Baroque Architecture

250 Pages·1986·62.98 MB·English

by  Christian Norberg-Schulz

History
of World Architecture r
Christian Norberg-Schulz
Baroque
Architecture
Electa/t^z/o/./
-t ' "'

Christian Norberg-Schulz
Baroque Architecture
Electa/%zzo/./
SAUSALITO PUBLIC LIBRARY
Photographs:PepiMerisioandBruno Balestrini
Drawings: Studio Enzodi Grazia
Layout:Arturo Anzani
Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Norberg-Schulz, Christian.
Baroque architecture.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Architecture, Baroque. I. Title.
NA590.N6 1986 724'.19 85-30011
ISBN 0-8478-0693-6 (U.S.: pbk.)
©
Copyright 1979 by
Electa Editrice, Milano
Paperback edition first published
in theUnited States ofAmerica in 1986
by Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.
597 FifthAvenue, New York, NY 10017
All rights reserved
No part of this publication maybe reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without permission in writing by
Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.
This volume is the redesigned paperback
of the original Italian edition published in 1971
by Electa Editrice, Milan,
and the English translation published in 1972
by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York
Printed in Italy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One THE BAROQUE AGE 7
Chapter Two THE CITY 19
Chapter Three THE CHURCH 62
Chapter Four THE PALACE 144
Chapter Five THE DIFFUSION OF BAROQUE
ARCHITECTURE 174
NOTES 205
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 213
INDEX 215
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS 223
Inthepresentbookwehavetreatedindetailonlycertainaspectsofthecom-
plextotality ofBaroquearchitecture. Afulliconographicalinterpretationhas
notbeenpossible within its limitednumberofpages. Themethodemployed
concentratesattentionontheanalysisofspatialstructures, understandingspace
asoneofman'sbasicexistentialdimensions. Inthiswaythegeneralintentions
aswellastheregionalvarietiesofBaroquearchitectureareilluminated,andits
roots in Cinquecento architecture are explained. The book covers a period
whichcomprisesthelasttwoorthreedecadesofthesixteenthcenturyandmost
oftheseventeenth. Asbuildingsandbuildingtypescannotbeproperlyunder-
stoodinisolationfromamorecomprehensivecontext, theurbandimensionis
includedintheexposition. InBaroquearchitecture, infact, thesingleelements
arehighly determinedby the "system"ofwhichtheyformpart.
Theauthorwantstothankthosewhohaveofferedhiminspirationandhelp
through their writings or in direct discussion, in particular Prof. Hans
Sedlmayr, Prof. Paolo Portoghesi, Prof. 'Werner Hager, Prof. Rudolf Witt-
kower, Prof. StaaleSinding-Larsen, Prof. Giulio CarloArganandProf. Fer-
dinandSchuster. HealsowantstothankDr. CarloPirovanowhohasbeenin
chargeoftheproductionofthevolume,aswellasallthosewhohavecollected
biographicalandbibliographicalinformation. SpecialthanksareduetoMrs.
MarciaBergforcorrectingandtypingthemanuscript.
Ch.N.-S.
ChapterOne
THE BAROQUE AGE
TheBaroqueandItsBuildings "RendThoutheveil,myLord! Breakdownthatwall/whosethicknessde-
The seventeenth century was characterized by a diversity unknown be- lays thelight/of Thy sun, which theworld sees not."
fore.TheunifiedandhierarchicallyorderedcosmosoftheMiddleAgeshad Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the attitude changed. The
disintegrated during the Renaissance, and a new element of choice had case of Descartes is particularly illuminating. Having found that every-
beenintroducedintothelifeofman. "InthereligioussystemoftheMiddle thingcanbedoubted,heconcludesthathisowndoubtbeingathoughtrep-
Agesasitcrystallizedinscholasticism,everyphaseofrealitywasassigned resentstheonlycertainty! "Examiningattentivelywhat Iwas, andseeing
its unique place; and with its place goes a complete determination of its that I could pretend that I had no body and that there was no world or
value, which is based on the greater or lesserdistance which separates it placethat Iwasin,but that Icouldnot forallthat, pretend that Ididnot
from the First Cause. There is no room here for doubt and in all think- exist, andthatonthecontrary,fromtheveryfactthatIthoughtofdoubt-
ing there is the consciousness of being sheltered by this inviolable ing the truthofotherthings, it followedveryevidently andverycertain-
orderwhichitisnotthebusinessofthoughttocreatebutonlytoaccept."1 ly that I existed..." On the basis of this certainty he goes on con-
WiththeriseofHumanism,however,thequestionofman'sfreewillcame structing a comprehensive system of "facts." "The great originality of
tothefore,andinFlorenceitreceivedasocialandpoliticalfoundation. In Descartes, and that which enables him to avoid the conclusions of Mon-
hisfuneralorationforNanniStrozzi(1428), LeonardoBrunisaid: "Equal taigneandtheScepticsisthat,insteadofconsideringtheobjectsofdoubt,
—
liberty exists for all the hope ofgaining high office and of rising is the hedetachestheactofdoubtingfromanythingexternaltoitselfandinthat
sameforall." Evenahundredyearsbeforethis, theFlorentineshadgone waycutstheground frombeneaththefeetofscepticism.""
