Renaissance Architecture
Early 15th - Early 17th centuries
Influences
History
It is in Florence that the new architectural style had its beginning, not slowly evolving in the way that
Gothic grew out of Romanesque, but consciously brought to being by particular architects who
sought to revive the order of a past “Golden Age"
Great inventions and great changes in the world:
• Gunpowder - changed the nature of warfare, and negated the need for large thick-walled fortresses
and castle
• Mariner's Compass - led to new explorations and discoveries
- this was the era when the European countries each had their own colonies elsewhere in the
world
• Printing by Movable Types - contributed to the circulation of ideas and knowledge of architectural
forms
- attempt to understand the ancient world, its values, literary and artistic forms was what
promoted new creativity
"Treatise on Architecture" by Vitruvius in 1486, translated to Italian in 1521
• also religious and intellectual unity of Christendom had begun to crumble
• attacks on the temporal power and wealth of the church
• reformation and counter-reformation
Influences
Periods
1. Early Renaissance
• Period of learning
• designers intent on accurate transcription of Roman elements
2. High Renaissance & Proto-Baroque
• became an individual style in its own right
• conflict between Purists (represented by Palladio who held Roman precedent in high respect) and Proto-
Baroque (represented by Michelangelo who was confident in using the acquired vocabulary freely
• Proto-Baroque also refers to those of Mannerist phase, wherein practices which had no Roman precedent
were interspersed with the usual buildings, or whole buildings were conceived in a non-Roman way
3. Baroque
• highly enriched play of form with multiform elements
• architects worked with freedom and firmly-acquired knowledge
• true nature of Renaissance as a distinctive style began to emerge
• Baroque saw architecture, painting, sculpture and the minor arts being used in harmony to produce the
unified whole
Influences
4. Rococo
• style which is primarily French in origin
• rock-like forms, fantastic scrolls, and crimped shells are worked up together in a
profusion and confusion of detail, presenting a lavish display of decoration
In Summary:
Palladian Architecture was:
• logical, staid and serene
Proto-Baroque Architecture was:
• vivid, virile and intense free, decorative and illogical
Baroque Architecture was:
• dramatic, rich, grand and alive
Rococo Architecture was:
• profuse, often semi-abstract ornamentation
• lightness of color and weight
Architectural Character
• Renaissance movement created a break in the evolution Roof and Ceiling
of European architecture
• raising a high drum above pendentives – to
• departure from Gothic: employment of Classic Roman accommodate not only windows but a decoration with
"orders of architecture” classical columns
• Byzantine structural and decorative practices, instead of • dome crowned with lantern
Gothic, were interwoven with those from Roman and
Romanesque succession • Timber roofs are no longer left open
Plans Walls
• Towers are sparingly used while the dome is the • rusticated masonry walls and rusticated wall angles
predominant feature called quoins
• Symmetrical in plan • Ashlar masonry laid in horizontal courses and
materials were in large blocks and rusticated to give
Columns an impression of dignity
• orders were standardized by Palladio, Vignola, Scamozzi • Pediments are low-pitched or semicircular
- used rationally and decoratively
Openings
• Classic orders were used and their proportions
standardized • baluster, developed from candelabra
• Shafts were varied by rustication • pointed arch was changed to Roman semi-circular
arch
Architectural Character
Mouldings
Projecting horizontal cornices cast deep shadows
Ornaments
• Motifs:
- Classical mythology
- Pagan subjects
- Fresco paintings
• Characteristics
- Careful executed
- Fine craftmanship
