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Italian Baroque
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For information regarding Baroque art in Italy,

please see Italian Baroque art, for information
regarding Baroque architecture in Italy, please
see Italian Baroque architecture, and for
material regarding Baroque interior design in
Italy, see Italian Baroque interior design.

Italian Baroque (or Barocco) is a stylistic period in

Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th
century to the early 18th century.

Contents
1 History
2 Secular Construction
3 Interiors
4 See also
5 References
The Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale,
6 External links
designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

History
The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion, a
symbolization of their strength as a congregation and the intelligence of their creative minds. In
response to the Protestant Reformation of the earlier 16th century, Roman Catholics embarked on a
program of restoration, a new way of living that became known as the Counter Reformation. The
purpose of the Counter Reformation was aimed at remedying some of the abuses challenged by the
Protestants earlier in the century.[1] Within the church, a renewed Catholic culture was imposed on
Italian society. It started with the Council of Trent, imposed by Pope Paul III, a commission of
cardinals who came together to address issues of the Catholic Church and regain faith among
worshipers.[2] This resulted in guidelines established by the Church for the commissioning work of
artists to communicate biblical truths and ideals.

Secular Construction
New secular construction resulted from the establishment of pioneering religious orders. Between

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1524 and 1575, the Barnabite, Jesuit, Oratorian and Theatine orders came into being, and as their
influence spread, more and more new churches began being built. By 1725, there were 323
churches in Rome alone, serving a permanent population of fewer than 150,000 people.[1] Because
of this rapid growth in church building, it became the responsibility of these religious orders to
spread the word of Catholicism to the population. Religious books were increasingly being printed
in Venice for distribution to the clergy and literate worshipers, passed out during mass and offering
continuous reminders of the presence of Christ on everyday life.[3]

Churches had now become a place for encouragement- spaces of expansive beauty and decoration.

They provided exciting imagery that contrasted greatly with the iconoclastic inclinations
of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther”.[2]

The Roman Church realized the power that art could have to inspire and, therefore, they became
preoccupied with extravagance and display. Their intent was to overwhelm viewers, catch their
attention, and make them want to see more. Entering a Baroque church where visual space, music
and ceremony were combined was a powerful device for securing loyalty of congregations. The
bigger and more beautiful the space, the more people wanted to go. Complex geometry, curving
and intricate stairway arrangements and large-scale sculptural ornamentation offered a sense of
movement and mystery within the space.

Il Gesù was the first of many Counter-Reformation churches built in Rome; serving as the mother
church of the new Jesuit order. Designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, the church of Il Gesù
soon became the prototype for the Baroque churches that the Jesuit order built or rebuilt during the
Counter-Reformation era.[4] The interior of the Gesu was a study of the grandeur that Roman
classicism could offer when combined with simplicity in large scale. High windows puncture the
nave’s barrel vault, as a ring of windows in the drum of the dome bring beams of natural light into
the interior, creating a dramatic contrast of light and darkness in relatively dim space.[2]

The plan of Il Gesù became the standard for churches for years to come; a breakaway from the
ideal central-plan church of the Renaissance into something new. The Latin Cross variation created
a greater sense of spatial unification within the space. In his design for the church of Il Gesù,
Vignola broadened the nave and made the transepts and side chapels smaller, creating a better and
brighter focal point for the main space and allowing more room for the congregation at mass.[4] The
cultural patronage of the pope in Rome was an extreme case of diversity in comparison with
surrounding Italian city-states. The pope served his role as not only the head of the Catholic
Church, but as the acting ruler for the city. He [the pope] controlled what was built and who was
commissioned to build it.

