ARCH

 2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   1  

The  Renaissance,  Chapter  11  

The Renaissance: Chapter 11

Characteristics of the Renaissance:
1. Plans and elevations regulated by the proportion of a module, usually based on the
diameter measurement taken at the base of the column of one of the five orders.
2. Use of the orders to compose and/or articulate elevations.
3. Use and new interpretations of ancient building types as precedent for form.
4. Development of motifs that will have a lasting influence on architecture to the
present day.

Concepts / Terms / Vocabulary

Vitruvian Man (by Da Vinci)
The Five Orders: Tuscan, Roman Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, & Composite
(NOTE: The Romans adopt and adapt the Greek Doric, giving it a base and making
its column shaft slimmer. The Greek Doric will not be ‘rediscovered’ and re-
appreciated until the 18th century, but especially during the 19th century style known
as “Greek Revival.”
Building Types: tholos, basilica, theatrum, porticus, and domus.
Building Systems:
Trabeation: post-and-beam construction
Arcuation: arch construction made of voussoirs and keystone
Motifs (in the arts, a recurring thematic element):
Triumphal Arch Motif:
The Triumphal Arch Motif refers to the arches that Emperors Constantine and
Titus erected to commemorate their conquests. It is a single arch in the case of
Titus, and in the case of Constantine, it is a central arched opening flanked by two
shorter arched openings. Sometimes, the flanking openings are trabeated rather
than arcuated.

Arch of Constantine Arch of Titus

Temple Front Motif:

The Temple Front Motif refers to the pedimented portico of the ancient Roman
temple. This pedimented portico in the Renaissance was often rendered not as a
free standing portico, but as a reference to the portico by applying the orders
directly to the façade of the building, as Alberti did at San Andrea Mantua.
ARCH  2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   2  
The  Renaissance,  Chapter  11  

Roman Pantheon San Andrea Mantua

Serliana Motif (aka, Palladian Motif): An arched opening resting on columns or

piers, flanked by trabeated openings.
Serliana is a window with three openings designed following a pattern given by
Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1554) in his Trattato di Architettura a treaty which
greatly influenced the architecture of the Late Renaissance.

The Serliana window at Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, Italy.

Belvedere Motif: An arch resting on columns or piers, flanked by trabeated

elements, but the arched and trabeated elements are not necessarily openings.
A belvedere is a structure designed to incorporate a view. In the case of the
Belvedere at the Vatican, Bramante’s problem was to design a system using the
orders that would allow for flexible horizontal dimensions while maintaining a
regular height required for the Corinthian order that he chose. His solution is
similar to the triumphal arch motif in that it features an arch flanked by trabeated
elements. In this case, however, the larger Corinthian order is superimposed on a
series of arches. Pairs of Corinthian pilasters are arranged to either side of an arch
that occupies a plane behind the pilasters. The width between the paired columns
can be adjusted imperceptibly to accommodate the required length of the building
without changing the height of either column or arch. Palladio and others would
later use this motif to great effect.

 
Cortile Belvedere, Bramante Basilica at Vicenza, Palladio

Axis, Axial (directional device, such as an avenue or boulevard)

Note: The plural of “Axis” is “Axes”, and the plural is pronounced “ax-eez.”
Know this difference and use it correctly.
ARCH  2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   3  
The  Renaissance,  Chapter  11  

Cross Axis (intersection of two axes)

Short Axis (in an oval)
Radial (developing uniformly from a central axis, such as the avenues converging on
the Piazza del Popolo)
Terminus, Terminal (focal point, such as an obelisk)
Focal Point Diagonal (directional device)
Rustication: rough-surfaced masonry blocks, having beveled or rebated edges and
pronounced joints.
To Appropriate (Appropriation, adj.): To set apart for or assign to a particular purpose.
Appropriation will be a theme throughout this course. In architecture,
appropriation, also meant the transformation of meaning and use. For example,
the early Christian church appropriated the Roman basilica building type for use as
a church, thereby transforming its original purpose and meaning. Renaissance
architects, Alberti in particular, appropriated the ancient building types in a variety
of ways.
To Associate (Associationism, as a noun): The process of forming mental connections or
bonds between sensations, ideas, or memories.
Associationism also will be a theme throughout the course. In architecture,
associationism is used several different ways – to lend legitimacy or authority to
those who commission the building; to invoke the past for various purposes; etc.
For example, in early Christian architecture, the apse of the Roman basilica was
appropriated and thus meant to be associated with the authority of still Deified
Roman Emperor. In this case, the apse, once the seat of Imperial Judges, was
transformed to the seat of Christ, whose Father would be the judge of mankind.
Thus Christ’s Authority is associated with a similar authority, that of the Deified
Emperor. Eventually, with the fall of the Roman Empire, the association was
completed and then forgotten by both believers and non-believers.
BOOKS:
The Ten Books of Architecture, early 1st century, Vitruvius
On the Art of Building (also known as “The Ten Books), 1485, Leon Battista Alberti

