9 Characteristics of Baroque Architecture (16th-18th Century)
But how can one direct light in a building? After all, light is not a static painting nor a sculpture. It could be done by the juxtaposition of strong projections, which are complemented by abrupt and deep recesses. Another way of doing this would be by breaking the surface, making it irregular. The main architectural elements that aided in this were the small carved decorations that would shelter both light and shadow in their carvings, giving off from afar the sensation of movement. Another way of accomplishing light manipulation would be by the simple combination of different materials that would create the breaking of surface. Each material takes on light and shadow differently. Therefore, through the use of multiple materials, the architect could create a play of light and shadow with high contrast, just like a Caravaggio painting.
The Baroque style
The Baroque is a highly ornate and elaborate style of architecture, art and design that flourished in Europe in the 17th and first half of the 18th century. Originating in Italy, its influence quickly spread across Europe and it became the first visual style to have a significant worldwide impact.
A defining characteristic of the Baroque style was the way in which the visual arts of painting, sculpture and architecture were brought together, into a complete whole, to convey a single message or meaning.
Baroque art and design addressed the viewer’s senses directly, appealing to the emotions as well as the intellect. It reflected the hierarchical and patriarchal society of the time, developing through and being used by those in power – the church, absolute rulers and the aristocracy – to persuade as well as impress, to be both rich and meaningful. Compared to the control and carefully balanced proportions associated with the Renaissance, Baroque is known for its movement and drama.
The first global style
Baroque’s influence extended from Italy and France to the rest of Europe, and then travelled via European colonial initiatives, trade and missionary activity to Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. Its global spread saw Chinese carvers working in Indonesia, French silversmiths in Sweden and Italian hardstone specialists in France. Sculpture was sent from the Philippines to Mexico and Spain, whilst London-made chairs went all over Europe and across the Atlantic, and French royal workshops turned out luxury products that were both desired and imitated by fashionable society across Europe. However, as a style, Baroque also changed as it crossed the world, being adapted to new needs and local tastes, materials and contexts.
In China, the European pavilions were the grandest expressions of the Qing rulers’ interest in the arts of Europe. These European-style palaces were part of the Yuanming Yuan or Old Summer Palace in Beijing, the Emperor Qianlong’s summer residence. Designed by Jesuit priests, the pavilions – most of which were completed between 1756 and 1766 – were based on Baroque models and included grand fountains and statues. In the 1780s, a set of copperplate engravings depicting the European pavilions was commissioned. This album,
A sense of drama
An important feature of Baroque art and design is its use of human figures. Represented as allegorical, sacred or mythological, these figures helped turn the work into a drama to convey particular messages and to engage the emotions of the viewer. They have a sense of realistic immediacy, as if they had been stopped in mid-action. Facial expression, pose, gesture and drapery were all used to add dramatic details.
A bust of King Charles II of England in our collection perfectly captures the drama of Baroque portraiture. Portrayed in an animated fashion, his head is turned to one side and an elaborate wig cascades down over his lace cravat and billowing drapery. Such grand Baroque images of monarchs and powerful aristocrats were more common in 17th-century France than in England but Charles had spent much of his youth in mainland Europe and favoured European artists. The bust is in the tradition of flamboyant and imposing portraits of monarchs, and would have unambiguously asserted the King’s status.
The performance of architecture
Baroque buildings were also dynamic and dramatic, both using and breaking the rules of classical architecture. Inside, the architecture echoed theatrical techniques – painted ceilings made rooms appear as if they were open to the sky and hidden windows were used to illuminate domes and altars.
Again, the design was used to convey specific meanings and emotions. Papal Rome became a key site for religious Baroque architecture. An example of the Baroque’s theatricality can be found in Gianlorenzo Bernini’s (1598 – 1680) design for St Peter’s Square. Its grand, imposing curved colonnades, centred on an obelisk, are used to both overwhelm the visitor and to bring them into the church’s embrace.
Baroque architecture also shaped the way the public spaces of the city appeared. Public celebrations played an important role in the political life of a nation. Typically, such events took place out of doors and were elaborately designed spectacles. Urban squares such as Piazza Navona in Rome and Place Louis-le-Grand (now Place Vendôme) in Paris were the backdrop for firework displays, lavish theatrical performances and processions in elaborate and expensive costumes.
