Art - Building styles

Art - Building Styles


The Romanesque style

The Romanesque style originated in the 11st century and lasted until the 13th century. Typical basilicas, monasteries and rotundas were built. The buildings have massive pillars and painted walls with small round Windows and doors. The main distinguishing features are round arches. Well known buildings are the St. George´s Basilica in Prague, the rotundas on the hill Říp, in Prague, and in the cities of Worms, Speyer and Mainz.


The Gothic style

The Gothic style developed from the 12th to the 15th century. Gothic is the noblest and highest of all building styles. Contemporary man is astonished when he considers how people in earlier times were able to built such beautiful buildings. Typical attributes are rib vaulting, stone arches and luminous stained glass Windows. Churches, cathedrals, castles were constructed, as well as stone bridges, burgher´s houses and town halls. Around the towns people built fortifications to protect themselves against enemies. 

Among the most notable buildings are Saint Vitus´ Cathedral in Prague,Stephansdom in Vienna, Notre Dame in Paris, cathedralsat Cologne and Ulms, the Monastery in Vyšší Brod and Zlatá koruna. Famous castles include Křivoklát and Karlštejn. Among Prague´s Gothic monuments are Charles Bridge and the Old Town Hall. The building masters were, for example, Peter Parler and Mthias of Arras.


The Renaissance style

The name is based on the French word renaissance- restoring to life. This was a new epoch associated with the increasing role of the townspeople in Europe. It originated in Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries. To Central Eeurope it came as late as the 15th century. Renaissance artists tried to make a new secular culture to take the place of feudal culture. Roman antiquity was revived. Terrestrial man was recognised, life on Earth was celebrated, reason won over the backwardness of the church. Artists longed for independence and freedom.

Solutions to social and political problems in the various countries were sought on the basic of a reform of the Church. The reformationtook place. Martin Luther and John Calvin were the most important reformers. 

From 1519 to 1522 the earth was circumnavigated for the first time. Discoveries in the natural sciencesand astronomy threatened the Church´s authority. The heliocentric opinion that considered the Sun to be the centre of our solar system was considered especially dangerous. Such views were held by Nicholas Copernicus and Galileo Galilei.
The renaissance emphasised the individualism of nations and stressed the use of the national languege in literature. In the graphic arts, and especiallyin painting, Greek art had a major influence. The beauty of the human body was discovered, based on harmonious body proportions. Famous artist of that period were Michelangelo Buonarroti, Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Santi, Titian.

Among Renaissance monuments we can count, for example, chateau in Litomyšl, chateau in Telč, Belvedere in Prague, the town of Slavonice, the town halol in Augsburg, and the towns of Frankfurt, Nuremburg and Munich.


The Baroque style

The Baroque style represented a new style in literature and art from 1600 to 1750. It developed in the second half of the 16th century, and its development continued during the 17th century, freedom of thought resulted in military clashes, that in turn led to an impoverishment of the population. All of these caused the reinforcement of Church authority and re- catholization. In art motifs of death, destitution and starvation became predominant. Man turned back to God, but the thirst for knowledge continued. The conflict between the body and the soul found its expression in art.

The buildings give the impresion of splendour and nobility. Typical for baroque are luxury details, curves, ovals, Picture lighting, and interior tension in the sculptures  that subordinates even the body. Baroque gables appeared at country estate. Everywhere there was a great deal of decoration, a lot of gild, marble, and contrast between light and dark. Palaces, chateaux, churches, townhouses and monasteries were built.

Examples of baroque monuments are the Troja chateau in Prague, the Vranov chateau, Czernínsky Palace, the Loretto, the Church Saint Nicolas in Prague, St. Paul´s Cathedral in London, and Moritsburg in Germany. The prominent personalities were Matyáš Bernard Braun, Ferdinand Brokof, Kryštof and Kilián, Ignác Dienzenhofer, Karel Škréta, Petr Brandl, J. B. Fischer from Erlach, L. Hilderbrant, G. Lantini or the painters Peter Pavel Rubens, Rembrant van Rijn, Velasquez.


Rococo

Rococo came into existence from 1730 to 1770. It was the final stage of the Baroque style. Interior spaces werre bright and full of light, were decorated with paintings and porcelain. The paintings often featured love scences. Rooms contained cheerful decoration and fine furnishings. Artists returned to nature and the exotic.


Classicism

Classicism originated during the rule of Louis XIV. in France. It spread into all of Europe where it flourished in the 18th century.
It looked for its inspiration in classical antiquity(a strist order and rules were set). Reason was preferred over the emotions, this is known as rationalism. In this period the French thinker René Descartes proclaimed famous sentence:"I think, therefore I am!"

The ideal and goal was a rationally perfect work. Private interests were subordinated to public ones. The ideal was a balanced man with a fixed goal. Importance was given to representation of nature and of the nature- man relationship. In this period, specifics rules applied, such a, for example, beauty=truth, truth=representation of nature.
In literature, detailed formal rules for writing poetry Works were applied. The various generes were separated by impenetrable barriers. In tragedy the unity of time, place and action was the rule. Geometrical regularity and symmetry were the rule in architecture. Buildings were decorated to a lesser degree. Typical elements were tringular gables, columns, large halls, straight lines and light colours. Theatres, spas, gates, triumphal arches, chateaux, strongholds and fortifications were built.


The Neo-baroque,Neo-gothic, Neo- renaissance style

These styles lasted until the end of 19th century. Their revival was seen in churches and public buildings.


The Art Nouveau style

The Art nouveau style flourished from 1895 to 1905. Artists created new values, the rules of the previous period no longer applied in art. New materials came into use, for example, glass and ceramics. The large stress on detail was important.  Prominent individuals were J.Kotěra and D. Jurkovič.