The main building of the University of Wrocław, with its magnificent façade facing the Odra River, is one of the most important historical monuments of the city and a major tourist attraction. It ...also houses a significant institution in the Polish educational landscape. Founded by Jesuits and built in early eighteenth-century Baroque style, the University is closely connected with the history of the Habsburg monarchy and its Counter-Reformation aims. For this reason, after 1945, its heritage was difficult to reconcile with the official Communist ideology and its initially anti-German sentiments. This article tackles the question of how both art historiography and the popular media, including guidebooks and the press of the People’s Republic of Poland, became engaged in the task of proving the Polish roots of the University of Wrocław. To this end, we provide an overview of the shifting interpretations and attributions of the Baroque edifice from its beginnings in the eighteenth century until the second decade of the twenty-first century in order to highlight the features specific to the discourse in Socialist times.
Many architects involved in the 17th-century Louvre palace expansion project adopted the free-standing column, dome, and large pediment. Bernini, however, was probably the only architect who never ...used them. This paper aims to clarify the uniqueness of Bernini’ attitude. The results are summarized below.1. These features were helpful to articulate properly the 150m over wide façade and give it the impression of the adequate height.2. Bernini was unique in excluding all these non-palace-like features and it brought his design by far the most palace-like character but caused some detail-wise and comfortability-wise problems.
Guarini first develops a rigorous and systematic discourse on vaulted systems. In three treatises: Architettura Civile, Euclides adauctus, and Modo di misurare le fabriche, he described the geometric ...nature of the vaults, the principles of geometry and their practices in the stereotomy, and the measurement of the vaults’ surfaces and volumes, respectively. In this paper, moving from previous studies, the significant relationships between the Architettura Civile and Modo di misurare le fabriche are deepened, also in light to the theoretical bases established in the Euclides adauctus. Graphical analyses and reconstructive digital models, linking the texts to the original diagrams and drawings of the treatises, allow to highlight the role of geometry in Guarini’s theorization and the logic of shapes’ composition at the basis of his inventions, and constitute a knowledge base to recognize and interpret the geometric structure of the vaults in Baroque built heritage.
RESUMO O propósito inicial deste artigo era apresentar a expressão de um modelo de fachada barroca mexicana, frente a conceitos e condições tanto da arquitetura barroca em geral como também de certos ...antecedentes espanhóis. Todavia, durante a investigação bibliográfica, especialmente alicerçada nas críticas do italiano Giulio Carlo Argan, percebeu-se que parte importante da caracterização da arquitetura barroca estava calcada apenas nas categorias da “persuasão” e da “imaginação” (ou “fantasia”). Apesar de suficientes para compreensão do espírito barroco, esses dois conceitos não conduzem objetivamente a estratégias compositivas que pudessem servir de parâmetro analítico. Por conseguinte, o artigo seguiu um caminho mais longo, passando por uma revisão bibliográfica que culminou na hipótese de seis estratégias persuasivas da arquitetura barroca. Embora essa parte do trabalho tenha autonomia frente ao que se seguiu, as avaliações das fachadas mexicanas dela dependem integralmente e, portanto, a derradeira parte não poderia ser publicada sem a primeira. Em seguida, o trabalho acompanhou a passagem do barroco à Espanha, como natural percurso até a América, revelando uma prática renascentista espanhola denominada “Plateresco”, imprescindível à compreensão do barroco religioso mexicano. Por fim, os dois conteúdos, das estratégias persuasivas barrocas e da composição plateresca espanhola, somaram-se para construir o substrato teórico que permitiu uma aproximação mais cuidadosa em relação ao objeto do trabalho. O resultado, apesar de heterogêneo, poderá servir como um novo ponto de partida para outras pesquisas sobre a arquitetura barroca.
ABSTRACT The initial purpose of this monograph was to present the expression of a Mexican Baroque facade model, facing the concepts and conditions of Baroque architecture in general, but also certain Spanish antecedents. However, during the bibliographic investigation, especially based on the criticism of the Italian Giulio Carlo Argan, it was noticed that an important part of the characterization of Baroque architecture was based only on the categories of “persuasion” and “imagination” (or “fantasy”). Although sufficient to understand the Baroque spirit, these two concepts do not objectively lead to compositional strategies that could serve as an analytical parameter. Therefore, the article followed a longer path, going through a literature review that culminated in the hypothesis of six persuasive strategies of baroque architecture. Although this part of the work is autonomous from what followed, the evaluations of the Mexican facades depend entirely on it and, therefore, the last part could not be published without the first. Then, the work followed the passage from the Baroque to Spain, as a natural route to America, revealing a Spanish Renaissance practice called “Plateresco”, essential to the understanding of the Mexican religious Baroque. Finally, the two contents, the baroque persuasive strategies and the Spanish plateresque composition, were added to build the theoretical substrate that allowed a more careful approach to the object of the work. The result, despite being heterogeneous, could serve as a new starting point for further research on Baroque architecture.
