Maloney, Robin 000301434
Literature, Arts, and The Humanities: Analysis and Interpretation
IWT1: Task 1

Introduction: During my lifespan I have been very fortunate to visit many countries such as Greece, Ireland, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Amsterdam, and England. The architecture of these countries always intrigued me with the ornate, and matter of detail, unlike what we have seen in this country. Therefore, in this paper I will compare and contrast the Renaissance and Baroque period's architecture for those periods.
Task A1: The Renaissance period generally covered 200 years from 1400-1600 and followed the Gothic period. The meaning of the Renaissance was “rebirth”. Two components comprised this time; (1) an interest in humanism and assertion of the individual and (2) the revival of classical forms originally from the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Renaissance Art and Architecture, 2000). Many feel that the Renaissance period started in Italy as it was a great location between Western Europe and the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Italian cities became the important trade and commercial centers. The Rhine, Danube and Rhone Riverways were valuable routes to transport goods. Cities grew and prospered during this period and the rulers or government learned how to tax people. Removing religion from politics was also a major change during the early Renaissance Period. The new humanists felt that humans should have control over events. They also supported causes that they believed to be justified and right. (Social and Economic Changes During the Renaissance). Unlike the Gothic period that preceded the Renaissance period, which consisted of very tall designs which swept upwards in height, flying buttresses, pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, and gargoyles, often smelly and moldy, the Renaissance period depicted symmetrical arrangements of windows and doors, columns, square lintels, domes, niches with sculptures and often used bright colors which have faded with the years. The most prominent building were churches, urban mansions and villa’s or countryside mansions. Renaissance architecture is characterized by harmonious form, mathematical proportion, and a unit of measurement based on the human scale. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, retrieved 7/2014).
Task A2: The next period that I will summarize is the Baroque period, which began in the early 1600’s and went to the early 1700’s. Immediately following the Renaissance period was the Mannerism period leading into the Baroque period. The word Baroque means an irregularly shaped pearl which is a word derived from Barocco in Portuguese. Most critics would define this period as bizarre, weird, or even absurd. This period is very ornate and certainly not very refined, unlike the Renaissance Period. (Retrieved from Identify the Art). During this period, religion was turned up-side down. During the 1600’s the Catholic Church had lost large sections of Europe, where it had once been the ultimate power to the Protestants. The Catholics used art as a means of marketing to get those that had separated from the church to regain interest. It became very political and sometimes militant. As we saw in the Renaissance period, the economy was growing by leaps and bounds and this continued with even more strength in the Baroque period. It was not a virtue to be poverty stricken. It was encouraged that people work hard and invest their money to acquire wealth. Based on this aspect, the “middle class” rose to a sizable number, especially in the northern European countries such as the Netherlands. During this period, education remained for those of the upper class, not even for the middle class. The architecture of the Baroque period remained symmetrical just as in the Renaissance period, however, there were many other differences. There were definitely more curves than straight lines, the appearance of the structure gave an impression of movement and perhaps this is because light and dark were used to emphasize something of importance or to give an optical illusion. Baroque architecture incorporated paintings into the walls, twisted columns, not necessary for the support, but for the decorative elements, an abundance of windows, utilization of towers and domes and highly decorative details and ornaments.
Task A3: A. The power of the church definitely played a part in the architecture of the both of these periods. With the Renaissance period you will find more straight lines, supportive structures than that of the Baroque period, which showed more movement and uses of light in their structures. Renaissance is based more on realism and Baroques shows more complexity and almost appears to be overflowing. B. The Baroque period formed two separate groups where the Roman Catholic religion was prominent in countries such as Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland and Italy, the architecture remained “freer” and more active in architectural forms and surfaces, whereas the other group as seen in England and the Netherlands or the Protestant region displayed more reserved and restrained architectural forms. This was a deviation from the Renaissance Period. (Retrieved from http://history-world.org/baroque_and_rococo_architecture.htm)

Task A4:
Renaissance Architecture: I have chosen the dome of the Florence Cathedral which was designed by Filippo Brunelieschi in Florence, Italy, whom was one of the finest architectural innovators of the times. You’ll notice the elements of the dome include symmetry, proportions and mathematical configurations, round windows, and use of color artwork on the ceiling of the dome. f (Retrieved from www.brunelleschisdome.com/pictures.html

Baroque Architecture: Pictured below is the Baroque Palace of Versailles in France, which began as a simple stone and brick home designed by Philibert Le Roy in 1624. A renovation and expansion began in 1669 by Louis Le Vau.

(Retrieved from Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) During this period, light was used to accentuate a focal point, in this case, it is the front of the palace and upper tiers. Opulent structures, complex shapes, extravagant ornamentation, and bold contrasts are used in the structures.
Task 5A: Following the Baroque era, Rococo evolved suited to the elegant 18th century likes and tastes in art and architecture. The vivid colors used in the Renaissance and Baroque periods were replaced with pastel colors, the violent surfaces were replaced with smooth exteriors, and the interior and exterior did not retain the extremes and dominance that the prior two periods reflected. Whether a church or an extravagant palace, lighting of the past was replaced with numerous windows for light. (Retrieved from http://history-world.org/baroque_and_rococo_architecture.htm) What I’ve learned from these three periods is that the new forming period will always take the basic components from the period before and then add their own spin.

REFERENCE LIST
The Baroque Era in Architecture, retrieved 2014, http://history- world.org/baroque_and_rococo architecture.htm
Brunelleschis Dome, retrieved 2014, www.brunelleschisdome.com/Pictures.html
1600-1700 Baroque Period, retrieved 2014, www.smarthistory.Khanacademy.org/1600-1700- the-Baroque.html
Identify This Art: Baroque Art Movement, retrieved 2014, www.identifythisart.com/art_ History/art…. /Baroque-art-movement
Metropolitan Museum of Art, retrieved 2014, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/.../hd_itar.ht...
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
“Renaissance Art and Architecture,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000, retrieved 2014
Social and Economic Changes During the Renaissance, retrieved 2014, www.all-about- Renaissance-faires.com/renaissance…/economic_social_an…