Historical Periods:
Wikipedia has excellent summaries of these topics, and I suggest you read these entries
as a refresher for the larger context that we will be discussing. This is general knowledge
that any person with an undergraduate degree should know, so make yourself competent
if not fluent in these topics:
Middle Ages
Renaissance

Italian Renaissance
Buildings and Architects:
Florence Cathedral (Duomo), 1407, Fillipo Brunelleschi
San Lorenzo, Florence, 1421, Brunelleschi
San Spirito, Florence, 1445, Brunelleschi
Pazzi Chapel, Florence,1430, Brunellleschi
Palazzo Medici, Florence, 1444, Brunelleschi
ARCH  2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   4  
The  Renaissance,  Chapter  11  

Palazzo Rucellai, Florence, 1446, Leon Battista Alberti

San Andrea, Mantua, 1442, Alberti
Tempietto, Rome, 1502, Donato Bramante
St. Peter’s, The Vatican, Rome, 1505, Bramante
Belvedere, The Vatican, Rome, 1505, Bramante
House of Raphael (Palazzo Caprini), Rome, 1512, Bramante
St. Peter’s, The Vatican, Rome, 1546, Michelangelo
Basilica, Vicenza, 1549, Andrea Palladio
Villa Barbaro, Veneto, 1557, Palladio
Villa Rotunda, Veneto, 1566, Palladio

Mannerism
Laurentian Library, Florence, 1524, Michelangelo
Campidoglio, Rome, 1537, Michelangelo
St. Peter’s, The Vatican, Rome, 1546, Michelangelo
Palazzo del Te, Mantua 1524, Guilio Romano

French Renaissance
Blois, Loire Valley, 1515
Chambord, Loire Valley, 1519

English Renaissance
Queen’s House, Greenwich, 1616, Inigo Jones
Banquetting House, London, 1619, Inigo Jones
St. Paul’s Covent Garden, London, 1631, Inigo Jones

 
 
ARCH  2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   1  
The  Baroque,  Chapter  12  

The Baroque, Chapter 12

Characteristics of the Baroque:
1. Sense of movement, energy, tension.
2. Chiaroscuro (key-ra-skew-row): strong contrasts of light and shadow, without
regard to color.
3. Concantenation: the building up of parts to the center.

Concepts and Terms (refer to those listed under Renaissance)

Historical Periods:
Wikipedia has excellent summaries of these topics, and I suggest you read these entries
as a refresher for the larger context that we will be discussing. This is general knowledge
that any person with an undergraduate degree should know, so make yourself competent
if not fluent in these topics:
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Reformation
Counter-Reformation
Economic & Social Classes: Monarchy Aristocracy Merchant Class

Italian Baroque
Sixtus V’s plan for Rome, 1585-90
Il Gesu, Rome, 1568-76, Giacomo Vignola & Giacomo della Porta
Sta. Susanna, Rome, 1596-1603, Carlo Maderno
S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1634, Francesco Borromini
St. Peter’s, Rome:
Plan (centralized): Michaelangelo, 1546-64
Plan (processional) Extended and new façade: Carlo Maderno, 1606-12
Baldacchino: Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1624-33
Scala Regia: Bernini, 1663-66
Piazza (in two parts): Bernini, 1657
Piazza Retta (first part): trapezoidal part focusing on façade
Piazza Obliqua (second part): oval part focusing on obelisk Piazza Navona, 1644,
Bernini
Piazza Del Popolo, 1662-79, Bernini & Carlo Rainaldi

Northern Baroque and Rococo

German Baroque
Vierzehnheiligen, Bamberg, Germany, 1744, Balthasar Neumann
Die Weis, Bavaria, Germany, 1745, Dominikus Zimmermann
Karlskirche, Vienna, Austria, 1715-25, Johann Fischer von Erlach
Residence, Wurzburg, Germany, 1716-25, Balthasar Neumann

Continued on page 2
ARCH  2315:    Architecture  of  the  18th,  19th,  and  20th  Centuries   2  
The  Baroque,  Chapter  12  

French Baroque
Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Paris, 1757-61,
Louis Le Vau (chateau);
Charles Lebrun (interior);
Andre Le Notre (gardens)
Versailles, France, 1661-c. 1710,
Louis Le Vau & Francois Mansart (chateau);
Charles Lebrun (interior);
Andre Le Notre (gardens)

English Baroque
1666 Plan for London, Sir Christopher Wren
St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, 1675-1709, Sir Christopher Wren
St. Stephens Walbrook, London, 1672-87, Sir Christopher Wren