RESUMEN La importancia artística, arquitectónica e histórica de la capilla del Rosario (Puebla) y de la iglesia de Santa María Tonantzintla (Cholula), en México, aunada al reducido número de estudios ...que relacionan dichos templos, se convierte en un desafío analizarlas simultáneamente. Por ello, el objetivo del artículo es identificar elementos estéticos que singularizan, con el mestizaje artístico, una ‘decolonialidad originaria’ como praxis indígena de re-existencia en el Nuevo Mundo, desde Tonantzintla. Ello demanda un ejercicio ontológico sobre el ‘ser’, la ‘duración’ y la ‘irrupción’ de la ‘praxis estética’ en el nativo a partir del proceso colonizador y de conquista territorial. Son señaladas expresiones, objetos o estrategias indígenas que demarcan objeción a las violencias coloniales, valiéndose de los mecanismos de la propia Conquista, como la Iglesia y el barroquismo. Fueron realizados cuatro trabajos de campo, con observación directa, producción de imágenes y minuciosa descripción de la ornamentación de los templos. El marco teórico entrecruza la historia y filosofía del barroco latinoamericano, la teoría decolonial y la dimensión estética de los templos descifrada por sus más notables intérpretes.
ABSTRACT The artistic, architectural and historical importance of the Rosario Chapel (Puebla) and the Church of Santa María Tonantzintla (Cholula), in Mexico, considering the small number of studies that relate these temples, makes it a challenge to analyze them simultaneously. Therefore, the objective of this article is to identify aesthetic elements that distinguish, throughout artistic miscegenation, an original decoloniality as an indigenous praxis of re-existence in the New World, after Tonantzintla. This demands an ontological exercise on being, duration and the irruption of aesthetic praxis in the native from the colonizing process and territorial conquest. Indigenous practices, expressions, objects or strategies that demarcate objection to colonial violence are pointed out, using the mechanisms of the Conquest itself, such as the Church and the baroque style. Four fieldworks were carried out, with direct observation, production of images and a detailed description of the ornamentation of the temples. The framework intersects the history and philosophy of the Latin American baroque, decolonial theory and the aesthetic dimension of the temples decoded by its most noteworthy interpreters.
U radu je prikazano oblikovanje pročelja i zvonika novopodignutih ili obnovljenih crkava u razdoblju baroka u Međimurju, ukupno 28 primjera. Prema smještaju zvonika crkve su razvrstane u tipološke ...grupe pročelja s dva zvonika, pročelja sa zvonikom iznad, zatim pročelja sa zvonikom smještenim uz tijelo crkve – uz pročelje, ispred pročelja ili uza svetište. U ovom korpusu primjenjuju se tipološka rješenja zastupljena u baroknoj arhitekturi kontinentalne Hrvatske, a u analizi su se pokazale i neke specifičnosti. Prije svega zamjetna je gotovo jednako zastupljena prisutnost utjecaja i iz štajerske i iz mađarske arhitekture, vidljiva u dinamiziranim oblicima i dekoracijama, odnosno u raširenoj primjeni klasicističkih motiva. Nadalje, snažno je prisutno isticanje kontinuiteta i »dugog trajanja« sakralne arhitekture prigradnjom novih dijelova na starije crkve, raširena pojava i u drugim srednjoeuropskim regijama u kojima je (bio) prisutan protestantizam. Te značajke uvelike određuju specifičnosti ovog korpusa unutar barokne sakralne arhitekture kontinentalne Hrvatske.
The former church and monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, present Greek Catholic Michael the Archangel Church, is one of the most unexplored sacred buildings of Lviv. Despite its historical ...importance to the town, the few surviving documents list only donations and royal privileges. This article refers to examples of other Carmelite churches, as well as Italian religious houses to try to explain the possible building process. Not only them but also the already existing convents of the city shaped its form, which is significant for locating its history within the local building tradition. Key words: Discalced Carmelites, baroque architecture, mendicant order, architectural landscape of Lviv, Michael the Archangel Church.
The special issue “Precarious Past? Research on Baroque Art and Architecture in East Central Europe under Socialism”, edited by Michaela Marek (†) and Eva Pluhařová-Grigienė, originates from a ...conference held at Humboldt University of Berlin in 2014. In order to enhance a comparative approach to the still understudied field of art historiography under Socialism in Central and Eastern Europe, the six contributions focus on art historical writing on the Baroque era. This topic, due to its connection with the Church and aristocracy, had an ideologically precarious position within the confines of Marxism-Leninism. The papers highlight the complex relationship between the need to fulfill the new ideological requirements and persisting intellectual, personal, and institutional structures that preceded the communist takeovers.
Las humanidades digitales ponen a disposición de los investigadores nuevas herramientas para solventar cuestiones que hasta este momento resultaban inaccesibles, y no solo fórmulas para visualizar ...con un aspecto más actualizado y atractivo propuestas por otro lado tradicionales. En este contexto, este artículo pretende demostrar que el uso combinado de la fotogrametría y el análisis lumínico forman ya una herramienta útil para solucionar cuestiones planteadas por la historiografía sobre arquitectura, en especial para la época barroca. En esta ocasión, se estudia exclusivamente la utilización de la luz natural en espacios religiosos, sin especial atención por el momento al uso de las velas. Para ello se ha tomado un caso concreto, el de la iglesia conventual de San Jacinto (Sevilla), exponiéndose los resultados obtenidos con la combinación de diferentes técnicas: levantamiento a partir de mediciones, fotogrametría y análisis lumínico por ordenador. Como resultado se han obtenido varios niveles de detalle que permiten evaluar cada una de ellas. Con estos datos se ha intentado dar respuesta a una cuestión científica previa: precisar con carácter preliminar lo que se había definido como espacio cueviforme determinando los niveles de lux de cada parte del edificio. Más concretamente, se ha conseguido un modelo arquitectónico del uso de la luz natural que, comparado con otros edificios estudiados previamente, permite aportar nuevos datos sobre la iluminación del espacio religioso durante la edad moderna en Andalucía, lo que puede extrapolarse también a otras zonas de la península y a otros territorios ultramarinos.
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