BAROQUE...BERNINI...and contradictions

From what I understand, Renaissance is Modern and Baroque, which come after, is post modern. Renaissance architecture/ buildings have rigid structures. The buildings are filled with geometric shapes and symmetry where proportions are based on module (human scale). Everything is very strict and precise.. just like modernism that wants everything to be PERFECT (white boxes…  START FROM ZERO idea can be related to Renaissance word 'REBIRTH').

The word baroque is originally considered an insult. The 17th century architecture critics used it. It’s related to the idea of ambiguity and contradiction that links to Robert Venturi's complexity and contradiction…" BOTH AND" architecture… full of mystery and emotions. So because Baroque architecture is full of Ambiguity and I think they are Postmodern. What they did was they do the total OPPOSITE of the Renaissance architects… this led the Baroque architects to go beyond what exists by being EXPRESSIVE and PLAYFUL with their decorations. A great example of Baroque architects would be Bernini.

Bernini is well educated and is heavily influenced by Michelangelo. He put emphasis on emotional expressions, playing with dramatic light where painting, sculpture and architecture blends into one. One of his great pieces is Santa Maria della Vittona, 1645. It’s the one with sculpture of an angel about to stab an arrow to St. Terresa. The sculptures are caught in an expressive emotion, where St. Terresa is caught in ecstasy as well as the light channel that Bernini designed, allows sunlight to pass through and shines on the head of St. Terresa. He basically made an extremely dramatic use of light (STAGE/THEATRE like.)

Michelangelo and St. Peters....

Michelangelo Buonaroltti was born in 1475 and died in 1584. What is great about his architectures are that he was the founder of High Renaissance and inject the force and power of his paintings and sculpture into architecture designs. St. Peters is his masterpiece of his early years.  

Michelangelo work is very strong in term of shadows and it contains similar force. In the plan of St. Peters shows the rotation of 45degree square on top of the square. The front of the design is not relevant it sizes and breaks the symmetry in a lot of ways. He tends to break out renaissance where other architects tend to maintain proportion. Michelangelo is very expressive whether in sculpture, painting, or architecture. He restricts himself to the nude in painting to express the ideal human form, which has a great impact on the future generations. The scale of St. Peter is almost the same as the Bramante’s Pantheon. but he made a lot more round. In his design, sacred cut, which is a circle create by two square placing on top of each other.

The design of St. Peter has major influenced on church architecture in Western Christendom.