The shift from the Renaissance to Baroque - Essay Example

?The shift from the Renaissance to Baroque Introduction Renaissance and the baroque are two cultural periods that preceded each other and characterized by unique use and development of knowledge. Culture refers to way of life often defining social and economic practices, with time the early societies identified new technologies thereby prompting the change of cultural practices a feature that differentiated the two periods. The Renaissance was the earlier of the two; the cultural change began in the early fourteenth century in Italy before spreading to other parts of the world. The term translates into rebirth in several European languages thereby implying that the period featured some radical changes in the conventional knowledge in the society. The Renaissance contributed to the development of several aspects of the societies among which was arts and architecture. Several prominent artists and architectures lived during this period and developed unique structures marking the cultural shift and the use of knowledge. Such prominent artists included Fillipo Brunelleschi and Leonardo Da Vinci all of who designed numerous unique structures. In architecture, the period introduced the use of metal in the design and development of houses. Metal reinforced structures thereby assuring them of improved security, however, it required unique and precise insertion into the houses thereby ensuring that the structured supported the weight. The successful design of houses during the time with steel resulted in stronger and taller houses that could survive longer than the previously existing dome structures (Wittkower, 1998). The changes corroborate the claims that architecture just as with every other aspect of human lives has shifted greatly to portray the changes in life. Because of the technological revolutions and revamped education systems, humans have continuously discovered knowledge thereby expanding their innovations. The architectural sector has exhibited the change too with some significant changes to the structural designs of the houses and the composite material used in the construction of houses changing with time. Among the significant changes in architecture was the progressive shift from the Renaissance to the Baroque two different historical times. The two historical times marked different architectural design, the Renaissance period marked the inception of knowledge, thereby leading to the baroque period. The architectural designs and features of the two historical periods differed greatly to portray the difference in several aspects of life in the two periods. Architecture relied on the other aspects of life including culture, the existing knowledge in the distinct periods and the economic developments. The difference in the types of architectural designs in the two historical periods is best discussed with respect to the existing architects of the time, the artists and designers developed architectural designs that best portrayed their specific times. The designs represented the change in the knowledge base and the cultural features of life in the two successive periods. The period runs into each other but exhibit radical change in the overall design and building methods in accordance to the prevailing factors as explained below. Andrea Palladio is the most influential figures in the development of modern day architecture dating back to the Renaissance period. Following his extensive practice in the discipline, he developed a unique style in architecture named after him, the Palladian. The style was influenced by the existing Roman and Greek style of architecture but had conspicuous differences from the existing designs. He developed a number if villas and churches some of which stand to this day, among those included the facade of palazzo Chiericati and Villa Foscari La Malcontenta. The uniqueness of the design arose from the fact that he used simpler and common materials but with them developed stronger and more stable structure, which embodied beauty of the existing cultures (Giovanni, 1980). To Andrea, architecture was like any other cultural element and therefore reflected the cultural state of the society. He designed simple structures, which he developed in bricks and covered in stucco. The stucco walls represented the Roman Villa topology. This way, he upheld the Roman culture in the art of villa constructions. The Palladio design of house construction therefore adopted the use of bricks in the construction of houses with different modes of beautification to make the different structures represent the specific cultures. The design portrays the relativity of the Roman culture but permits relative improvements to earn it relevance of both time and cultural context. The main characteristic of the design is the conscious integration of aesthetic quality of architecture and the expressive features of the art. Following his understanding of architecture as a means of communication, the design therefore permitted architects to infuse beauty with the need to communicate (Summerson, 1980). Among the key message in such designs included culture besides the relative desires of the diverse clients. Culture refers to a group of people’s way of life. The Roman culture was predominant in the early times and influenced other existing cultures. The architecture therefore maintained the Roman culture by developing uniform structures resembling those in the early city of Rome (Andre, 1967). Palladio’s structures displayed diversity in the design. Despite the fact that he used cheap materials such as brick and timber, he managed to earn a level of diversity often trying to create a better and more convenient structure to his clients. Diversity therefore became an integral feature of the style. The primary design relied on the use of cheap and readily available construction materials in constructing the houses. However, since Palladio developed diverse structures, which resonated with the dictates of his demands, his subsequent, design therefore adopted diversity as a major characteristic. Culture is relative; through increased interaction, people adopt better cultural practices while abandoning those they consider retrogressive. The concepts of urbanization and globalization resulted in increased interaction through trade. This way, people began living together and sharing values. It is through such interaction that the Roman architecture spread to other cities across Europe (Hart, 1995). The construction design therefore transformed systematically from the classical design to become the Georgian design in most English cities such as London Bath and Edinburg. The Roman Empire extended several countries. This implied that the geographical boundaries extended to other parts of Europe including England the Roman culture thus extended alongside the political boundaries. This way, the construction design extended to England among other parts of the territory. However, in the later years of its development, the British architectures incorporated a level of uniqueness to the earlier Palladian architecture thereby evolving it from the classical precedent to the Georgian architect in the British cities. Stone vaulting is a unique form of engineering used in the early civilization to construct huge iconic structures without the use of steel. In modern architecture, steel provides support for structures (Watkin, 2011). However, in the earlier societies, was not already invented thereby prompting the use of a technology to support such structures. This led to the development of the stone vaulting technology. Stone vaulting used arched form of structures used to provide both a space and support for a ceiling roof. This architectural design enabled the construction of stronger and more stable taller structures by manipulating a number of elements of the structure. The parts of the vault exert intense pressure that requires extensive resistance for the structures to stay upright depending on the nature of the structure. In underground structures, the ground provides the resistance thereby supporting the structures. However, in those constructed above the ground, the technology employed a number of placements to counter the pressure. One of such included the use of thick walls and deeper foundations (Nuttgens, 1997). In such contexts, the ground provided the basic resistance thereby developing the base upon which to layer the successive weight. Additionally, the structures have progressively diminishing breadths; this therefore reduces the pressure as the structure extends resulting in lesser pressure. The construction technology resulted in stronger structures than those built in modern societies using steel. The Reims cathedral in France and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul are two iconic cathedrals constructed in the same manner bit still stand stronger than some modern day cathedrals. Comparing the two to Lincoln Cathedral in England and the Bamberg cathedral in Germany, the earlier structures prove more resilient. The modern cathedrals are bigger owing to the multi-story structures. They therefore require a lot of strength to support such weight. However, most of such cathedrals including the modern two above employ the arch shape as a source of additional support to their steel. Stone vaulting was simpler than the steel technology; it only required the use of lighter yet stronger material for the roof but a stronger wall thereby providing a strong entire structure capable of withstanding the test of time. This is unlike the use of steel, which is more costly. Read More