 This lecture is entitled Introduction to Italian Baroque Architecture. And indeed, my goal is to do just that today, to introduce you to Italian Baroque architecture, not only the major themes of the period, but also a brief introduction to a handful of architects and buildings. Since we've already been studying the Baroque in Italy in this course, you should already know the major issues of the period, but let's review the main conflict that's driving the art of Baroque Italy. And that is the Protestant Reformation of Northern Europe. Protestant Reformation. And the response of the Catholic Church, which is the Counter Reformation. Counter Reformation. Now, the Counter Reformation really began in the mid-16th century with the Council of Trent. You actually see an artist's rendering of the Council of Trent on the left over here. And that was just a meeting of church leaders where they got together and said, well, hey, what do we do about this threat of the Protestant Reformation? And on the right here is a view of the Vatican, which of course is the heart of the Catholic Church in Italy. So just to review, the Protestant Reformation saw the Catholic Church as corrupt, an unjust religious system whereby people could buy their way into heaven. And they also saw the popes as unnecessary. So clearly this was a major threat to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church responded by putting in place several reforms, and these reforms were intended to stress their spiritual authority and to help bring people into the fold of the Catholic Church. So in art and architecture, quite simply, that was the goal. The goal of the Counter Reformation was to convince people that the Protestant Reformation was wrong and the Catholic Church was the way to salvation. And the goal was to bring in as many converts and to keep as many believers in the Catholic Church as they possibly could. So how does this relate to architecture? Well, to fully understand this, it's important to just quickly review where we're coming from. And where we're coming from is architecture of the Italian Renaissance. So let's move forward and look at these two images on the screen here. And what we have on the left is the Palazzo Ruccelli in Florence by Alberti, dating to around 1450. And the image on the right, and that on the left is a drawing obviously, and the image on the right is the interior of the Church of Santo Spirito by Brunelleschi, also located in Florence, and it dates to the 1440s. Don't worry about knowing the names and dates of these churches, this is just for the sake of review. But just in case you're curious, this is the Palazzo Ruccelli, and this is the Church of Santo Spirito. And these are quintessential examples of Renaissance architecture. Hopefully some things will stand out right away. You can recall things you've learned in earlier art history courses. And what I'm hoping is standing out to you are first the classical features of these buildings. Classical features. And what do I mean by classical features? Well, we have columns, right? Here we have columns with Corinthian capitals. We have an arcade with rounded arches. We have rounded arches throughout this church. And over at the Palazzo Ruccelli, we have, again, pilasters using the classical orders. We have rounded arches. We have this heavy cornice. All of this is borrowed from classical antiquity. So that should be review. Another thing that is important in these buildings and is tied in with the ethos of the time is the human scale. Human scale of these buildings. And by that I don't mean that they're the same size as a person. I don't mean that in a literal sense, but they're not overwhelming to the viewer, to the visitor, with their grand scale. And you can especially see this in the Palazzo Ruccelli where this pretty tall facade is broken up into three smaller levels. And in a sense, it really does make it human scale. You can sort of see yourself on one of those levels. It's not this imposing, overwhelming tall facade. So, again, these are typical elements of Renaissance architecture and very tied in with the prevailing attitudes of the time. The classical features are the heart of what the Renaissance was interested in, this revival of classical antiquity. Not only in the borrowing of classical art and architecture, but also in the ideas and ideals of antiquity. And that is sort of where humanism comes in. Humanism. Another big word in the Renaissance. Humanism was that emphasis on learning and civic engagement and interest in the individual, which is where this interest in a more human scale building comes into play. So these are sort of the, what's going on in the Renaissance and the things you really need to know about the Renaissance. Well, how does this all relate to what we're talking about today? Well, with the Counter-Reformation coming on the heels of the Renaissance, these ideals seemed a little too human-centric perhaps, and not really in touch enough with the spiritual goals of the Counter-Reformation. So, when we're looking at art and architecture of the Counter-Reformation of the Baroque, there's a move away from some of these ideals. Not everything is cast aside, but some of the goals of this period are gone. So, just to give you a little preview, here are two examples of Baroque architecture. On the left, we have the façade of St. Peter's Basilica by Carlo Maderno in the dates 1607 to 12. And on the right is Sant'Andrea Alquirinale, which is by Gian Lorenzo Bernini dating to 1660. Both of these are in Rome. You don't need to worry about knowing the dates or the names of these buildings. This is just as a way of introducing these. So, they're very famous buildings in Rome, and you can still see an interest in these buildings in classical elements. That has not gone away. Classical elements. We see columns, the whole deal. It's all still here. Columns, capitals, cornices, pediments. But, it's used in a different way. This isn't the typical application of those elements. And we'll discuss this more in coming lectures. Another thing we see that becomes a real hallmark of Baroque architecture is the colossal order. Colossal order. And the colossal order is a casting away of that human scale. No more human scale. And you can see that in these buildings with this columns going from the ground level way up to the ceiling level. Same thing here. Ground to ceiling. So, this is large scale, awesome, impressive, imposing. So, keep that in mind as we move forward. Here are some more examples. And these are what I like to call more innovative buildings. On the left we have Santivo alla Sapienza by Francesco Boromini. I'll write his name down. And on the right is a building by the architect known as Guarino Guarini. And these buildings are even more innovative. They maintain some of this, most of the classical elements that we saw on the last buildings. We have the same columns, capitals, and so on and so forth. But notice that the facades of these buildings are curved. We have concave and convex forms, which is really quite new. And it shows how far Baroque architecture can go from tradition. And it really shows an interest in almost moving architecture into the realm of something sculptural, with this curving, interesting, lively facade. And let me write down really quickly. These are innovative. Finally today I want to just leave you with a comparison. On the left, the facade of the Palazzo Ruccioli, which we already discussed. And on the right, the facade of St. Peter's Basilica by Carlo Moderna, which we discussed. And then we have Renaissance versus Baroque. And I want you to just take a minute and compare and contrast these. And use what you find about this comparison to help you get a handle on what is new about the Baroque. And what some of the similarities are to the Renaissance. And maybe how some of these changes from the Renaissance to the Baroque might reflect what's going on in the culture. So a few questions I want you to think about are how are the classical elements another thing? Ask yourself about the scale of these buildings. Not only the buildings themselves, but particular details of the buildings. For example, the columns. And finally, think about the sense of depth in these buildings. Flatness versus three-dimensionality, positive and negative space, that kind of thing. So sense, depth. And if you do this comparison, and also any other questions you might have or observations. Any other observations. And I think this comparison will really help you get a handle on some of the things we're going to be discussing in the next few lectures. So good luck.