Renaissance Architecture

15th-19th century

_____________________________
Christian Dominic Marbella
Clarisse Ledesma
Earl John Bonto
Introduction to Renaissance Period

• The word “Renaissance” was derived from the French word

‘la rinascita’ which means rebirth or revival. It is used to
describe this phase of European history because many of
the changes experienced between the 14th and 16th
centuries were inspired by a revival of the classical culture,
art and intellect of Ancient Greece and Rome.
• Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- First important figure
- Humanism
• Great Plague (1348-1350)
*Humanism

• The age of Humanism devoutly accepted the existence of the Christian

God. The humanist stressed earthly fulfillment rather than preparation for
paradise. Humanism is the effort of man to think, to feel and to act for
themselves.

• The Medieval men had been preoccupied with searching their souls; the
Renaissance man explored for truth and willingness to attack long-held
beliefs when they seemed false led eventually to the questioning of certain
Christian doctrines and to a split in the once unified Christian world. This
search led also to the foundation of modern science and technology, with
Galileo and Copernicus leading the way.
General Characteristics of Renaissance Architecture
Plans
• Use of symmetry and proportion
• Less or no use of towers and more
use of domes
• Interiors are planned on principles
of roman architecture
Walls
• Rusticated Masonry
Openings
• Doors and window openings are
semicircular or square headed
• Constructed according to the
climate
• Classical system moulded
architrave was revived
Ornamentation
• Less use of stained glass; more use
of opaque decoration like Frescoes
and Mosaics
• A great deal of efforts was done in
arts and crafts especially painting
and sculpting
Frescoes Rococo
• Frescoes - The art term Fresco (Italian for 'fresh') describes the
method of painting in which colour
pigments are mixed solely with water (no
binding agent used) and then
applied directly onto freshly laid lime-plaster ground
(surface).

• Rococo – (rock work) a term applied to a type of Renaissance

ornament in which rock-like forms,
fantastic scrolls, and crimped shells are
worked up together in a profusion
and confusion of detail, often without organic coherence,
but presenting a lavish display of decoration
Mouldings
• bold and impressive
• Contours of moulding follow roman
lines
Cornices
• Mark each storey
• Cornices, balconies, string bands
and horizontal features produce an
effect of “horizontality”
• Simple roman vault without ribs
• Domes have internal soffit and ceiling and painted in Frescoes
• Roman classic order of columns was revived
• The shafts of columns were fluted spirally, rusticated and ornamented
with foliage and fruits
• raising a high drum (a dome above a dome) above pendentives to
accommodate not only windows but a decoration with classical columns.
• Introduced the Baluster
Byzantine
Dome

Pendentives
Renaissance

Dome

Drum
Baluster -one of a number of short vertical members often
circular in section used to support a stair handrail
or a coping.
-Balusterade (a series of balusters)

Astylar -a treatment of façade without columns

Pilaster -1/3 of the column is shown

Renaissance Architecture in Italy
Renaissance Architecure in Italy
15th – 19th century

The Salient characteristic of Renaissance architecture was the employment of the classic Roman
“Orders”(Tuscan, Composite, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian) – were standardized by Renaissance
architects.

Renaissance in Italy was divided into three parts:

Early Renaissance – 15th Century
High Renaissance -16th Century
Late Renaissance – 17th Century

*Early and High Renaissance

Styles had developed from the studious observation of Nature and the formulation of a
pictorial science. But around 1520, all representational problems had been solved and artists stroke out
in new directions. Instead of taking nature as his starting point, the Mannerist, took art itself and gave
it his own representation.
Three main regions:
•Florence
•Rome
•Venice
Florence

• Birthplace of Renaissance of the 15th century in Italy

• Rusticated masonry
• Astylar
• Low, tiled roofs are sometimes visible above cornices
• Domes were favourite features in churches.
• The orders frequently supported the arches, both in cortile and
church arcades.
Florence
Example
• Palazzo Riccardi
-Michelozzi’s best known building
-astylar example
-graduated rustication
-Ground Storey has heavily rusticated masonry with semi-circular
arches enclosing windows
 Rome
• Mannerism – using architectural elements in a free, decorative way
o One of the major trends of the late Renaissance
o The word means excessive or affected adherence to a distinctive manner
o Strives for imbalance and instability

• Arcades have arches supported on piers faced with columns or pilasters.

• Doorways are flanked with columns
• Roofs are rarely visible and often hidden by balustrades
• The orders, either single or coupled, were at first superimposed, but later one great order
frequently included the whole height of the building. They regulated arcades of semicircular
arches in courtyards and streets.
Rome
Example
• St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
-outcome of many architects under the direction of many
popes during a period of 120 years
-most important building in this period
-The present cathedral had its origin in the intention of
pope Julius II to erect a tomb house for himself
Bramante’s Plan Michelangelo’s Plan Current Plan
 A competition produced several designs, and
that of Bramante was selected. Planned as a
Greek cross, the foundation stone was laid in
1506 and the proposed dome was founded on
that of the Pantheon, with the addition of a
peristyle and lantern.

