Comparative Analysis:

Baroque and Rococo

Aloyon
Plans
Baroque Rococo

▼ San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, Italy ▼ Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen, Germany

The Baroque deviated greatly from the conformist shapes used by the
Renaissance, this was part of the Counter-Reformation propaganda of the Church
to “re-invent” their image. Both styles used plans ranging from the elliptical to
complex geometry.
Openings
Baroque Rococo

▲ Asam Church in Munich, Germany

▲ The dome of the of the Holy Shroud by Guarini

▲ Left Nave of St. Peter’s Basilica

Walls
Baroque Both architectural
styles display
dynamism or provokes
a sense of
‘’movement”. The
undulating motif of the
Baroque influenced
the latter Rococo style.

Rococo Rococo uses more lighter,

pale colors for the façade
and its interiors. The
baroque, on the other
hand has darker tones.

▲ Sansouci Palace, Germany

Roofs

Baroque Rococo
Columns
Baroque Rococo
Solomonic Column Paired Corinthian
Ornaments
Baroque
Frescoe Paintings- also called tromp l’oeil
(trick to the eye), these were illusionary
paintings that used the method of
chiaroscuro (contrast between light and
dark) to bring about a sense of great height
and openness. ▲ Farnese Palace Galleria, painting done by
Annibale Carracci in Quadro Riportato

• Quadratura – Painted on a horizontal

surface in illusionistic perspective

• Quadro Riportato – Images in ► Baroque

style trompe-
illusionary framing
l'oeil ceiling in
the Church of
• Di Sotto in Su – Painted on a ceiling St. Ignazio in
or dome - upwardly illusionistic Rome, painted
by Andrea
Pozzo late
17th century.
Palazzo Barberini, The Triumph of Divine Providence by Pietro da Corton
Ornaments ▼ Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain

Spanish Baroque
Churrigueresque- style of elaborate
sculptural architectural ornament which
emerged as a manner of stucco
decoration in Spain in the late 17th
century

▲ Daraga Church, Albay, Philippines

 Ornaments
Rococo
Frescoe paintings- much like the Baroque, but with lighter mood and color.

Asam Church in
▲ St. Charles Church, Vienna
Munich, Germany
Ornaments
Rococo
Extensive use of stucco- generally executed in
asymmetrical manner. The easily sculpted nature of
the stucco was used by Rococo artisans to its full
advantage. With these they redefined the
Aristocratic secular chateux or palaces creating
playful, odd yet graceful ornamentations.

▲ Detail of the stucco-work by Ludovico Bossi

◄ White Room in the Würzburg Residence by

Balthasar Neumann, Germany.
 Summary:
Baroque Rococo
• Italy, France, Spain, Germany and • France, Germany and Austria (18th c.)
Austria (17th to 18th c.)
• Secular Architecture
• Church Architecture
• Lighter and graceful form; Informal
• Heavy curves & Theatrical
• Pale, pastel colors
• Darker use of colors
• Asymmetric Ornamentation
• Symmetric ornamentation

Both:
• Styled to awe; impress the viewer
• Rich in detail
• Used Gothic elements like large windows and
vaulting
• Architectural manipulation of light
• Illusion of Space
END