Baroque and Rococo

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Baroque
Characteristics of Baroque
Architecture
Architecture of theatre
A strong movement in 17th &
18th centuries
Elaborate ornaments and
exuberant
e.g. Beauty & The Beast
Interplay of natural lighting,
lighting & shadow
spatially complex
composition
HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Baroque
Characteristics of Baroque
Architecture
Blurred physical boundaries
between building elements
Hiding of structural features
Expansive curvaceous form
swirling movements to
create dynamic movements
Plasticity of materials
Sense of mass, complex
interplay of geometry

Santa Maria Della Pace by Cortona

Combination of architecture,
painting & sculpture
HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Baroque
Characteristics of Baroque
Art
Expressive, playing with
emotion
Free/fluidity dynamic
composition
Play with tone and
Contrast light and shadow
with the intention to capture
the emotion and motion
(contrapposto)
Engagement of viewer and
picture
HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

David by Bernini & Prometheus by Nicolas Sebastian Adam

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Baroque
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Magisterial command of the
site
Sense of theatre
Curve & dramatic lighting
Emotional approach faith

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Rococo
Rococo was a very playful and decorative style of art that started in
France around 1700 before spreading throughout Europe. Pastel
colours were frequently used and subjects tended to be related to the
leisure pastimes and love scenes of rich people.

Derived from the word rocaille which means misshapen

pearl in French
Vivid colours were replaced by pastel shades; diffuse light flooded the
building volume; and violent surface relief was replaced by smooth
flowing masses with emphasis only at isolated points. Churches and
palaces still exhibited an integration of the three arts, but the building
structure was lightened to render interiors graceful and ethereal. Interior
and exterior space retained none of the bravado and dominance of the
Baroque but entertained and captured the imagination by intricacy and
subtlety.
HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Rococo
Characteristics
1720s light curvilinear
decoration
Colour scheme lightened,
mirror surfaces multiplied &
angles softened
Ornament natural forms,
branches, garlands, acanthus
Abstract sinuosity scrolis,
interlace & arabesques
Elegant, lighthearted, gay
manner

Residence at Wurzbug by
Johann Baltasar Neumann

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)

Rococo
Spread to Germany & Austria
Evanescent of Late Baroque
dynamism & geometric
complexity of the 17th century
Italian architecture & post
Louis XIV France
Official style of architecture
dignity & solemn grandeur of
the new France

Country Pilgrimage Church by

Johann Baltasar Neumann

HISTORY & CULTURE 1 (90012)