as far as to appoint their magistrates by lot. The absolute system of the Thegeneralspiritoftheseventeenthcentury,however,rarelypossessed
Middle Ages was thus replaced by an active political life, which found a this originality. Rather man sought securityby achoicebetween thecur-
newbasis in thestudia humanitatis. rentalternativesoftheperiod. Thenewstateofaffairswasacceptednone
Theideaoftheordereduniverse,however,wasnotrelinquishedbythe the less, and the old unified world was gone forever. But this does not
Renaissance. Rather it obtained a new interpretation based ongeometry meanthattheconflictswereover,sincethedisintegrationoftheoldworld
andmusicalharmony,wherebyanewscaleofvalueswasintroduced,assign- actually culminated with the ThirtyYears' War, which paralyzed agreat
ing everything a place according to its degree of "perfection."* Within part of Central Europe during the first half of the seventeenth century.
thisframeworkmanhadhisfreedomofchoice,asexpressedinthefamous Butnobodyanylongerbelievedinare-establishmentoftheoldorder,and
paraphraseon the Creation by Picodella Mirandola: "He therefore took man again started to look ahead. The new world of the seventeenth cen-
manasacreatureofindeterminatenatureand,assigninghimaplaceinthe tury, therefore, may be called "pluralistic," in so far as it offered man a
middle of the world, addressed him thus: 'Neither a fixed abode nor a choice between different alternatives, be they religious, philosophical,
formthatisthinealonenoranyfunctionpeculiartothyselfhavewegiven economic or political. All the alternatives were characterized by the aim
thee,Adam, totheendthataccordingtothylongingandaccordingtothy we have found in Descartes' thinking: to arrive at acomplete and secure
judgement thou mayest have and possess what abode, what form, and systembasedonaprioriaxiomsordogmas. Manwantedabsolutesecurity,
what functions thou thyself shalt desire... Thou shalt have the power to andhecould findit inthetraditionoftherestoredRomanChurch,inone
degenerateintothelowerformsoflife,whicharebrutish. Thoushalthave oftheschoolsofReformationwhichwereallbasedonthebeliefintheab-
thepower,outofthysoul'sjudgement,toberebornintothehigherforms, solutetruthoftheBiblicalword,inthegreatphilosophicalsystemsofDes-
whicharedivine.'" cartes, Hobbes, SpinozaorLeibniz, orintheabsolute monarchy "bydiv-
But the Renaissance idea of freedom within a harmonious and mean- ineright." Theattitudewasmostnatural; infact,itrepresenteddifferent
ingful universe did not last long. Erasmus and Luther represent doubt in but analogous attempts at establishing a substitute for the lostcosmos.
the freedom and "dignity of man," and Copernicus (1545) removed the In spite of the new pluralism, we may therefore consider the seven-
earthfromthecenteroftheuniverse.-1ThepoliticalfoundationofFloren- teenthcenturyaunifiedepoch, theBaroqueAge. Indoingthisweneither
tine civilization broke down, and the division ofthe Church ratified the evokeamystic"spiritoftheage,"norrefertomere"stylisticsimilarities."
disintegration of the unified and absolute world. During the sixteenth Ratherwehaveinmindthebasichumanattitudewhichprevailsinspiteof
century the new diversity was experienced as a frightening split giving thedifferencesofchoice, theespritdesysteme, tousethetermofD'Alem-
manasenseofdoubtandalienation. Thegeneralattitudefounditsartistic bert.' Through the freedom of choice, man immensely widened the pos-
manifestationinthephenomenawhichareusuallybroughttogetherunder sibilitiesforstructuringhisownlife,atleastintheory;inrealitythechoice
the label of "Mannerism." In the tragic world of Michelangelo, it comes waslimitedbyhisimmediatesituation. Inotherwords,allthealternatives
forthwith singularintensity: were not available everywhere, but were confined to particular geogra-
1. Paris, map oftownandenvirons
from 1740.
phicalareas,whosegeneraldistributionwassettledaftertheThirtyYears'
War.8Theseventeenthcentury,therefore,experiencedcertainmigrations
of human groups, such as the expulsion of the Huguenots from France
(1685). Although they were connected with particular "areas," the sys-
temswereinacertainsense "open." Notbeingsingleunits, theirpropaga-
tion was essential, and a dynamic, centrifugal character became general.
