BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE

 

1600-1750

 

The word Baroque literally means a "misshapen pearl". This period of architecture was called Baroque because some considered the style very odd. Baroque architecture evolved out of Renaissance architecture in Italy. The two main architects of the Baroque era were Bernini and Borromini. Bernini's first medium was sculpture. He liked to incorporate a lot of sculpture into his buildings. A sculptor and mason, Francesco Burromini went to Rome in 1614, and trained under Bernini.

 

Late Roman buildings, particularly St. Peter's Basilica, may be considered precursors to Baroque architecture, as the design achieves a colossal unity that was previously unknown.  In the 1600's, the Renaissance architects began to get bored with the symmetry and same old forms they had been using for the past 200 years. They started to make bold, curving, unsymmetrical buildings, with ornate decorations.  

 

 

The facades consisted of many curves, often using the double curve (in at the sides, out in the middle). Baroque pediments (triangular area between the rooftop and the end of the roofs) were often highly decorated. The tips were sometimes turned into scrolls and gilded .  In these two examples, St. Moise in Venice (on the right) has a more ornate facade than does St. Ignatius in Mainz, Germany; however the interior of St. Ignatius is almost Rococo.  

 

 

The most distinct shape of the Baroque style is the oval.  The baroque architects used marble, gilt, and bronze in abundance on the interior. One often finds the interiors surrounded by numerous gilded puttos (little angels) as well as some life sized ones.  

 

The ceilings and domes often contained large frescos or murals using what is known as "Trompe l'oeil" painting which is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions, instead of actually being a two-dimensional painting.  The walls are often highly painted

The Baroque played into the demand for an architecture that was on the one hand more accessible to the emotions and, on the other hand, a visible statement of the wealth and power of the Church. By the middle of the 17th century, the Baroque style had found its secular expression in the form of grand palaces, first in France and then throughout Europe.  

 

The Baroque style became more restrained in France. While lavish details were used, French buildings were usually symmetrical and orderly. The Palace of Versailles is an outstanding example.  Baroque architecture emerged in England after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Architect Christopher Wren used restrained Baroque styling when he helped rebuild the city, his most famous accomplishment was St. Paul's Cathedral (on the right).  

Builders in Spain, Mexico, and South America combined Baroque ideas with exuberant sculptures, Moorish details, and extreme contrasts between light and dark. Spanish Baroque architecture was used through the mid-1700s, and continued to be imitated much later. In Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, and Russia, Baroque ideas were often applied with a lighter touch. Pale colors and curving shell shapes gave buildings the delicate appearance of a frosted cake. The term Rococo was used to describe these softer versions of the Baroque style.

  

 Below is a list of the Baroque churches that we have visited.  As I write about these churches on the various travel pages, I will provide a link from the church listed below to a full description of that particular church.

This chart is presently not updated.

 

		BAROQUE 1600-1750
Started	Finished	City	Country	Church Name
	1500	Venice	Italy	San Salvador
13th century	1534	Venice	Italy	San Francesco della Vigna
	1542	Venice	Italy	San Sebastiano
	1577	Venice	Italy	Il Redentore
1600		Venice	Italy	St. Moise
1618		Cologne	Germany	St. Maria Himmelfahrt
1625		Paris	France	St. Nicolas du Chardonett
1625		Rome	Italy	Santa Maria de Montesanto
1631	1681	Venice	Italy	Santa Maria della Salute
1646		Paris	France	St. Sulpice
1672		Venice	Italy	San Maria di Giglio
1673	1710	London	England	St. Paul's
1675		Rome	Italy	Santa Maria de Miracoli
1677		Paris	France	Dome/Soldiers Church
1704		Venice	Italy	San Stae
1743		Venice	Italy	Santa Maria del Rosario
1754		Padua	Italy	Cathedral
1763		Mainz	Germany	St. Ignatius
1768		Mainz	Germany	St. Augustine
1771	1775	Florence	Italy	Santa Maria delle Carmine
1804		Venice	Italy	San Polo