2. Mannerism, style in art and architecture
of the 16th century, characterized by
the distortion of elements such as
proportion and space
The term Mannerism derives from the
Italian word maniera, meaning “style” or
“way of working.”
3. Stylistically, Mannerist architecture was
marked by widely diverging tendencies from
Renaissance and Medieval styles that
eventually led to the Baroque style
During the Mannerist period, architects
experimented with using architectural forms
to emphasize solid and spatial relationships.
Renaissance ideal of harmony gave way to
free and more imaginative rhythms.
4. o The best known architect associated with the
Mannerist style was Michelangelo (1475–1564).
o
o He is credited with inventing the giant order, a
large pilaster that stretches from the bottom to
the top of a façade which used this in his design
for the Campidoglio in Rome.
5. Andrea Palladio, "the most influential
architect of the whole Renaissance",
transformed the architectural style of both
palaces and churches by taking a different
perspective on the notion of Classicism.
Other inventive Mannerists were Raphael,
Giorgio Vasari and Giulio Romano
8. The Palazzo Del Te by Giulio Romano is a true
classic among the Mannerist style of
architecture from the Renaissance period in
Italy.
The principal features of the Palazzo Del Te,
in their deliberate breaking of classical rules,
increase the aesthetic appreciation of the
building by even the amateur viewer.
9. The Palazzo was the pleasure palace or “Villa
Suburbana” of Federico II Gonzaga, then
Marquess of Mantua who later became the
Duke.
It was constructed in Mantua, Italy in 1524-
34.
The whole palace was built with a theme of
horses and horseback riding, the great love
of the Gonzaga family.
10.
11. The building appears to be a straightforward
classical building; but close scrutiny shows great
sophistication.
In the North Façade, the features at first glance
appear evenly spaced, they are actually quite
irregularly spaced.
Also the strange way the building seems to be
halfway between one and two stories, so the
observer can not be quite sure if there is a
second story or not. It is as if the second story
has been compressed down.
12.
13. The Northeast part of the building, there on
the left is a “secret garden” containing a
grotto. There is a fake door on this grotto.
On the right is the hemispherical exedra,
through which the Marquess would have had
a grand view on horseback.
15. The columns that have been given a very
rough surface treatment that perhaps seems
out of place, common throughout.
The beam above has a keystone shape that
might be functional in another place, but
certainly is not here and is therefore
perplexing or humorous.
16. The passageway on
the axis of symmetry
is covered by a barrel
vault with octagonal
coffering, but the
vault is carried on a
heavy entablature
supported by Tuscan
columns with heavily
rusticated shafts.
17. There are fake windows all over, mirroring
the dummy doors. The dropped triglyphs at
the top that seem to be falling out of the
entablature.
This was done on purpose as well as the
keystone is slightly raised out of place,
pushing the joint above open.
18. Courtyard Of Honour
Like the exterior, the four
faces of the courtyard are
all different, no pair
identical to one another.
Like the exterior, the four faces of the courtyard are all different, no pair identical to one another.
21. Hall of the Horses
The Hall of the Horses in
which the Duke of Mantua
had not only himself but his
favourite horses painted in
portrait in the midst of an
illusionistic architecture.
This must have been a shock
for unsuspecting guests and a
great delight on the part of
the duke.
24. The Hall of Psyche shows the classical mythological scene of the
wedding banquet of Cupid and Psyche
25. These attempts were, in fact, meant to appeal
to educated people who were already fully
aware of the rules and effects of orthodox
classicism and could therefore enjoy the idea
of breaking rules for effect.
27. St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is probably
the world’s largest church and it is far and
away the largest Renaissance building.
Built between 1506and 1626, it stands over
the original basilica built on the site of Nero’s
Circus by Emperor Constantine in the 4th
century.
The church is approached through St. Peter’s
Square, the architectural masterpiece of
GianLorenzo Bernini.
28. The present basilica
was started in 1506
under Julius II (by
Donato Bramante, to
the top of the piers)
and completed in 1626.
Michelangelo is the
most significant artist
and architect
associated with St.
Peter’s
Plan
30. It was Michelangelo who
abandoned the concept of
corner towers, and
changed the shape for the
design of the dome to that
which we see today.
Quite a bit of the work had
been done by Bramante
and Sangallo, which was
squelched by
Michelangelo, and he
simplified the interior by
reducing it from multiple
components to a single
congruous part.
31. Michelangelo designed the famous
dome, and it was intended to rival
Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence.
The dome is the tallest in the world
at 448 ft.
It is just slightly smaller in diameter
than the Pantheon and
Brunelleschi’s dome.
The design, as executed by
Michelangelo, is quite similar to
that of the dome in Florence, as he
also used two shells of brick, the
outer having 16 stone ribs (twice
the number used by Brunelleschi).
32. Michelangelo prepared the
dome with double support
columns to act as
buttresses when he was
thinking of creating a
hemispherical dome.
When the design was
changed (as he often did)
to make the dome more
ovoid, it was decided that
the support was not
needed, as the buttresses
were barely stressed by the
more vertical shape.
