HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE - III

ROCOCO AND
NEOCLASSICA
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ARCHITECTUR
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ROCOCO O

ARCHITECTURE
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 Introduction to Rococo…
•The word is seen as a combination of
the French rocaille (stone) and
coquilles (shell), due to reliance on
these objects as decorative motifs.

•The term may also be a combination

of the Italian word "barocco" (an
irregularly shaped pearl, possibly the
source of the word "baroque") and the
French "rocaille" (a popular form of
garden or interior ornamentation
using shells and pebbles) .
•Rococo styles are found throughout
France, Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe,
and Russia.

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 History…
• An 18th-century artistic movement and style, affecting many aspects of
the arts including painting, sculpture, architecture, interior design,
decoration, literature, music, and theatre.

• Rococo is a period rather than a specific style. Often this 18th-century era
is called "the Rococo," a time period roughly beginning with the 1715
death of France's Sun King, Louis XIV, until the French Revolution in 1789.

• It developed in Paris as a reaction against the grandeur, symmetry, and

strict regulations of the Baroque, especially of the Palace of Versailles.

• This style of architecture was popular between 1720-1789, elaborate

version of Baroque, also referred to as Late Baroque. Rococo rooms were
decorated as a total package including furniture, artwork, mirrors and
tapestries that enhance the architecture.

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 • The style is most associated with the aristocrats of the time. First
growing quickly in France, this style is both graceful and
artistically elegant and more concerned with indulgence and
appreciating life.
• This lighter and graceful style was favored by Kings Louis XV and
Louis XVI. Rococo architecture was completely in harmony with
the lavishness of Louis XV’s rule and is seen as a prelude to the
French revolution.
LOUIS XV

LOUIS XVI
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 Characteristics…
• Elaborate curves and scrolls
• Intricate patterns
• Delicate details
• Complex, asymmetrical shapes
• Light, pastel colors
• Had less emphasis on religion
• Was very decorative and used shell & plants
like curves
• Colors were pale and considered more
“classy” Included walls that were flat, smooth
and rectangular in shape
• Walls had carvings and gold gilding over door
frames

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 Furniture

• Lighthearted, visually and physically

• Ornate, graceful
• role in comfort and versatility
• Idea has evolved to a symbol of status
• Easily moved around
• Matching back
• Preferred choice due to its strength Voyeuse chair Italian Console table 1730
Late 18th century

Sculpture

• Rococo was widely adapted

• Expressed through delicate porcelain sculpture
• Elements of nature, curving lines and asymmetry

Etienne Maurice Falconet amour

Edme Bouchardon 1750
menaçant, louvre 1750
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 Painting

• Decorative art style was clearly shown

• Delicate colors and curving forms
• Decorating canvas with cherubs and myths of love
• Portraits were also popular
• Some showed a sort of naughtiness or impurity in the
behavior of their subjects
• Pastoral landscape
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721)
Fashion

Men with high heels

Women with hair mounded on top
Curls and twirls with stings of pearl
Lightweight silk layered TAFETTA and SATIN
Light pastel colours
Large floral motifs
Stripes sprinkled with sprigs

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 Jewelry

• Flowers, foliage, ribbons, scrollwork, feathers

• Engraved or embossed on metal.
• Enamel was abandoned as a form of
decorative technique
• Functional jewelry and chatelaines or snuff
boxes
Architecture

• Lighter, more graceful

• Elaborate version of baroque architecture
• Asymmetry of forms
• Richly decorated
• Numerous curves and decorations
• Pale color
• Jocular and light hearted themes
• Materials used in Rococo decorative art and
architecture include bronze, gildings, carved wood, Catherine palace, Russia

stucco, marble and porcelain.

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 Architects…
• Since it was seen as a “French Style”, Rococo architecture was never really adopted in Great Britain.
• Popular architects of the time include:

 Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli who was an Italian born architect that lived most of his life in
Russia with his father, who was also a famous Italian sculptor. Most notable works are the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg and Catherine Palace.

 Philip de Lange was born in France but was a leading architect in Denmark and the Netherlands.

 Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann was a German born architect who helped rebuild Dresden after a
massive fire in 1685. His most famous work is Dresden Castle.

 Asam Brothers were sculptors, stuccoists, painters, and architects, who working together,
became one of the most influential ambassadors of the Rococo style. Probably their most famous
work is Church of St. John Nepomuk, also known as, Asamkirche, which is located in Munich.

 Dominikus and Johann Zimmermann are Bavarian architects, painters and stuccoists whose
famous works include the Weiskirche and Steinhausen Church.
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 Famous Examples Of Buildings
•Palace of Versailles in France (Palace of Versailles): Although it was the
11th-century building, its renovation to resemble the period of time in
the 18th century when King Louis XV occupied it.

