Comparing Two Works from Baroque and Rococo

Comparing Two Works from Baroque and Rococo

Introduction

Although Rococo architecture originated in France, it was far less pronounced there than it was to be later in Germany and Austria. Few buildings were extravagant in appearance, even among those intended to impress, such as the Petit Trianon, which was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel (1698-1782) for Louis XV and built in the park at Versailles. There was, however, a more fundamental shift in taste among the autocratic rulers and in the Catholic Church of central Europe. By the 1720s, several architects, including Johann Fischer von Erlach (1656-1723), Lucas von Hildebrandt (1668-1745), and Johann Michael Fischer (1692-1766), were already invoked in the construction of palaces and churches in the new style, notably in Austria, Germany, Bohemia, and Poland. These buildings had a new-lightness to them, and their structures were enhanced by decorative features with curved, elongated lines . The eye was no longer caught by a single, central focal point but by a rhythmic succession of spaces. Leading examples of this style are Vienna's Karlskirche and the Church of St John Nepomuk in Prague, with their very impressive and effective combinations of frescos and sculptural decorations. In Italy, architecture evoked into a High Baroque that came from the legacy of Francesco Borromini (1599-1667), whose style was influenced by Rome rather than by the French Rococo. The most prominent architect of this stylistic era was a Sicilian, Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736). A pupil of Carlo Fontana (1634-1714) in Rome, Juvarra made his name at a comparatively early age in the service of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy in Turin. His works included the King's Palace of Aranjuez, and his most entrancing building, the Basilica of Superga (1716—31) in Turin. Featuring lively verticality in the form of an elongated dome atop a traditional drum base, the design of the basilica rejected old-style features and extravagant shapes in favour of a freer spatial rhythm, giving a dynamic structure to the building. Juvarra's masterpiece is probably his hunting lodge, the Stupinigi Palace (1729-33), near Turin. Designed to be viewed from the end of a long, straight avenue, the building is enlivened by an airy cupola, and the ample light provided by its many windows . Perhaps the greatest exponent of Late Baroque in Italy was the architect, Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-73). who trained under his father and painted accomplished townscapes, which often achieved the effect of theatrical scenes. The combination of courtly elegance and a talent for designing on a monumental scale served him well when building the Palace at Caserta (1752-70) for the King of Naples. Inspired by Versailles, this enormous and imposing building, set in a vast park, combined solemnity with grace and variety. The gardens were embellished with statues, often exuberantly combined with fountains.

Baroque Work

Salvator Rosa (1615-1673) was believed in the 18th century to have been a bandit, such was the extent to which his name had become synonymous with wild southern-Italian scenery where outlaw gangs kidnapped unsuspecting ...