Classicist baroque

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The Invalides in Paris, one of the main works of the classicist Baroque in France (1679–1708)

With the concept of classical baroque (also Baroque Classicism , Baroque Classicism or French Classicisme ) describes an alignment in the Baroque art and architecture in their rational design form of the highly ornamental-moving, emotional and dramatic version of the Baroque is different. The epoch covers the entire 17th and the beginning of the 18th century up to around 1750. Classicist manifestations from around 1750 already belong to the epoch of actual classicism and can no longer be correctly identified as classicist baroque even with transitional forms or mixtures with the preceding late baroque or rococo get ranked.

painting

Within the Baroque era, i. H. From the end of the 16th to the middle of the 18th century, there were different trends in painting, such as B. the rather dark and harsh Tenebroso style of the followers of Caravaggio (Caravaggists) or the exuberant and brightly colored style of Rubens and his followers. Other painters paid homage to a more moderate and elegant classicist ideal, which was on the one hand more strongly oriented towards the art of antiquity, but also on certain models and ideals of the Renaissance, such as B. in the art of Raphael or the early work of Titian .

Guido Reni : Abduction of Helena , Louvre , Paris

Typical of classicist baroque painting is also a rather smooth application of paint and a balance between disegno and coloring ; extremely painterly effects such as a pastose application of paint, fluid brushstrokes or shimmering, almost impressionistic effects, such as those found in the middle and late Titian, Tintoretto , Rubens, Velázquez and the Madrid School of Painting, are avoided. Instead, a clear disegno is preferred. The painting is bright, with balanced, not too agitated compositions and a thoroughly luminous, but also harmoniously balanced, occasionally also cool coloring - so no predominance of warm, but also loud red and yellow tones, such as B. Rubens, and if possible no ugly figures, as is often the case with Caravaggio. A highly dramatic “mess” or scuffle in the composition that is occasionally encountered in Baroque painting (e.g. Rubens, Guercino ) is also avoided .

This classicistic direction of painting originally marked the beginning of the Baroque and emerged towards the end of the 16th century as a countercurrent to Mannerism , which, with its often artificial poses and sought-after color effects, was perceived by some as unnatural. One of the earliest and most radical exponents of a new, simpler and more orderly classicism with recourse to Raphael was the influential Cavalier d'Arpino in Rome. In Bologna, the brothers Agostino and Annibale Carracci and their cousin Lodovico were looking for a more natural and realistic style, which they tried to realize, among other things, from a return to antiquity and the ideals of the Renaissance. At the same time, however, their new art should not just be an imitation, but showed more movement and drama than the Renaissance.

The Carracci had many students and followers, who are known as the Bolognese or Emilian school, and who also worked primarily in Rome. Among them were Guido Reni , Giovanni Lanfranco and Domenichino , who, as a counterpoint to the modern Caravaggism, tended to cultivate light-filled and cheerful painting, with figures that corresponded to a classical ideal of beauty, and who, in addition to oil paintings, also created important fresco decorations.
The most important representatives of baroque classicism also include Andrea Sacchi and the French Simon Vouet , Eustache Le Sueur and Nicolas Poussin , who all lived at least temporarily in Rome. Poussin carried out very detailed studies of ancient art. His own painting was initially relatively agitated and baroque, but very soon developed in a quieter and more rational direction that became the epitome of classicism and the model for the French art of the late Louis-Treize and the entire Louis-Quatorze era . In doing so, Poussin also included the painterly effects of Titian's successor, but never becomes “pre-impressionistic”. In addition, the landscape painters Francesco Albani and Claude Lorrain also worked in Rome , who often inserted scenes from mythology or biblical figures into their landscapes .
In the second half of the 17th century - that is, in the high baroque era - a new generation of painters followed with the Roman protagonist Carlo Maratta - a student of Sacchi - likewise a classicist ideal. One also speaks of Roman classicism .

In some cases a painter of the epoch could go through different phases. For example, the unusually versatile Neapolitan Luca Giordano started as a Caravaggist, then for a long time created works that were more under the influence of Pietro da Cortona and can be regarded as the epitome of the Baroque, but one can also find paintings by him (around 1680) that are more classical are influenced.

Occasionally, Dutch painting is also used by genre painters with cool observations, such as B. Jan Vermeer called classical or classicistic.

architecture

Temporal and spatial classification

The classicist baroque architecture goes back in its conception to the theories of Leon Battista Alberti and Andrea Palladio . He made use of means of expression that were rooted in the reception of antiquity in the Renaissance and became the basis of later classicism , but can be clearly separated from the two in terms of time and began around a century earlier than classicism in the true sense of the word. This art form was especially formative for the architecture of England and France and lasted from the second half of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century, the transitions from Baroque to Classicism were fluid.

Outside the German area of "actual" Classicism (d. E., The style of the mid-18th to about the mid-19th century) called "neoclassicism", however, called Neoclassicism in the German classicist currents in the 20th century.

Stylistic devices

Typical design elements for building facades were structural forms that were taken directly from the Renaissance : triangular gables borrowed from temple architecture , colonnades , as well as columns and pilasters in colossal order - these also often used twice. The frequent use of natural stone and the avoidance of colored plaster were also common.