Propagation, however, onlybecomes meaningful andeffectiveinrelation
toacenter,whichrepresentsthebasicaxiomsandpropertiesofthesystem.
Thereligious,scientific,economicandpoliticalcenterswerefociofradiat-
ing forces, which, seen from thecenteritself, had no spatial limits.
Thesystemsoftheseventeenthcentury,thus,hadanopenanddynamic
character. Departing from a fixed point, they could be infinitely ex-
tended. This new relation to the infinite first appears in the writings of
GiordanoBrunowhosays: "Infinitespacehasinfinitepotentiality,andin
this infinitepotentiality may be praised aninfinite actofexistence." He
thengoesontoimagineapluralityofworlds: "Thusthereareinnumerable
suns, withcountless planets likewisecircling about these suns..." In this
infiniteworld,movementandforceareofprimeimportance. Relatedideas
are found in the philosophy of Leibniz a hundred years later; also in the
simplerand morerationalworldofDescarteswefind theideathat spatial
extension is the basic property of all things and that theirdifferences are
based on different movements. Geometry, therefore, is the appropriate
toolforunderstandingtheworld.Whereasthegeometricallyordereduni-
verseofthe Renaissancewasclosed and static, Baroque thought makesit
openand dynamic.
Wethusunderstandthatthetwoseeminglycontradictoryaspectsofthe
Baroquephenomenon, systematismanddynamism, formameaningfulto-
tality. Theneedforbelongingtoanabsoluteandintegratedbutopenand
dynamic systemwas thebasic attitude ofthe BaroqueAge.
This attitude was nourished by the characteristic achievements of the
period: exploratory travels (opening up an ever larger and morecomplex
world), colonization (extending the social and cultural borders of Eu-
ropean pluralism), and scientific research (substituting empirical study
and research for the traditional idea of harmony and degrees of perfec-
tion). This general expansion had as a necessary correlate a growing
specialization of human activities; every discipline, every activity was
forced to define itsown field. Inourcontext it is important to point out
thesplitofthatunityofartandsciencewhichhadformedthebasisforthe
uomouniversaleoftheRenaissance. Theartistnolongerdaredtobeaphi-
losopherorscientist, andasaconsequenceartistictheorylost muchofits
impetusduringtheseventeenthcentury. Infact,ifwewanttounderstand
the intentions of Baroque architects, we must infer them from the
treatises of the previous or followingcenturies." Rather than pursue the
ideal of "universal man," the Baroque Age therefore assigned the in-
dividual a fixed place within the social hierarchy. Toacertain extent, he

2. Rome, plan ofSixtus V
(reconstruction by Giedion).
3. Versailles, aerialview.
could choose his preferred system, but hardly his own place within it. from 1740 we find that thewhole landscapehasbeen transformed into a
Socially the Baroque Agewas stillclosed. networkofcentralizedsystemswhich, ideally, haveaninfiniteextension.
Virtually no other epoch has to the same extent aimed at making its Mostofthemstemfromtheseventeenthcentury. Inastilllargercontext,
formoflifevisibleormanifest. Persuasionwasthebasicmeansusedbyall Paris formed thecenterofan analogous system, comprising thewholeof
the systems to make their alternatives operant. Science and philosophy France. And ifwe use a magnifyingglass on the same map, werecognize
certainlyought todemonstrate rather than persuade, but even Descartes that the singleelements, thebuildings, areorganized on similarpatterns.
usesa"common"languageandhebeginshisDiscoursewithanaccountof In fact, there is hardly any historical epoch which more evidently mani-
hisownlifetostrikeanoteofsympathyinhisreader. Infact, "theultima- fests acorrespondence between the form oflife and the architectural en-
teaimofDescarteswastopersuadementhat, intheirtaskofreconstruct- vironment.Thiscorrespondenceiseasytounderstandwhenweremember
ing the world, a method, his method, was aloneeffective. That is to say thattheworldwasconsideredtohaveageometricallyorderedextensionas
that his method was essentially an instrument for action." " Leaving in its basic property. This extension is always referred to as a "center of
principle what canbedemonstrated toscience, religionbecame morede- meaning," that is, a place embodying the basic "dogmas" of the form of
pendentonpersuasionthaneverbefore.ThiswasalreadyrealizedbySt.Ig- life.Inrelationtothisfocus,man'sexistencebecamemeaningful,spatially
natius Loyola, and motivated his "Spiritual Exercises" which were first expressed through a system of possible movements, or "paths," which
writteninplainSpanishandwhichaimatanimitationofChristbymeans convergeon thecenter.