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Florence
FLORENCE – birth of Renaissance - vitality of social life at every level
• cities of Florence, Genoa, Milan - central, - artists, who excelled in several arts, achieve
chief powers of Italy high status in society
• variety of building stone: - craft guilds, with both religious and lay
- large blocks of fine stone connotations, directed activities of studios
and workshops
- yellow and white marble Examples:
- white marble from Carrara Plan: palace-type building evolved; built
- blue-gray colored pietra Serena and brown around a cortile or interior court, like medieval
pietra Forte cloister; ground floor and piano nobile
- brick and terra-cotta from Milan Façade: massive, rugged, fortress-like
character due to use of rusticated masonry;
Medici family: astylar, because of absence of pilasters or
• founded by Giovanni de Medici, who was a columns at façade; large windows unnecessary
commercial and political power and unsuitable; columnar arcade using classical
orders were used at courtyards
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Florence
Roof: low pitched roof; use of balustrade,
cornice or parapet; crowning the walls are boldly
protruding roof cornices, proportional to the
building height
EARLY RENAISSANCE
• famous architect is Filippo Brunelleschi
Example:
Palazzo Strozzi by Benedetto da Majano
- representative of Florence palace of that period
- open cortile and piano nobile
- astylar exterior of uniform rustication
- cornice of 1/13 the height, 2.1 m projection
- plain astragal frieze
Palazzo Ricardi by Michelozzi Palazzo Strozzi Palazzo Ricardi
- graduated rustication
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Florence
HIGH RENAISSANCE & PROTO-BAROQUE
few examples BAROQUE
• famous architect is Bartolomeo Ammanati - famous architect is Bartolome Bianco
Some examples:
Porta Pila, Genoa
- with true Baroque gateway
- massive entablature and heavily
rusticated columns
- delicate shrine
Palazzo Carignano, Turin
- best known building by Guarini
- undulating central part with paired grand
New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo staircases and oval hall
Michelangelo led the Proto-Baroque breakaway from - facade of brick and terra-cotta
academic formalism with this design
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Florence
Palazzo Carignano, Turin
Porta Pila, Genoa
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
• political authority was recovered by Pope in Rome CHURCHES:
• decline of baronial influence Plan: centralized and compact
• stable government, increased population and Façade: astylar treatment; convex or concave
wealth plan of front, to contrast light and shade
• revival of building in Rome Roof: circular or elliptical dome domes on high
• ruins of old roman buildings supplied models for drums; crowned with lanterns; used different
new buildings, which in turn served as models for types of pediments:
all of Europe
Examples:
PALAZZI – majesty and dignity
Façade: generally astylar and cliff-like façade, using
rusticated block; doorways are flanked by columns;
large and small orders - sometimes used in
juxtaposition
Roofs - rarely visible, hidden by balustrades and
cornice
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
EARLY
RENAISSANCE
• relatively unimportant
phase
famous architect is
Luciano Laurana
Ducal Palace, Urbino
• beautiful and charming
apartments
• gracious windows and
doorways
• marble-hooded
chimney pieces
• cortile
• arcades on single
columns
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
HIGH RENAISSANCE & PROTO-
BAROQUE
• splendidly presented phases
• famous architect is Bramante
• Mannerists used architectural elements
in a free, decorative and illogical way,
unsanctioned by antique precedent
Some examples:
Palazzo della Cancelleria
• first important Renaissance building in
Rome
• facade of travertine stone from
Colosseum
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
Tempietto in S. Pietro, Montorio