What is striking is the additive use of basic geometric shapes such as rectangles, circles or, more rarely, oval, but at the same time the renunciation of curves in facades and floor plans, the otherwise characteristic features of baroque architecture. As a typical baroque hallmark - and thus in contrast to later classicism - lush figure decorations from sculptures , decorative vases or trophies can be found, and the pavilion system is also widespread in secular buildings .

and display information about the image
Versailles Palace: The garden facade is characterized by horizontal and vertical lines, there are no curved lines. The side risalits are emphasized on the main floor by double columns, the middle one by a colonnade. The roof balustrade is decorated with vases and trophies

distribution

Classicist baroque of France

The east facade of the Louvre (1668–1682)

In France, the term baroque is usually used for the highly dynamic baroque art in the rest of Europe - especially in Italy and Spain - while the French variant there is usually referred to as Classicisme . Hence the German name of the French classical music . The architecture of the Baroque in France was initially based on Italian models, but then developed in a more strict variant. The classicist baroque was introduced by François Mansart during the reign of Louis XIV and remained the basis of French architecture until the beginning of the 19th century.

The strict variant of the architectural style appeared as a suitable means of expression to embody the form of government of absolutism . The most famous architects of this time include Louis Le Vau , Claude Perrault and Jules Hardouin-Mansart . The most important and style-defining works of this era include the east wing of the Louvre , the Palace of Versailles (especially the garden facade), the Grand Trianon , and, among the sacred buildings, the church and (former) convent Val-de-Grâce , the Invalides and the Church of St. .-Sulpice in Paris, whose interior design was modeled for almost all baroque churches in France, B. Nancy Cathedral .

Classicist baroque of England

Elevation of Blenheim Palace

The baroque in England was strongly based on Palladianism . This style, derived from the works of Andrea Palladio , was introduced in England at the beginning of the 17th century by Inigo Jones, largely true to the original, and shaped English architecture for two centuries. The transitions from Palladianism to the special forms of English baroque happened almost imperceptibly. The lively Baroque style based on Roman models was rejected in England as too Catholic and therefore had little influence on the architecture, instead Dutch influences were also incorporated.

Christopher Wren , John Vanbrugh , Nicholas Hawksmoor and William Talman were among the most important architects of the English Baroque era . The main sacred work of the English Baroque is St Paul's Cathedral in London, while the most important secular buildings include Blenheim Palace , Chatsworth House and Castle Howard .

Classicist Baroque in Northern Europe

The Mauritshuis in The Hague

Examples of more sober forms within the Baroque can also be found in Protestant countries in Northern Europe. In the Netherlands in particular , one speaks of Dutch classicism . Examples are: Het Loo Castle near Apeldoorn, which is also known for its French-inspired garden, the Royal Palace in Amsterdam (former City Hall Paleis op de Dam ), Huis ten Bosch Castle and the Mauritshuis in The Hague . All of the buildings mentioned were built in the 17th century.

The Royal Palace of Stockholm in Sweden , built between 1697 and around 1730, is also characterized by sober and monumental classical forms .

The Weser Baroque is a regional variant of the Classicist Baroque in Northern Europe .

Other

Occasionally, in areas that are strongly influenced by the Italian Baroque, individual cases of a more “classicistic” Baroque architecture occur. An example of this is Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, which follows the French model of Versailles more closely than other buildings of the southern German-Austrian Baroque (or Rococo). In addition, the facades of Schönbrunn in their current form (status 2018) were only made simpler between 1817 and 1819 under the direction of the court architect Johann Aman through various interventions, such as the removal of stucco elements and a different color scheme, in order to reflect the now fashionable ideals of the Biedermeier To match classicism.

Some buildings that were built around 1750 bear traces of a stylistic transition phase, i.e. a mixture of rococo or late baroque elements and those of actual classicism . An example of this is the New Palais in Potsdam, built for Frederick the Great in the 1760s , which was built according to Palladian and English models, but mainly still contains various rooms in the Rococo style inside (alongside other classicist room creations or mixed styles). In such cases it is no longer possible to correctly speak of “classical baroque”.

See also

Sources and literature

  • Rolf Toman (ed.): The art of the baroque . Könemann, 1997, ISBN 3-89508-991-5
  • Wilfried Koch: Architectural style . Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-577-10457-0
  • Nikolaus Pevsner, Hugh Honor, John Fleming: Lexicon of World Architecture . Prestel, 1992, ISBN 3-7913-2095-5

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ An exception is Poussin, who includes the painterly effects in the successor of Titian, but never becomes “impressionistic”.
  2. ^ Gioia Mori: Roman painting in the 16th century (subchapter tendencies of the late 16th century ), in: Rom - Kunst und Architektur , Könemann, Cologne 1999, pp. 486–488.
  3. ↑ a b c Wilfried Koch: Baustilkunde , p. 239
  4. ^ Pevsner, Honor, Fleming: Lexikon der Weltarchitektur , p. 351
  5. ^ Hans Koepf : Architecture in five millennia , p. 217. Kohlhammer, 1990, ISBN 3-17-011072-1
  6. ↑ Wilfried Koch: Baustilkunde , p. 318
  7. ↑ a b Hans Koepf: Architecture in five millennia , p. 186. Kohlhammer, 1990, ISBN 3-17-011072-1
  8. ^ Pevsner, Honor, Fleming: Lexikon der Weltarchitektur , p. 209
  9. ^ Pevsner, Honor, Fleming: Lexikon der Weltarchitektur , p. 453.
  10. ↑ `` Palaces, castles, residences '', Georg Westermann Verlag, 1971, p. 270
  11. ^ Elfriede Iby & Alexander Koller: Schönbrunn , Verlag Christian Brandstätter, Vienna, 2000, pp. 247 & 251
  12. ↑ Potsdam architecture: The Palladian classicism of Frederick II. Author: Kania, Hans Dr. (1878–1947), year of publication: 1915 (online at Lexikus.de , accessed on January 6, 2014).