Imposing architecture was also used to reinforce the power of absolute rulers, such as with the Palace of Versailles, in France – the most imitated building of the 17th century. In 1717, the Swedish architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger compiled a “treatise on the decoration of interiors, for all kinds of royal residences, and others of distinction in both town and country”, based on his own travel notes. One of the most expensive, recent innovations he recorded was the presence of mirrors so large they covered entire walls. He also noted the use of glass over the chimneypiece in the King’s Chamber at Versailles.
Marvellous materials
A fascination with physical materials was central to the Baroque style. Virtuoso art objects made of rare and precious materials had long been valued and kept in special rooms or cabinets, alongside natural history specimens, scientific instruments, books, documents and works of art. However, during the Baroque period, the birth of modern science and the opening up of the world beyond Europe brought an increasingly serious interest in the nature and meaning of these exotic materials. Rarities such as porcelain and lacquer from East Asia became fashionable and were imitated in Europe. New techniques, such as marquetry (the laying of veneers of differently coloured woods onto the surface of furniture), developed by French and Dutch cabinet-makers and learned from them elsewhere, were also developed.
The value attached to such materials can be seen in a porcelain cup from our collection. Made between 1630 and 1650 in China originally as a writing-brush jar, it later had extravagant silver-gilt mounts added in London, which transformed the brush jar into a luxurious, decorative two-handled cup and cover.
Baroque ornament
Representations of the natural world, as well as motifs derived from human and animal forms, were popular decorative features. The most widespread form of Baroque floral decoration was a running scroll, often combined with acanthus – a stylised version of a real plant of the same name. A late 17th-century tankard in our collection features lavish floral decoration. The leaves of the flowers have been turned into scrolling foliage, while the flowers themselves have striped petals, likely to represent a tulip, another key motif of Baroque art.
The auricular style, which featured soft, fleshy abstract shapes, also emerged in the early 17th century, creating an effect that was ambiguous, suggestive and bizarre. In fact, the term ‘Baroque’ was a later invention – ‘bizarre’ was one of the words used at the time for the style we associate as Baroque today.
The theatre was a setting for magnificent productions of drama, ballet and opera – a new art form at that time. With their ornate costumes, complex stage sets and ingenious machinery, these performances created wonder and awe. Theatre was popular both with the public and at court. Written by Jean-Baptiste Lully for the French court of Louis XIV (reigned 1643 – 1715), the opera Atys was such a favourite with the King that it became known as “The King’s Opera”. Our collection includes a pen and ink design for the costume of the character Hercules in Atys. He is shown in a ballet pose, wearing a Roman-style costume, and identified by his club and lion skin.
Theatre also played a role in the power struggles between European courts. Rulers vied to outdo each other in the magnificence of their productions. In France, theatre and opera also became a key element of Louis XIV’s cultural policy, which was used to control the nobility and express his power and magnificence. In the early 18th century, the theatre building itself acquired new importance as proof of courtly, civic or technological power. The resulting new buildings across Europe established the theatre in the form we know today.
However, by the mid-18th century, the Baroque style seemed increasingly out of step with the mood of the time, which placed increasing emphasis on reason and scientific enquiry. Baroque was criticised as an “immoral” style and art and design turned away from its use of emotion, drama and illusion, returning to a simpler style inspired by classical antiquity. It was only in the late 19th century that the style began to be critically reappraised once more.
9 Characteristics of Baroque Architecture (16th-18th Century)
Baroque architecture flourished in Europe from the 16th to early 18th centuries. It appeared as a result of the Counter-Reformation and aimed to impress the viewer with its breathtaking structures.
Baroque architecture originated in late 16th-century Italy. This architectural style developed until the 18th century in regions such as Germany and colonial South America. The baroque style was created with a clear purpose, namely to aid the Catholic Church in winning back the adepts of the Reformation. Because the teachings of most reformed Protestants aimed for a minimalist and clean architectural style, baroque architecture did precisely the contrary. Baroque architecture proposed a rich, fluent, impressive, and dramatic style to visually oppose reformed churches. The buildings take architecture to the next level, both visually and technically, and aim to introduce the viewer to a fantastic realm that evokes the sights of Heaven.
1. Key Elements To Look For In Baroque Architecture
Baroque architecture serves a known purpose, namely that of the aid of the Counter-Reformation. Therefore, it has a clear architectural program that allows for the identification of several characteristics. The main idea behind the baroque is the stimulation of the emotions and the senses. Because the Reformation promoted a rationalized and austere image, the Catholic Church responded by taking the opposite approach. This is why every form and shape from a baroque building targets the engagement of senses and ignites emotions.
