Posted: August 2nd, 2022

What are the main themes that define the peBlogriod in Western architecture

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Answer These Questions Using the Provided Buildings as Support
1. What are the main themes that define the period in Western architecture and culture that is called the Renaissance? How do these buildings and spaces illustrate these themes?
The period of the Renaissance was defined by architectural concepts derived from classical antiquity that was developed and used with greater surety. In western culture, the culture of the Renaissance was associated with its adoption of classical Roman architectural features. The Renaissance also incorporated the changes that had occurred in the 16th century, which resulted in the classical Roman technique with Renaissance aesthetics. Renaissance architecture was defined by various themes that included facades, columns and pilasters, arches, domes, walls, vaults, and windows. To illustrate the themes of Renaissance architecture, the following buildings are analyzed:
a. San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, 1502, by Bramante.
San Pietro in Montorio is one of the most harmonious buildings that define the themes of the Renaissance. The building defines themes such as the columns, which are associated with Renaissance architecture. The columns utilized in the building were slender Tuscan columns. The order of the pilasters and columns in the building followed the Roman order of columns as models. The columns are set against the wall in the form of pilasters as an integrated system.
b. The Laurentian Library, 1571, by Michelangelo
The library was designed based on Brunelleschi’s components and bending them into the Renaissance. The library is built upstairs contain a light that comes through long narrow windows. The windows in the Renaissance represent one of the themes in the Mannerist period, whereby the “Palladian” arch was employed with the use of a motif that contained a high semicircular topped opening flanked with two lower square-topped openings. The windows were mainly designed to bring light into the building.
c. The Château de Chambord in Chambord, 1519–39
The building represents the beginning of the Renaissance in France. The French involvement in wars in the early years of the 16th century in northern Italy saw the French come black with the Renaissance art treasures and stylistic ideas. The building presents various features that were considered under the Renaissance architecture, including a frieze that is decorated by flowers pilasters and round windows crowned by a pediment. The building illustrates a new sense of light, clarity, and spaciousness, which were mostly used to characterize the Renaissance period.
d. Tempio Malatestiano, 1950, Remini, Leon Battista Alberti
Tempio Malatestiano is the cathedral church of Rimini, Italy, which was not finished after being commissioned by Leon Battista Alberti around 1450. The unique feature of the building that demonstrates the theme of the Renaissance is the doors, which had squire lintels. The doors of the building were surrounded by a triangular pediment with the center arch. The sections that did not have doors but contained openings were arched with the addition of decorative keystone.
2. How is geometry significant in the work of the architects?
a. The Church of Saint Andrew’s at the Quirinal, by Bernini
Bernini, in his design of the Church of Saint Andrew’s, utilized a combination of geometry, sculpture, dramatic lighting, and painting. Bernini believed that by combining geometry in his design with other aspects of art, he would be able to bring people back to the church by creating a transcendent spiritual experience (Killien). The overall design of the church plan was evident from the exterior, that geometry was utilized, with the curved walls on either side of the portico acting as curtains of a theater.
b. The church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, by Borromini
Geometry plays a significant role in Borromini’s design for San Carlo, considering that he believed that geometry was a reflection of God’s creation. Borromini, in his work, began with a simple plan before applying a series of geometric manipulations that involve adding variations and distorting elements to make it more complex and dynamic. The building of San Carlo is entirely based on the geometry of the circle and the triangle, which are regarded as the most important images in Christianity (Killien). According to the Christian perspective, the triangle represents the holy trinity, and the circle is a representation of God as eternity. In his application of geometry, Borromini designed San Carlo as an ellipse with the entrance and the high alter opposite of each other on the long axis. The oval shape of the San Carlo was achieved by placing two equilateral triangles side by side and inscribed circles in each of them to create the outer curve of the ellipse.
Borromini’s design for San Carlo with the use of geometry saw the church is divided into three distinct horizontal zones. The horizontal zones included the wall surface, the continuous entablature above the walls, and the dome floating on top, which allowed the creation of a vertical accession effect. The design of the church on the lower levels appear complex and distorted, but the illustration of the use of geometry can be observed on the pure oval shape of the dome. Borromini uses a series of complex geometrical shapes in the interior surface of the dome, making the dome seem smaller as it nears the top, which also makes it taller as it seems.
c. The Selimiye Mosque, 1569-1575, by Sinan
The Selimiye Mosque built between 1569 and 1575 covered approximately 2000 square meters. Sinan, in the work that he considered as his “work of mastery,” managed to use geometry to construct the Mosque, making it one of the ultimate structures in the history of dome-shaped buildings. The center of the dome contains a 31.30m and settles over an octagonal with support of the apses (Ayfer & Akbulut 55). The utilization of geometry in the construction of the Selimiye Mosque is also demonstrated based on the three-dimensional construction of an octagonal arcade surrounding a vertical axis. When one analyzes the Mosque plan, a squire and a rectangle adjacent to the Mosque arrange it, with the resultant rectangle containing a Golden mean ratio. The plan also utilized geometry to create the sized dome circles to make an octagon as a result of the octagonal plan layout. Therefore, Sinan made use of geometry in constructing the Selimiye Mosque, making it one of the files works among the dome-shaped structures.