• site where S. Peter was martyred
• by Donato Bramante
• resembling small Roman circular
temple with Doric peristyle
• 4.5 m internal diameter
• dome on drum pierced with
alternating windows and shell-
headed niches
S. Peter, Rome
• most important building S. Peter, Rome
• with cathedral, piazza and the
Vatican, forms a world-famous group Tempietto in S. Pietro,
• 120 years, outcome of the works of Montorio
many architects under the direction
of the pope
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
8. Giacomo della Porta
12 Architects:
9. Domenico Fontana: completed dome in 1590
1. Bramante: design was selected from several entries
in a competition; Greek cross; foundation stone laid in 10. Vignola: 1564, added sided cupolas
1506; proposed a dome similar to pantheon, with 11. Carlo Maderna: 1606 AD to 1612 AD;
peristyle and lantern lengthened nave to form Latin crossgigantic
2. Giuliano da Sangallo: upon death of Julius II in facade
1513 12. Bernini: 1655 AD to 1667 AD; erected
3. Fra Giocondo noble entrance piazza 198 m wide; fourfold
Tuscan colonnade; completed plan is a Latin
4. Raphael: proposed a Latin cross plan; died cross; internally, length of 183 m, width of
5. Baldassare Peruzzi: reverted to Greek cross; died 137 m; at crossing, majestic dome of 41.9 m
internal diameter
6. Antonio da Sangallo: slightly altered plan; extended
vestibule and campanile; elaborated central dome;
died
7. Michelangelo: 72 years old; present building owes
most of its outstanding features to him; Greek-cross
plan; strengthened piers of dome, redesigned
surrounding chapels; reduced the original and
indeterminate number of bays to each limb of church
from two to one
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Rome
BAROQUE
Examples:
Fontana di Trevi: by Nicola Salvi S. Susana, Rome S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Venice
Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Verona Brescia, Bergamo Examples:
greatness founded on oriental commerce PALAZZI - compact plans owing to cramped sites;
sea-power added graceful balconies, adding to the play of light
and shadow on the façade
semi-independence from popes CHURCHES - simple and aisleless; marble
many merchants and commercial magnates, each in encrustation inside and outside
rivalry with each other EARLY RENAISSANCE
Materials: Some examples:
• earth for bricks Doge's Palace
• imported stone from other towns Palazzo corner Spinelli, Venice - typical palazzo with
• cream-colored stone from Istria balconied windows
• red and orange marble from Verona HIGH RENAISSANCE & PROTO-BAROQUE
• uniquely Venetian examples • use of large and small orders together
• more Byzantine than Romanesque or Gothic • coupled columns
• generally lighter and more graceful than Florentine • tabernacle windows
architecture
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Venice
Other examples:
• Palazzo Grimani, Venice
San Michelle's greatest work
• The Basilica, Vicenza
Palazzo Bevilacqua, Verona
Palazzo Pompeii, Verona
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Venice
Other examples:
The Basilica, Vicenza
Palazzo Grimani, Venice - San
Michelle's greatest work
Renaissance Architecture: Italy – Venice
BAROQUE
• adapted to strict Venetian
conditions
• few attempts to use curves
on plans and facades
• ornament with refinement
and freedom of lines
• sculptured carvings have
maritime allusions
Examples:
• Palazzo Rezzonico, Venice
• S. Maria della Salute,
Venice - octagonal plan Palazzo Rezzonico, Venice
with central space of 20 m
diameter; one of largest
aisled polygonal churches;
peak of Baroque style in
Venice
S. Maria della Salute, Venice
Renaissance Architecture: France
SECULAR
ARCHITECTURE
Examples:
Chateau de Blois
Chateau d'Azay-
Rideau
Chateau de
Chenonceaux
Chateau de
Chambord - 1519
to 1547 AD; by
Italian, Domenico
da Cortona; most
famous in Loire
district; semi- Chateau de Chambord Chateau de Chenonceaux
fortified
Renaissance Architecture: France
