After all those
architectural history classes I took, could I remember what made Renaissance
architectural styles so important? It
turned out, this style is another straight line this time a U turn right back
to the classical Roman. “Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the regularity of parts as
they are demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity”
(1) That told me.
In Florence, Brunelleschi
was one of its “innovators,” and this style quickly spread across Europe in
various degrees. The architects of the
Renaissance consciously brought back the classical styles. Among other important parts of the
Renaissance “architecture became not only a question of practice, but also a
matter for theoretical discussion. Humanism emerged. Printing played a large
role in the dissemination of ideas. The
first treatise on architecture was De re aedificatoria ("On the Art of Building") by Leon Battista Alberti in 1450.” (1)
It was a busy time of innovation.
The open ceilings of the
earlier era’s disappeared. Now the focus
was on flat ceilings, square buildings, and Roman influences which were topped
by glorious domes. Arches and pilasters
helped create the feeling of balance and “proportional logic, its form and
rhythm subject to geometry, rather than being created by intuition. (1)
There are three periods in
Renaissance architecture that remain as influences today. In the Early Renaissance, or Quattrocento, the rules of order were
made. In the High Renaissance, the
Antique orders were used with greater strengths. “During the Mannerist period, architects experimented with using architectural
forms to emphasize solid and spatial relationships. The Renaissance ideal of
harmony gave way to freer and more imaginative rhythms”…think of Michelangelo
and his buildings in Rome.
Andrea
Palladio, who is considered
the most influential architect of the Renaissance, “was to transform the
architectural style of both palaces and churches by taking a different
perspective on the notion of Classicism. While the architects of Florence and
Rome looked to structures like the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine to provide formulae.”
He shrank the design of the three arches and used them as windows and in
churches. They are now called the
Palladian Arch.
Renaissance architecture
evolved into the Baroque. In Italy it
evolved along one of those straight lines.
Slowly architecture attempted to break the classical rules.
LINKS:
Wow, very nicely stated. Could have been a college paper!
ReplyDeleteAnd now I can type it myself. Thank you again for typing my college stuff. :)
DeleteThere's a previous entry covering the Greek and Roman. I've been trying to compress it all for my friend Tabor.
PS...and it all started from a small entry on Vegas architecture. LOL
DeleteYou learned your lessons well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post as usual!
ReplyDeleteI love to visit Baroque churches but can't imagine going regularly to worship there. Too much distraction!
I have looked at architecture more closely as my interest in photography developed looking at angles, shadows and highlights. I do like this period because it seems so substantial while being romantic...?
ReplyDelete