3. How is architecture related to its context?
a. The Fountain of the Marine Monsters, in Piazza Della Santissima Annunziata, 1577-164, by Pietro Tacca.
Tecca was asked to design something that would decorate the Livorno harbor, near the Monument of the Four Moors. The design of the Fountains of the Marine Monsters statue was one of the finest architectural works in the 16th and 17th centuries. The two monsters lean at each other’s backs as their knees are bent, and their legs are wrapped around. The design of the position of the two monsters is considered to be an example of a typical late-mannerist taste for teratology. The structure also brings out the time’s fascination with mythological themes, with fish, tritons, dragons, birds, seashells, and sea monsters. Although the statue was moved from Livorno harbor and placed in the magnificent square, in front of Filippo Brunelleschi Spedale Degli Innocent, the Fountain of the Marine Monsters architecture remains a significant figure for the people of Livorno as they engage in the daily deeds on the sea. As a gift to the town, Tecca intended to demonstrate to the world the kind of animals that the fishers in the town encounter on the sea, including different kinds of monsters.
b. Villa La Rotonda, 1567-1592, Vicenza, Veneto, Italy, by Andrea Palladio
Villa La Rotonda is built on top of a small hill that easy to ascend. The structure was designed in a manner that corresponds to the surrounding. On one side of the building, it is bathed by the Bacchiglione, a navigable river. The other side of the structure is surrounded by other hills that tend to resemble a vast theater and are completely cultivated and abound with fruits and vines. The Villa La Rotonda is designed that offers harmony between the solid volume and the natural space inside and outside, allowing someone to feel the space and enjoy the landscape of the views. The structure consists of stunning facades that contain classic styling and are dominated by columns and gables characterizing the Renaissance period. The building also designs in consideration of religious inspiration and architecture based on plans such as San Pietro in Montorio, by Bramante. The interior decoration of the building represented the Italian Cinquecento period, with features such as magnificent frescos and stuccoes. The building contains a room that is designed in a square plan and utterly symmetric, being an organized form of a central round hall. The room I covered with a domed vault illuminated by a central oculus, and it gives the famous name of La Rotonda to the whole building. The rest of the rooms are perfectly rectangular are structured around the hall, allowing them to have beautiful views of the landscape.
c. Aerial view of the palace and gardens of Versailles, France (c.1624-98)
The Aerial view of the palace and gardens of Versailles represents an architecture that incorporates more than 3,000 residents staying in one place. The structure includes the residents of the king and the queen, the royal family, government ministers, aristocrats, diplomats, civil servants, and the like, which required a suitably grand building, and no expense was spared. Surrounded by 800 hectares of immaculate gardens, with beautiful vistas, fountains, and statues, the palace contained several symmetrical suites of apartments for the public and private use of the king and queen, as well as numerous other architectural highlights.

4. Why bother to study all of these buildings? How do historical buildings remain relevant in the present, and to whom?
Studying historical buildings is important to achieve future development that is more unique with more improved structures. Some of the elements significant in studying historical buildings, including evaluating their structures. The structures of historical buildings, including houses, commercial and industrial buildings, bridges, monuments, and barns, provide various stylish in the architecture that can be utilized in the present and future architectural works. The other important element of studying historical buildings is to understand the neighborhoods. The understanding of neighborhoods based on their architecture enables future developments to be structured to represent the culture of the inhabitants.
Some of the historical buildings remain relevant in the present and in the future to certain people, which makes them significant structures in human history. For instance, the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican was build in the Renaissance style is one of the most relevant structures for Christianity. The building in the Catholic tradition is the burial site of Saint Peter, the chief among Jesus’s apostles and also the first Pope. The building remains of importance to the Catholics and other Christian faiths, as it is considered as the foundation of Christianity. The other building that remains relevant today is the Great Temple at Madurai in India, which is considered a sacred site and structure in India that was funded by a god and ruled by a divine couple.
Work Cited
Ayfer, Aytuğ & Tolga Akbulut. The Geometrical Analysis Of Mosques Of Architect Sinan. Journal of Mathematics & Design. 2001. 1(1).
Killien, Catherine. Geometry vs. Theatricality: A Comparison of Style between Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Bernini’s San Andrea al Quirinale. ART HISTORY PRESENTATION ARCHIVE. 2008. http://honorsaharchive.blogspot.com/2008/08/geometry-vs-theatricality-comparison-of.html. Accessed 11 Dec. 202.

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