Engaging with the viewer’s emotions is no easy feat; therefore, architectural plans tend to rely on complex shapes: often an oval base and various oppositions of materials and forms that give the building a dynamic aspect. The combination of different spaces is a favorite way of emphasizing motion and sensuality. If the feeling of a building is grand, dramatic, full of contrasting surfaces, a multitude of curves, twists, and gilded statuary, it is likely a baroque building. The interior, in most cases, has a ceiling that is heavily painted, making the viewer believe there is no actual ceiling but rather that the roof is connected to the sky or a divine realm. These characteristics will be discussed in detail in the following points.
2. Famous Baroque Buildings And Artists
Some of the most notable baroque buildings are, as expected, in Italy. St. Peter’s Square in Rome is a popular and partly baroque attraction. Other examples from Rome include the façade of the Il Gesú, the building of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, the well-known San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, and the Trevi Fountain.
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From around Europe, some notable examples are the Belvedere Palace, Schönbrunn Palace, and St. Charles Church in Vienna; the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela and Plaza Mayor in Spain; and the Cathedral of St. Paul in London.
Besides these famous buildings, the names of Italian baroque artists Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Maderno, Francesco Borromini, and Guarino Guarini ought to be mentioned as they were the trendsetters of this style. Moreover, outside Italy, it is worth noting the works of Austrian architects Johan Bernhard, Fischer von Erlach, and English architect Christopher Wren.
3. Everything Flows In Baroque Architecture
With architectural plans that go beyond traditional geometric shapes and often use other inspirations such as letters or combinations of forms imitating a natural element, Baroque architecture is very diverse. Because of the complexity of the plan, there are more opportunities for the architects to play with shapes and forms, all for the sake of visual movement.
Because Baroque architects wished to do the impossible, namely to create movement in the most static form of art, they resorted to curves. Curves and counter-curves became thus the dominant motif of all Baroque architecture and art. Just as in Renaissance architecture, columns were still the main element for the façade of a building. Because of this, artists like Bernini quickly understood that they should make undulating columns in order to give off a dynamic appearance. Bernini’s famous Baldacchino from St. Peter in Rome is an excellent example of this dynamic effect. To go even further in the pursuit of movement, Guarino Guarini began using an undulating order which stood for a system of undulating elements that would create the final appearance of continuous curving.
4. Step Into The Heaven Of Color
Not all historic architecture comprises stone and dull elements, which is especially true for Baroque architecture. Color and painting played an influential role in the complex realization of a building. If Renaissance artists began painting ceilings for patrons, the Baroque took it to another level. During the Renaissance, this was an optional feature; for the Baroque movement, it became a standard. However, painting wasn’t the only type of ceiling decoration used. Wooden ceilings were still in use from the Renaissance but now featured painted or gilded cavities, becoming lacunar ceilings as they would feature an interplay of empty and filled spaces.
When the ceiling was not made out of wood, a rich variation of stuccoes would be used to offer depth. Stucco was made out of plaster with finely powdered marble and which was then modeled and applied on the ceiling, creating a tri-dimensional aspect. Stuccoes were often highly decorated with wreaths of different leaves and plants, geometric forms, and occasionally some human figures such as cupids. What must be stressed here is that the Baroque was a very diverse style that didn’t mind combining different techniques in order to obtain the desired effect. Therefore, a painted ceiling will most likely feature wooden and stucco decorations.
5. The Devil Lies In The Details
If there is an architectural style that thrives in details, that surely is the Baroque. Baroque architecture made extensive use of details its principal mission. Because of this, baroque buildings are often perceived to be overwhelming and otherworldly. One cannot grasp all the details in one view. Everything is assembled to look as divine as if you stepped into Heaven and left the mundane behind.
This dedication to detail is visible everywhere: on the walls decorated with beautiful wooden, marble, and stone sculptures, on the ceiling often vaulted, arched, and painted, and in the small adorned decorations. Baroque architecture makes use of all available materials. The artists and architects employed materials as appropriately as possible in the sense that they used wood for very intricate designs, stone for elements that had to be durable, and marble for the most expensive pieces. Because now the buildings are seen by architects as a single and coherent mass, the decorations played a crucial role in uniting the different parts of a building. Architectural sculptures and vegetal and ornamental motifs become critical elements for helping the eye of the viewer flow from the floor to the walls and up to the ceiling without perceiving them as dislocated from another.