of imagination and empathy. Later the Roman Church came togivepar- Renaissancearchitecture alsogavegreat importancetocentralizedpat-
ticularimportancetothevisualimagesasameansofpersuasion. "Andthe ternsoforganization, inbuildingsaswellasinplansfor"idealcities."Re-
Bishopsshallcarefullyteachthis: that,bymeansoftheStoriesoftheMys- naissancecentralization,however,hasastaticandenclosedcharacter.The
teriesofourRedemption,portrayedbypaintingsorotherrepresentations, systems neverextend beyond clearlydefined limits, and the elements re-
thepeopleareinstructedandconfirmedinthehabitofremembering,and mainisolatedinthelandscape.Theyalsohaveapronouncedindividuality.
continually revolving in mind the articles of faith..."1 But even the Pro- The elements of Baroque systems, however, interact and subordinate
testantchurchespracticedpersuasionbymeansofsermonsinthecommon themselves to a dominant focus. During the sixteenth century the static
languageand sacred music.' Theabsolutemonarchies, finally, usedgreat harmonyofRenaissancespacewasbroken, andastronginterestinmove-
festivals and fetes to make the glory of the system visible. ment andcontrastcametothefore, aswellasanewrelationshipbetween
Persuasionhasparticipationasitsgoal. TheBaroqueworld,infact, may interiorandexteriorspace.
be characterized as a great theater where everybody was assigned a par- Although many of the formal structures which are basic to Baroque
ticularrole. Suchaparticipation,however,presupposesimagination,afac- architecture were developed during the sixteenth century, Mannerist
ultywhichiseducatedby meansofart. Art, therefore, wasofcentralim- architecturedidnotarriveatanytruetypology. ' Thecenturywascharac-
portancein theBaroqueAge. Itsimages were ameansofcommunication terizedratherby an incessantexperimentation, reflecting thegeneralhu-
moredirectthanlogicaldemonstration,andfurthermore,accessibletothe man doubt and insecurityof the period.
illiterate. TheartoftheBaroque, therefore, concentratesonvividimages Towardstheendofthesixteenthcentury,however,apronouncedwish
ofsituations,realandsurreal,ratherthanon"history"andabsoluteform. forsystematizationbecameevident.ItstartedinRome,asamanifestation
Descartessays: "Thecharmoffablesawakensthemind."Thegeneralaim oftheaccomplishedrestorationoftheCatholicChurch. Itsbasiswasthus
was to instigate awayoflifeinconformity with the system. Art thereby religious, and the aim was to express the role of Rome as the dominant
became official and was institutionalized in theacademies.1'' At the same focusoftheCatholicworld. Itisthereforemostnaturalthat the"turning-
time,however, thecharacterofBaroqueartbrought fortha "phenomeni- point" was markedbyaworkon theurbanisticlevel. In 1585 Pope Sixtus
zation" ofexperience, which made man moreconscious ofhisownexist- VintroducedagrandioseplanfortheurbantransformationofRome."
ence. Baroqueparticipation,whichshouldhavesecuredthesystem,inthe ThebasicideasoftheplanmusthavebeendevelopedalreadybeforeFelice
endthereforeled toitsdisintegration. Peretti,CardinalMontalto,rosetothePapalChairin 1585asSixtusV. In
fact,heputhischiefarchitect,DomenicoFontana,toworkatonce,andin
TheBaroqueBuilding Tasks 1586 the first great new street, Via Felice (today Via Sistina), was com-
Todescribe thebasichuman attitude and theformoflifeofthe Baroque pleted. Theprincipalaimoftheplanwastoconnectthemainreligiousfoci
Age, wehaveusedtermssuchas "system," "centralization," "extension" of thecityby meansofwide, straight streets. Fontanawrites: "Ourlord,
and"movement."Allthesetermsmayjustaswellbeusedforadescription now wishing to ease the way for those who, prompted by devotion or
ofBaroque architecture. Ifwe take alook at amapofParis andenvirons vows,areaccustomedtovisitfrequentlythemostholyplacesoftheCityof
10