Bramante
 Giuliano da Sangallo Fra Giocondo Raphael

In 1513, on the death of Julius II, Bramante was superseded

by Giuliano da Sangallo, Fra Giocondo and Raphael.
Raphael proposed a plan in the shape of a latin cross but
when he died,
 Baldassarre Peruzzi as appointed
architects reverted to the Greek-cross
plan.

Baldassarre Peruzzi
 On the death of Peruzzi, Antonio de
Sangallo, the younger, submitted a
slightly altered plan, with an extended
vestibule, lofty campanile, and
elaborated central dome.

Antonio de Sangallo
 On his death ten years later, Michelangelo,
then his 72nd year, succeeded him, and the
present building owes most of its outstanding
features to him. He used a Greek-cross plan,
strengthen the piers of the dome and
redesigned the surrounding chapels and apses.

Michelangelo
 The dome was completed in
1590 by Giacomo della Porta
and Domenico Fontana.

Domenico Fontana
Giacomo della Porta
 Bernini erected in 1655-1667 the
noble entrance piazza.

Bernini
Venice

• Unique character of sea-city

• The architecture is lighter and more graceful than in Florence.
• A notable venetian feature is the central grouping of windows
• Arcades have round arches
• Doorways are flanked by columns and pilasters supporting cornice and
semicircular or triangular pediment or are enclosed in rusticated blocks.
Venice
Example
• The Doge’s Palace
Renaissance Architecture in France
Renaissance Architecure in France
15th – 19th century

Divided into three parts:

1. Early Period (16th century)

• Combination of Gothic and Renaissance features to form a picturesque ensemble
• In France, there was a period of transition during which Renaissance details on to
such Gothic features as flying buttresses and pinnacles.
• In Italy, principal buildings are the churches and palaces for Popes and nobles; In
France, principal buildings were chateaux for the nobility, castles in the country and
Loire for the King,
• Influence of Gothic craftsmanship was more pronounced.
• Salient features are picturesqueness and a tendency to Gothic verticality
Renaissance Architecure in France
15th – 19th century

2. Classical Period (17th century)

• Dignity, sobriety and masculine quality
• Windows grew increasingly large.
• The orders become much more strictly classical in proportions

3. Late Period (18th century)

• Development of the exuberant style of decoration known as Rococo, in France, it is
generally described as Rocaile
• Architecture became more simple but at the same time less classically pure
Renaissance Architecure in France
15th – 19th century

Example
• The Louvre, Paris
-The Façade of the early design consists of two storeys with Corinthian
and composite pilasters
-Garrison Fortress; now a museum
-designed by Philippe Auguste
The Louvre Pyramid

• The Louvre Pyramid was built as part of a project known as the

'Grand Louvre', first proposed in 1981 by the French president
François Mitterrand, to expand and modernize the Louvre Museum.
• Solve the problem of accessibility
• Chinese-born American Architect Ieoh Ming Pei
Renaissance Architecture in Germany and
Central Europe
Renaissance Architecure in Germany and Central Europe
16th – 19th century

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

• Rich profusion of ornamentation in church interiors was not willful display but told the Bible Story.
• More reliefs or stained glass had carried the religious message in other times and places.
• Intensely visual appeal
• Church and Palace Interiors – Over-ornate, even gaudy but the opulent magnificence that frequently resulted
was a direct response to social, religious and political circumstances.
• Ornamentations – deliberate and purposeful, and had a greater part in Ecclesiastical than in Secular
Architecture, which was relatively plain, except in the case of the mansions and country residences of
nobility, where it was appropriate to express gracious living.
Renaissance Architecure in Germany and Central Europe
16th – 19th century

Example
Secular Architecture

Heidelberg Castle (1531-1612)

-Saalbau, Heinrichsbau, Friedrichsbau
-Well exemplifies progressive developments of the Early Renaissance.
Renaissance Architecure in Germany and Central Europe
16th – 19th century

Example
Ecclasiastical Architecture

The Theatine Church, Munich (1663-90)

-Based upon the church of St. Andrea della Valle at Rome
-Twin towers rise through three storeys of orders to oddly coarse scroll-buttressed ‘Helms’
Renaissance Architecture in Belgium and the
Netherlands
Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

1. Early Renaissance (1515 to the 16th Century)

• Rich externally and internally

• Rarely grand in scale and due to the northern climate, windows in domestic work are even larger than the
French (may occupy almost as much space as wall).
• Architectural details progressively assume a more authentic Italian Character.

2. 17th Century

• It is essential to speak separately of Belgium and Holland (Netherlands)

Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

Belgium

• Progressed with its individualistic interpretation of the Italian Pro-Baroque flourishing at that time.
• Influence of Austrian and French ‘Rococo’ in its decoration. (18 th Century)
• Occasional Greek revival manifestations appeared.

