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BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE

1600-1750

The word Baroque literally means a "misshapen pearl". This period of architecture was called Baroque because some considered the style very odd. Baroque architecture evolved out of Renaissance architecture in Italy. The two main architects of the Baroque era were Bernini and Borromini. Bernini's first medium was sculpture. He liked to incorporate a lot of sculpture into his buildings. A sculptor and mason, Francesco Burromini went to Rome in 1614, and trained under Bernini.

Late Roman buildings, particularly St. Peter's Basilica, may be considered precursors to Baroque architecture, as the design achieves a colossal unity that was previously unknown.  In the 1600's, the Renaissance architects began to get bored with the symmetry and same old forms they had been using for the past 200 years. They started to make bold, curving, unsymmetrical buildings, with ornate decorations.  

The facades consisted of many curves, often using the double curve (in at the sides, out in the middle). Baroque pediments (triangular area between the rooftop and the end of the roofs) were often highly decorated. The tips were sometimes turned into scrolls and gilded .  In these two examples, St. Moise in Venice (on the right) has a more ornate facade than does St. Ignatius in Mainz, Germany; however the interior of St. Ignatius is almost Rococo.  

The most distinct shape of the Baroque style is the oval.  The baroque architects used marble, gilt, and bronze in abundance on the interior. One often finds the interiors surrounded by numerous gilded puttos (little angels) as well as some life sized ones.  

The ceilings and domes often contained large frescos or murals using what is known as "Trompe l'oeil" painting which is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions, instead of actually being a two-dimensional painting.  The walls are often highly painted

The Baroque played into the demand for an architecture that was on the one hand more accessible to the emotions and, on the other hand, a visible statement of the wealth and power of the Church. By the middle of the 17th century, the Baroque style had found its secular expression in the form of grand palaces, first in France and then throughout Europe.  

The Baroque style became more restrained in France. While lavish details were used, French buildings were usually symmetrical and orderly. The Palace of Versailles is an outstanding example.  Baroque architecture emerged in England after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Architect Christopher Wren used restrained Baroque styling when he helped rebuild the city, his most famous accomplishment was St. Paul's Cathedral (on the right).  

Builders in Spain, Mexico, and South America combined Baroque ideas with exuberant sculptures, Moorish details, and extreme contrasts between light and dark. Spanish Baroque architecture was used through the mid-1700s, and continued to be imitated much later. In Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, and Russia, Baroque ideas were often applied with a lighter touch. Pale colors and curving shell shapes gave buildings the delicate appearance of a frosted cake. The term Rococo was used to describe these softer versions of the Baroque style.  

 Below is a list of the Baroque churches that we have visited.  As I write about these churches on the various travel pages, I will provide a link from the church listed below to a full description of that particular church.

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