Chateau de Maisons - 1642 to 1646
AD; one of most harmonious of all Petit Trianon, Versailles - 1762 to 1768 AD; by
chateaux; by Francois Mansart; a JA Gabriel for Louis XV; one of most superb
symmetrical E-plan pieces of domestic architecture of the century
Renaissance Architecture: France
Palaise de Fontainebleau - 1528 AD to 1540 AD; by
Palaise du Louvre, Paris - 1546 to 1878 AD; master mason Gilles Le Breton for Francis I
from Francis I to Napoleon III; together with
Tuileries, constituted one of the most
imposing palaces in Europe; 45 acres
Renaissance Architecture: France
CHURCHES
St. Eustache, Paris - Early Period; planned like a 5- Church of the Val de Grace, Paris - projecting portal
aisled gothic church: apsidal end, high roof, window by Francois Mansart; dome by Lemercier
tracery, flying buttresses, pinnacles, deeply recessed
portals; clothed with Renaissance details
Renaissance Architecture: France
St. Gervais, Paris - earliest wholly-
classical church façade; by Salomon de St. Etienne du Mont, Paris
Brosse
Renaissance Architecture: England
HISTORY
• great wars occurred in 18th to 19th centuries
• establishment of Renaissance style in England
• continental travels closed to Englishmen
• followed Tudor architecture
Henry VIII:
• transition style with Gothic features and Renaissance
• king and supreme head of English church detail
• dissolved monasteries and sold their estates • mostly secular architecture
• Queen Mary was Supreme Governor of Anglican 2. Jacobean (1603 to 1625 AD)
Church in 1559 AD
• sense of security and prosperity
LATE RENAISSANCE:
Stuarts:
3. Stuart (1625 to 1702 AD)
• gave England closer ties with France and Italy
1st Phase: Inigo Jones – influenced by Italian Renaissance
• art and architecture flourished
2nd Phase: Christopher Wren – influenced by French
PERIODS Renaissance
4. Georgian (1702 to 1830 AD)
EARLY RENAISSANCE:
1. Elizabeth (1558 to 1603 AD)
• reign of Queen Elizabeth
Renaissance Architecture: England
EXAMPLES in bigger mansions:
ELIZABETHAN TOMBS & FITTINGS • more rooms around a central court
Tomb of Henry VII, Westminster Abbey - 1509 AD; early and site:
exquisite example of Renaissance art; black marble table tomb
• looked outwards, rather than inwards (with forecourt, gateways,
ELIZABETHAN MANSIONS angle pavilions, formal gardens, fountains, balustraded terraces,
topiary gardens, orchards)
• statesmen, merchants and gentry built mansions in the
countryside to suit their positions exterior:
• designed comprehensively by owner and chosen master- • towers, gables, parapets, balustrades, chimney stacks, oriel and bay
craftsmen windows
• E-shaped plan or H-shaped plan JACOBEAN MANSIONS
parts: Hatfield House, Herts - E-shaped
• great hall Bramshill House, Hampshire - unusual H-type plan; arcades and oriel
window
• kitchen and office
Blicking Hall, Norfolk
• living rooms
JACOBEAN COLLEGES
• grand staircase
The Bodleian Library, Oxford
• long gallery
Merton College, Oxford
• withdrawing room or solar
Renaissance Architecture: England
Hatfield House, Herts
Merton College, Oxford
Renaissance Architecture: England
STUART BUILDINGS
Banqueting House, Whitehall, London
- 1619 to 1622 AD; by Inigo Jones -
first used Portland stone in London
buildings
Queen's House - 1616 AD to 1635 AD;
influence of Palladian architecture;
additions by Webb
Ashburnham House, Westminster -
1692 AD; fine staircase
Belton House, Grantham - 1685 AD to
1688 AD
Honington Hall, Warwickshire - 1685
St. Paul's Cathedral, London - 1675 to 1710 AD; by Sir
AD Christopher Wren - used stone for churches and secular
buildings; from Greek cross to Latin cross plan; area of
Stoke Hall 6000 sq. m; central space under dome for big
congregations; dome painted by Sir James Thornhill
Renaissance Architecture: England
GEORGIAN HOUSES
• planned as a simple
symmetrical square or
rectangular block
• with or without wings
Some examples:
Swan House, Chichester -
1711 AD; planned as a
simple symmetrical
square or rectangular