33. Michelangelo died before the
dome was completed, but he
left some drawings and a
wooden model, and it was
completed by Giacomo della
Porta and Domenico Fontana in
1590, although they did not
execute the massive sculptures
Michelangelo intended to stand
upon the buttresses of the
drum to stabilize the mass.
34. The facade was designed by Carlo Maderno.
He was bound to the already existing Michelangelo's
wings.
He put the attic all around the building, as planned by
Michelangelo.
That creation looks mighty and dynamic along the west
side of the Basilica but is disharmonious in the facade.
35. The eight
gigantic
columns of
the facade are
almost 10ft
wide and 90
feet high.
For this reason, at the far sides of the facade, Maderno
planned two bell towers which lightened and soared
the building.
In 1621, at the death of Paul V, the ground subsided
and the building of the two bell towers had to be
stopped.
36. In 1646, Bernini tried to
erect the bell towers
again, but had to
demolish the left-hand
side bell tower because of
cracks in the facade.
Only the bases of the bell
towers remain, two
archways at the sides of
the facade that seem to
form part of it while they
should have been
separated.
This was remedied in
1790 by the installation of
two clocks designed by
Giuseppe Valadier.
37. Piazza San Pietro
This monumental
elliptical space (240m
wide), is the
masterpiece of Gian
Lorenzo Bernini,
38. Colonnades & 140 Statues
The Colonnades consist of 284 Doric columns and 88
pilasters of travertine marble.
These columns, 13m. tall, are arranged in four rows.
With the trabeation surmounted by a balustrade, the
overall height is 21m.
Bernini built two straight
covered wings
(Charlemagne left,
Constantine right) 120 m.
long, to link with the
basilica's façade.
39. This is probably the world's
most famous and
controversial sculpture of a
religious subject.
Michelangelo carved it
when he was 24 years old,
and it is the only one he
ever signed.
The beauty of its lines and
expression leaves a lasting
impression on everyone.
43. Andrea Palladio, "the most influential architect of the whole
Renaissance" transformed the architectural style of both
palaces and churches by taking a different perspective on the
notion of Classicism.
While the architects of Florence and Rome were influenced by
structures like the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine,
Palladio looked to classical temples with their simple
peristyle form.
When he used the “triumphal arch” motif of a large arched
opening with a lower square-topped opening on either side,
he invariably applied it on a small scale, such as windows,
rather than on a large scale.
This Ancient Roman motif is often referred to as the
Palladian Arch.
44. The best known of Palladio’s domestic buildings is Villa Capra, otherwise
known as "la Rotonda", a centrally planned house with a domed central hall
and four identical façades, each with a temple-like portico like that of the
Pantheon in Rome.
At the Villa Cornaro, the projecting portico of the north façade and
recessed loggia of the garden façade are of two ordered stories, the upper
forming a balcony.
In designing church façades, Palladio was confronted by the problem of
visually linking the aisles to the nave while maintaining and defining the
structure of the building.
Palladio’s solution was entirely different from that employed by della Porta.
At the church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, he overlays a tall temple,
with its columns raised on high plinths, over another low wide temple
façade, which has its columns rising from the basements and its narrow
lintel and pilasters appearing behind the giant order of the central nave.
45. Situated on the top of a
hill just outside the town
of Vicenza, Italy the Villa
Capra is called the Villa
Rotonda, because of its
completely symmetrical
plan with a central
circular hall.
building has a square
plan with loggias on all
four sides, which
connect to terraces and
the landscape.
Duration-1566 to 1571
46.
47. At the center of the
plan, the two story
circular hall with
overlooking balconies
was intended by
Palladio to be roofed by
a semicircular dome.
However, after his
death, a lower dome
was built, designed by
Vincenzo Scamozzi and
modeled after the
Pantheon with a central
oculus originally open
to the sky.
48.
49. The proportions of the rooms
are mathematically precise,
according to the rules
Palladio describes in the
Quatro Libri.
The design reflected the
humanist values of
Renaissance architecture.
50. The building is rotated 45 degrees to south on
the hilltop, enabling all rooms to receive some
sunshine.
The villa is asymmetrically sited in the
topography, and each loggia, although identical
in design, relates to the landscape it enfronts
differently through variations of wide steps,
retaining walls and embankments.
51. Each of the four porticos has pediments graced
by statues of classical deities. The pediments
were each supported by six Ionic columns. Each
portico was flanked by a single window. All
principal rooms were on the second floor
52. Thus, the symmetrical architecture in
asymmetrical relationship to the landscape
intensifies the experience of the hilltop.
The northwest loggia is set recessed into the
hill above an axial entry from the front gate.
This axis is flanked by a service building and
continues visually to a chapel at the edge of
the town, thus connecting villa and town.
53. The interior design of the
Villa was to be as wonderful,
if not more so, than the
exterior.
Alessandro and Giovanni
Battista Maganza and
Anselmo Canera were
commissioned to paint
frescoes in the principal
salons.
54. The highlight of the
interior is the central,
circular hall, surrounded
by a balcony and covered
by the domed ceiling; it
soars the full height of the
main house up to the
cupola, with walls
decorated in trompe l'oeil.
