renaissance architecture

15th and 16th century

The word "Renaissance" comes from the French and means rebirth, the rebirth of ancient learning. In Italian, the word is Rinascenza.

Although Renaissance architecture is a return to the ideals of the Greeks and k Romans, it is not slavish imitation but a free use of the materials found in classic architecture.

general features of renaissance architecture

PLANS

Medici-Riccardi Palace, Florence Designed by Michelozzo

St. Peters Basilica Floor plan

Square, symmetrical, planned appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module. Within a church the module is often the width of an aisle.

Towers are sparingly used while the dome is the predominant feature externally.

Sta. Maria della Salute, Venice designed 1631-32

Florence Cathedral (Sta. Maria del Fiore)

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.

FACADE
Symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church facades are generally surmounted by a pediment. Columns and windows show a progression towards the center. Domestic buildings are often surmounted by a cornice. There is a regular repetition of openings on each floor, and the centrally placed door is marked by a feature such as a balcony, or rusticated surround. The centrally placed door is marked by a feature such as a balcony, or rusticated surround. Pediments are low-pitched or semi-circular

Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, Faade by Alessandro Galilei (1732-1735)

WALLS
External walls were of highly finished ashlar masonry laid in horizontal courses and materials were in large blocks to give an impression of dignity. Wall angles or corners were often rusticated to give an appearance of strength. Internal walls are smoothly plastered and internal surfaces are often decorated with frescoes. Skylines are characterized by horizontal cornices which give simplicity of outline

Facade of the East Wing of the Louvre

Medici Ricardi Palace, Florence

Interior of Camera Picta, Mantegna Italy, Renaissance, 15th century

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, 1508-1512, fresco

OPENINGS

Ospedale Degli Innocenti, Florence

Arches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental. Arches are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals. Door usually have square lintels. They may be set within an arch or surmounted by a triangular or segmental pediment. Openings that do not have doors are usually arched and frequently 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 alternatively. Stained glass are not featured.

Portal of Como

ROOF

Savona Cathedral Barrel Vault

Carlisle Cathedral

Vaulting is developed by means of semi-circular or segmental vaults on a square plan without ribs. Unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular. Timber roofs are no longer left open and fitted with flat or coffered ceilings. They are not left open as in Medieval architecture. Frequently painted or decorated.

COLUMNS
Classic orders were used - Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite and their proportions standardized Orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall. When against walls, the orders often appear as pilasters. Shafts were varied by rustication.

baroque architecture
1600 to 1750

Baroque means deformed pearl and Baroque architecture usually refers to extravagant buildings, which were an expression of the wealth and power of the Church and society. Baroque style employed the same Renaissance architectural vocabulary, but in a very unique and attractive approach.

The architectural framework remained close to that of the Renaissance, although often it was far more spacious, but had profusion of carved decoration.

San Francisco de Ass Church, Lima, 1673.

 Columns and entablatures are decorated with garlands of flowers and fruits, shells, and waves. Often, alcoves were built into the wall to receive statues, thus making the pattern of light and dark. Surfaces were frequently carved. They often have domes and cupolas and they may or may not have the place of aisles.

Sicilian Baroque. "Collegiata" in Catania, designed by Stefano Ittar, circa 1768

S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome

century architecture

th 19

Eclecticism is an eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury architectural style in which a single piece of work incorporates a mixture of elements from previous historical styles to create something that is new and original

Keble College, Oxford

characteristics of 19th century architecture

The use of a variety of historical styles Development of new materials and structural methods.

In America, early 19th century building design was typically based on Roman or Greek architecture - known as 'Federal style' or 'Greek Revival'.

Baltimore Basilica (1806-21). Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, one of the greatest architects of the late 18th and early 19th century.

Later came a revival of Gothic architecture

St Patrick's Cathedral (1858-79), New York City. James Rewick

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Elements of the gothic style were merged with oriental motifs and forms found in the natural world, resulting in a structure that was distinctive and original.

Romanesque

Marshall Field Wholesale Store(1885-7) Chicago. Henry Hobson Richardson

Renaissance

Boston Public Library Charles Follen McKim

Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor. The world's most famous statue. Dedicated 1886, and designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Its pedestal, by Richard Morris Hunt has elements of neoclassical Greek architecture, such as Doric portals, but the whole is carefully designed so as not to divert attention from the statue itself.