In 1605, at the very beginning of his pontificate, Pope Paul V commissioned Carlo Maderno to
redesign St. Peter's Basilica. It was at the age of 72, in 1546, when Michelangelo first took hold of
the unfinished rebuilding project started by Bramante.[3] When Michelangelo died, the construction

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of the, then, Greek-cross section surrounding the Papal altar and the tomb of Peter had been
completed only as far as the top of the drum. The dome then became completed, with some
modifications, by Giacomo della Porta in 1590.[5] It was the continuous debates over the religious
and aesthetic benefits of keeping the Greek-cross plan or enhancing the space by extending it into
Latin-cross plan that led Paul V to boldly commission for Maderno’s services. Maderno’s initial
projects, including the long nave addition, which created a new Latin-Cross solution upon the
ground plan, the façade and the portico, became an instantly recognizable image of Rome and the
heart and spirit of Catholic Christianity.[6]

To settle the problem of excess open space within the updated basilica, Pope Urban VII
commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to design the internal space. Bernini became responsible for
much of the internal appearance of the basilica, notably the baldacchino (1624–33) erected over the
dome of St. Peter. It acts as a main focal point in the space, combining both sculpture and
architecture into a unified art piece. Complex in form and ornate with sculpture, the baldacchino
serves as a great example of the Baroque ‘style’, massive and ornate, glorifying the church and the
Catholic religion.

This space is an example of quadratura, an attempt to create an illusion through architecture,

painting, and sculpture. Painting and sculpture create an illusion of never-ending height and
dramatic composition.

Interiors
Pietro da Cortona was one of the painters of the 17th century who employed this illusionist way of
painting. Among his most important commissions were the frescoes he painted for the Palace of the
Barberini family. Pietro da Cortona’s compositions were the largest decorative frescoes executed in
Rome since the work of Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel.[3] Harold Osborne, author of The
Oxford Companion of Art, comments on his work the ‘Divine Providence’ completed for the
Barberini palace:

This, his most famous painting, is a triumph of illusionism for the centre of the ceiling
appears open to the sky and the figures seen from below appear to come down into the
room as well as soar out of it”.[2]

Stucco became one of the overall key characteristics of Baroque interiors, enhancing wall spaces,
niches, and ceilings.

It was the reverence for the church that provided funding for more and more building projects
which, in turn, brought even more worshipers into the city –as many as five times the permanent
population during a Holy Year. With this boom in tourism, a continuing job opportunity arose for
the citizens of Rome. The construction industry in Rome soon became the largest employer in the
city.

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Throughout Italy inspiring architects received training on-the-job. In most parts of Italy, local
architects satisfied building needs, but in Rome architects were specifically commissioned either by
the Papal state or family dynasties to work on their projects.[1] Families associated with the papacy,
including the Barberini, Borghese, Chigi and Pamphili, were extremely well off and, in turn, some
of the richest and grandest villas were constructed for them. Competition between these ruling
families meant they rivaled each other in the elaborateness of the detailing in their homes as well as
in the churches they supported.[2]

The hot climate of Italy influenced the choosing of materials and planning of architecture. For
flooring, tile, marble and stone were used; terrazzo flooring, created by chips of marble case into
cement, was also sometimes used in interiors. All of these materials helped cool the space.
Consideration of geographic location was also examined during construction planning. For
example, on average, Sicily receives 1,000 more hours of sunshine each year than Turin.[1] The
facades in Sicilian-built architecture seem extremely massive in comparison to contemporary ones
in the Italian mainland. Regional variations like this can be seen throughout Italy, including Rome.

The role of furniture in Roman interiors was to emphasize social status and to simply add a
decorative element to the interior. Carving was the preferred method of decorating furniture; while
walnut was the primary furniture wood.[2] Emphasis for furniture was on carved and turned
members, which were elaborately placed on high-back armchairs and tables.

Spatial relationships for the interior in the age of the Baroque changed from the block structure of
the Renaissance to more open planning. Grand proportions were typical in Baroque interiors. The
salone was given high priority, again with an emphasis on exaggerated decoration, this time
incorporating accents into the room at different heights. Niches, entablatures, pediments and wall
reliefs created dynamics within the space.

See also
Timeline of Italian artists to 1800

References
1. John Varriano, Italian Baroque and Rococo Architecture, New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
2. Blakemore, 1997
3. Holmes, 1997
4. Marilyn Stokstad, ed. (2005). Art History. 3rd Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
5. Blakemore, 1997, p.143
6. Charpentrat, Pierre (1967). Living Architecture: Baroque. Oldbourne. OCLC 59920343.

External links

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Categories: Italian Baroque Baroque art by region Italian art movements Early Modern Italy
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