block
Moot House, Downton
Wiltshire - 1650 AD;
planned as a simple
symmetrical square or
rectangular block Moot House, Downton Wiltshire
Holkham Hall, Norfolk
Holkham Hall, Norfolk -
1734 AD; by William
Kent
Renaissance Architecture: England
Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire - 1704 to 1720 AD; most monumental mansion in
England; by Sir John Vanburgh; example of central block with wings
Renaissance Architecture: Spain and Portugal
PERIODS CLASSICAL PERIOD (1556 to 1690
EARLY PERIOD (1492 to 1556 AD) AD)
• grafting Renaissance details unto Gothic • close adherence to Italian Renaissance
forms art
• influenced by Moorish art
• Plateresque, rich and poetic style, from the BAROQUE PERIOD (1650 to 1750 AD)
minuteness of detail and similarity to • classical rules disregarded
silversmiths' work, extremely florid and • Churrigueresque, fantastically
decorative extravagant expression, by Jose de
in Portugal: Churriguera, (1650 to 1723 AD)
• Manueline Style (from King Manuel I, 1495
to 1521 AD) ANTIQUARIAN PERIOD (1750 to
• decorative rather than structural in character 1830 AD)
• inspired by the voyages of discoverers • returned to ancient classical models
Renaissance Architecture: Spain and Portugal
EXAMPLES
SECULAR BUILDING
The Escorial, Madrid - 1559 to 1584 AD; austere The University, Salamanca - facade is a
group of buildings; monastery, college, church and Plateresque design masterpiece; admirable
palace with state apartments craftsmanship
Renaissance Architecture: Spain and Portugal
EXAMPLES Other examples:
SECULAR BUILDING Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca - Façade covered
with carved scallop shells; Windows with Moorish
ironwork grilles, upper ones with carvings
The Palacio Nacional, Queluz - 1758 to 1794 AD; The Alcazar, Toledo - castle of mixed Moorish and
exquisite Rococo country house; gardens by Robillon Gothic character; remodelled by Alonso de
Covarrubias
Renaissance Architecture: Spain and Portugal
EXAMPLES The Sacristy of La Catuja (Charter House),
Granada - 1727 to 1764 AD; extreme example of
ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS
Churrigueresque; windows at high level; bizarre
El Pilar Cathedral, Zaragosa - 1667 AD; fretted plasterwork on walls
rectangular plan; exterior of many domes;
Moorish influence
Renaissance Architecture: Central Europe
PERIODS BAROQUE (1600 to 1710 AD)
Renaissance influence from Italy and France, • local architects trained in Italy
deferred by 125 years ROCOCO (1710 to 1760 AD)
EARLY RENAISSANCE (1550 to 1600 AD) • great refinement in architecture and decoration
• introduction of Renaissance elements into ANTIQUARIAN (1760 to 1830 AD)
Gothic buildings
• return to ancient classical models
PROTO-BAROQUE (1600 to 1660 AD)
• Italian architects themselves carried
Renaissance into Switzerland, Austria and
Germany
• emulated by local architects
Renaissance Architecture: Central Europe
EXAMPLES:
SECULAR BUILDINGS
Heidelberg Castle - 1531 to 1612 AD;
exemplifies progressive developments of the
Early Renaissance on the castle; great watchtower
and irregular court; Renaissance buildings:
Saalbau, Heinrichsbau, Friedrichsbau
Other examples:
The Rathaus, Heilbronn
Zeughaus, Gdansk, Poland - northern brick
architecture; by Flemish architect Arton van
Obberge,
Heidelberg Castle
The Loggia, Waldstein Palace, Prague - stucco
decorations by Italian, Bartolome Bianco
The Troja Palace, Prague - by JB Mathley
Renaissance Architecture: Central Europe
ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS
Wiblingen Abbey Church
The Pilgrimage Church, Steinhausen - by
Dominikus Zimmerman; Rococo decorations by
Johann Zimmerman
The Wieskirche, Steinhausen - most celebrated
Rococo church
St. Michael, Berg-an-Laim, Munich - 1738 to
1751 AD
The Theatine Church, Munich - by A Barelli and
H Zulalli; Baroque style
Brevnov Monastery Church, Prague
Karlskirche, Vienna The Pilgrimage Church, Steinhausen
Monastery, Melk - one of most striking Baroque
monuments