Dutch

• Leiven de Key and Hendrik de Keyser developed the early Dutch Style, usually plainer than the Belgian.
• Introduction of masculine style of Louis XIV to the Dutch court, effective in influencing interior decoration rather than
architecture proper.
• Sober external expression and bold and effective planning.
Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

Example
Secular Architecture

Belgian – The Chancellery, Bruges (1535)

Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

Example
Secular Architecture

Dutch – The Town Hall, Leyden (1594)

Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

Example
Ecclasiastical Architecture

Belgian – St. Michel Louvain

Renaissance Architecure in Belgium and Netherlands
16th – 19th century

Example
Ecclasiastical Architecture

Dutch – The West Church, Amsterdam (1610-30)

Renaissance Architecture in Britain
Renaissance Architecure in Britain
16th – 19th century

1. Early Renaissance
• Elizabeth (1558-1603)
• Jacobean (1603-25)

2. Late Renaissance
• Stuart (1625-1702)
• Georgian (1702-1830)
I. Early Renaissance

Elizabethan Architecture (1558 – 1603)

• The mansions displayed many new combinations of features

• Elizabethan mansions looked outwards rather than inwards towards courtyards
• became prominent under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
• This architectural style is also notably important because it is the first time [in England]
where architectural detail was present in a site other than a church
I. Early Renaissance
Elizabethan Architecture

Example
Hardwick Hall Derbyshire (1590-7)

• Unusual in plan consisting of a rectangular block with projecting bays

• Large mullioned and transomed windows
I. Early Renaissance

Jacobean Architecture

• English architecture under the reign of King James I

• architectural features :
o gables, turrets, flat roofs, window bays with mullioned windows, extruded corners, the
transverse entrance hall, the long gallery, the grand staircase, and the use of the orders
in non-traditional ways.
• Buildings still continued to be for domestic rather than religious use.
I. Early Renaissance

Jacobean Architecture

Plans
-Plans remained symmetrical

1. Courtyard plan
A rectangular ring with a large courtyard in the middle
2. The E or H shaped plan
Had a façade with perpendicular branches coming off of it
3. Square or Rectangular plan
Had projections and gables or towers
I. Early Renaissance
Jacobean Architecture

Example
Hatfield House
II. Late Renaissance

Stuart Architecture
Example

Banqueting House, Whitehall, London

• Erected by Inigo Jones
• Complete plan of the palace with its seven courts shows the position the Banqueting,
House would have occupied on the Grand Court twice the size of the court of the
Louvre Paris.
• Two storeys are enriched with superimposed Corinthian and Ionic orders.
II. Late Renaissance

Georgian Architecture
• The Georgian house was generally planned as a simple symmetrical square or
rectangular block with or without wings

• The staircase, also designed for show, was either axially beyond or to one side
of the hall and was seen through columned or arched screens.
I. Late Renaissance
Georgian Architecture

Example
Blenheim Palace
• Most monumental mansion in England
• Sir John Vanbrugh’s bold and forceful personality stamped itself on all his
designs which are characterized by his love of projecting porticos, twined
columns supports for trophies and the contrast of light and shade
Renaissance Architecture in the Philippines
Renaissance in the Philippines

Sta. Cruz Church, Manila

Construction of the first Santa Cruz Church was started in 1608 by the Jesuits
and it was consecrated in June 1619, as the parish to serve the increasing
migrants from China arriving in Manila, many of whom had decided to convert
to Catholicism.
Renaissance in the Philippines

The patron saint of the Church is Our Lady of the Pillar. The Jesuits enshrined
the image of the Our Lady in 1643.

The Church was seriously damaged by earthquakes and was eventually

completely destroyed at the end of World War II. Construction of the current
Church was, completed in 1957.
Renaissance in the Philippines

Quiapo Church

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, also known as St. John, the Baptist
Parish, is a church structure located at the district of Quiapo, Manila.It is
locally and popularly known as “Quiapo Church”, the Roman Catholic Church
that houses the statue of the Black Nazarene (Poong Nuestro Padre Jesus
Nazareno), a well venerated wooden image statue of a black colored Jesus
Christ carrying the cross, which is said to have given miracles to its various
devotees.
Renaissance in the Philippines

San Pedro Bautista the Franciscan missionary that founded the Quiapo Church
here in the Philippines.Fathers Eusebio de Leon and Manuel Roxas supervised
the rebuilding of the third church which was completed in 1899Dona
Encarnacion Nakpil de Orense raised the funds for the reconstruction of the left
ruins of the burnt down Quiapo church.
Renaissance in the Philippines

Juan Nakpil, an architect, was the one that handled the rebuilding of the Quiapo
church. He was well known to make several notable buildings. He is also
renowned as a “National Artist for Architecture”. He was responsible for
erecting a dome and a second belfry to the church.Msgr. Jose Abriol, together
with Architect Jose Ma. Zaragoza and Engr. Eduardo Santiago were the people
responsible for the remolding and reconstructing of the church to handle the
growing capacity of the parishioners and devotees.
Renaissance in the Philippines

The Quiapo church was built to be a place where Roman Catholics can pray, it was really
known as St John, the Baptist church, on which the guidance of the church is under St John
the Baptist. However, when the Black Nazarene was brought to the church. The Previous
was over shadowed and was less revered in the church. Now, Minor Basilica of the Black
Nazarene was blessed and is now purposed to house the Black Nazarene or also called
Senor. The façade of Quiapo church shows symmetry and balance though proportionality of
the building structure. It’s designs is that of a combination of Renaissance style bell towers
and pagodas.
Thank You!