6. The Keyword Of Baroque Architecture: Illusion
Grandeur is the universal word that can describe any baroque building, which brings us to another key feature: illusion. To bring the divine into one’s palace or church, one has to have ample funds that can cover the most expensive materials. However, not everyone could cover the expensive costs of constructing grand Baroque monuments. This is where illusion would come into play: it was a feature that could cut some of the expenses and thus make construction somewhat more budget-friendly. There is a reason why Baroque is jokingly considered among art historians to be a sort of kitsch.
Marble, gold, silver, pearls, and so on were expensive materials one couldn’t always afford to invest into a building. Baroque architecture is highly ingenious as it uses illusion to give the impression of costly materials. For example, at the main altar of a baroque church, there would most likely be a set of grand columns. At a closer look, the viewer would think that they are made out of marble, but in truth, the columns would actually be made out of wood and painted over to offer the visual illusion of marble. This was done so skillfully that the viewer was easily and quite often fooled. Elements of decorations were painted in gold color to give the appearance of real gold, ceilings had painted frames that would give the impression of authentic tri-dimensional frames, and so on. The Baroque played with one’s sight and senses.
7. Trompe L’Œil And Life-Like Appearances
The set of illusions discussed above wouldn’t be enough if the person viewing them would see them as such. Painting techniques, such as trompe l’œil, were used to fool the eye to the point that the person viewing them would wonder: are my eyes deceiving me? The effect of the illusion is absolute if the affected person cannot be certain that what they are looking at is an illusion or not. Indeed, this was the desired outcome. How to win over a guest if not by presenting him with something that will most likely fascinate and baffle him?
The technique of trompe l’œil was a continuation of the Renaissance fascination with perspective. By mastering perspective and developing it to its full potential, painters could uncover new methods to create illusions. The meaning of the technique itself translates to: to deceive the eye. The human figures depicted in a scene using the trompe l’œil technique will offer the sensation that they are getting out of their painting. Trompe l’oeil painting is the type of painting that depicts an object and makes the viewer want to touch it to see if it’s real. Combined with a high interest in life-likeness, the Baroque movement used painted decorations to make buildings become open spaces that reached the heavens.
8. Playing With Light
In theater, light plays an essential role. It can indicate to the spectator if the setting is joyous or ominous, depending on how it is set. Baroque architecture made no exceptions as the style aimed at a dramatic delivery in all of its art forms. How to obtain a dramatic character if not by the manipulation of light?
But how can one direct light in a building? After all, light is not a static painting nor a sculpture. It could be done by the juxtaposition of strong projections, which are complemented by abrupt and deep recesses. Another way of doing this would be by breaking the surface, making it irregular. The main architectural elements that aided in this were the small carved decorations that would shelter both light and shadow in their carvings, giving off from afar the sensation of movement. Another way of accomplishing light manipulation would be by the simple combination of different materials that would create the breaking of surface. Each material takes on light and shadow differently. Therefore, through the use of multiple materials, the architect could create a play of light and shadow with high contrast, just like a Caravaggio painting.
9. Baroque Architecture: Mastery Of Everything
In many ways, Baroque architecture is a culmination of all the existing styles up until its birth. This is why it can be said that it implies a manifestation of ultimate mastery. To be a baroque artisan means to have absorbed all the lessons of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art in order to deliver something that has its root in their practices yet surpasses their results. Aesthetically, it is hard to dispute what style is more pleasant. After all, this is up to the viewer. However, Baroque architecture offers visual excitement and wonder.
If words are not enough to convince, then the artworks themselves will do it. It is enough to look at the works of Bernini, both in architecture and sculpture, to understand what true mastery means. The Baroque artist can use materials to their utmost potential, becoming a true master of technique. The artistic products of this period make you wonder whether something is genuinely made out of stone or actually alive.
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By Anisia Iacob MA Art History, MA in Philosophy Anisia Iacob holds an MA in both Art History and Philosophy at Leiden University. She holds a BA in Art History where she focused on 17th century Dutch vanitas painting and a BA in Philosophy where she researched fashion and embodied cognition. With a keen interest in anything and everything, her research interest goes from history to neuroscience, attesting to her curious personality. Besides studies, she works as a contributing writer. Anisia looks forward to finishing her two MAs and starting a PhD in Philosophy.