1656-67) - in front of the domed St Peter's Basilica in Rome - whose architecture has received praise throughout the centuries for the elegance of its sublime classical proportions. (For more about building design in classical antiquity, see: Roman Architecture.) Another supreme example of Baroque architecture is the Palace of Versailles designed by Louis le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart for the French monarch Louis XIV. |
|
Famous Baroque Architects Here is a list of the greatest architects of the Baroque movement, together with their major design projects. ITALY Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
(1507-73) Pietro
da Cortona (1596-1669) Bernini
(1598-1680) Francesco
Borromini (1599-1667) See also: Andrea
Pozzo (1642-1709), the great quadraturista and architect. FRANCE Francois Mansart (1598-1666) Louis
Le Vau (1612-70) Jules
Hardouin Mansart (1646-1708) See also French Baroque Artists.
GERMANY/AUSTRIA Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
(1656-1723) Jakob Prandtauer (1660-1726) Johann Dientzenhofer (1663-1726) Andreas
Schluter (1664-1714) Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach
(1693-1742) Johann Caspar Bagnato (1696-1757) Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
(1699-1753) Franz Anton Bagnato (Francesco
Antonio Bagnato) (1731-1810) See also German Baroque Artists. SPAIN/PORTUGAL Alonso
Cano (1601-1667) Churriguera Family of Spanish Baroque
Sculptors and Architects Pedro de Ribera (1681-1742) Niccolo Nasoni (Nicolau Nasoni)
(1691-1773) See also: Spanish Baroque Art and Spanish Baroque Artists. BRITAIN Inigo
Jones (1573-1652) Sir Christopher
Wren (1632-1723) Sir John
Vanbrugh (1664-1726) CENTRAL EUROPE Dientzenhofer Family of German Architects Jakub Auguston (1668-1735) Jan Blazej Santini Aichel (1677-1723) RUSSIA It wasn't until the era of Petrine art under Tsar Peter the Great (1686-1725), that foreign architectural designers like Rastrelli, Andreas Schluter, and Leblond introduced the style of Russian Baroque - using elements drawn from Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical art. Bartolomeo
Rastrelli (1700-1771) Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky
(17191774) NETHERLANDISH There was little new religious architecture in Flanders or Holland, not least because the area was mostly Protestant. Other forms of Baroque did survive, however. For details, see: Flemish Baroque Art and Dutch Baroque Art. For more about the Dutch Golden Age of painting, see: Dutch Realist School (c.1600-80) and Dutch Realist artists. |
For more about the origins & development of painting/sculpture, see: Homepage. Visual
Artists, Greatest |