•The Catherine Palace in Russia (1717) – a summer place for

entertainment built by Catharine I of Russia, the use of cakes is evident
outside this palace.

•Charlottenburg Palace in Germany (completed in 1713): known for its

luxurious interior, which includes a room with amber panels with luxury
mirrors and gold leaf ornaments.

•The National Palace of Queluz, Portugal (18th century) – a summer

house with pink and yellow cakes.

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 National Palace of Queluz, Portugal (18th century)
•One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in
Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat.

•Work on the palace began in 1747 under the architect Mateus

Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is
often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles.

• Work began in 1747 and continued rapidly until 1755, when

it was interrupted by the Great Earthquake of 1755. The
earthquake proved to be a catalyst, because the urban
rebuilding process stimulated the development of the arts in
Portugal.

•The subsequent architecture of Queluz was influenced by

new ideas and concepts. When work recommenced in 1758,
the design was adapted for fear of another earthquake. Thus
the later works take the form of more structurally stable than
a single high block.

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 Architecture…
•The public façade of the palace faces directly onto a town square
and takes the form of two low, symmetrical, quadrant wings

•The southern of the two quadrant wings is terminated by the

onion-domed chapel, while the northern wing contained the
kitchens and servants' quarters

•The decoration comes from the simple classical pediments which

are used above the windows.

•This façade, that most readily seen from the town, presents a
decorous and impassive public face with one of the most
architecturally severe elevations of the palace

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 Exterior
•Oliveira designed the "Ceremonial Façade" of the "corps de logis",
the rectangular block which forms the nucleus of the palace, and
some of the interior courtyards.

•Jean Robillon, designed the gardens & the Rococo interiors.

•The "Ceremonial Façade" is the best-known view of the palace. With

classical proportions, it is externally decorated by delicately carved
ornaments over the windows. This façade with its single-storey
flanking wings forms a three-sided courtyard containing the
"Hanging Garden"—so called because like the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon it is on a raised terrace.

•The 2nd major part of the palace is the great western wing, known
as the Robillon wing or Robillon Pavilion, which illustrates better
than any other the excesses of Baroque and Rococo architecture.

•Completed in 1779, it has a doric colonnade which runs the entire

length of its western and southern façades, the roof of which
provides a balustraded balcony accessible from the floor above.
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 Exterior
•The eastern side appears as a single-storey building, with only
the upper floor visible above the ground in the "Hanging
Garden".

•The balustrade on the roof of the Robillon wing is broken by

heavy segmental pediments adorned with reclining statuary
figures; the balustrade itself is also adorned with statuary and
heavy armorial trophies.

•The Robillon wing contains an entrance to the palace reached

by flights of ingeniously designed graduated steps. Their design
creates an illusion of a longer and higher perspective, centred
on a corner of a terrace. The steps are adorned with elaborate
statuary. The bays of the façade are stuccoed rose-pink,
contrasting with the motifs and pilasters in natural stone.

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 Interior
•French artisans were employed to decorate the rooms,
many of which are small, their walls and ceilings painted to
depict historical scenes.

•Polished red bricks were frequently used for the floors, for
a rustic appearance as well as coolness in hot weather.

•A predominant feature of the interiors is the azulejos:

polychrome glazed tiles, often in a chinoiserie style with
tones of blues and yellows contrasting with muted reds.

•Materials for use on the interior included stone imported

from Genoa and woods from Brazil, Denmark and Sweden,
while coloured marbles were imported from Italy. Many of
the palace's rooms were severely damaged by fire in 1934,
and much was lost.

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 St. Johann Nepomuk, Germany
•St. Johann Nepomuk, better known as the Asam Church is a church in Munich, southern Germany,
built from 1733 to 1746 by the brothers Egid Quirin Asam and Cosmas Damian Asam as their
private church.

•Due to resistance of the citizens, the brothers were forced to make the church accessible to the
public. The church is considered to be one of the most important buildings of the southern German
Late Baroque.

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 Architecture…
•The Baroque façade swings slightly convex
outward.

•It was built in a confined space, the property is

just 22 by 8 m.

•The 2 builders who were able to unite in the 2-

story space architecture, painting and sculpture
in harmony. Especially the indirect lighting in the
choir area is very well done: hidden behind the
cornice window the Trinity figures are
illuminated effective from behind.

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 Architecture…
•The interior is divided vertically into 3 sections.

•The lowermost portion of the benches for the church visitors is kept
relatively dark and in the design symbolizes the suffering of the world.
The second section, located above, is kept white and blue, and
reserved for the emperor. The uppermost portion of the indirect and
hidden illuminated ceiling painting is dedicated to God and eternity.

•The ceiling fresco "Life of Saint Nepomuk" is considered one of the

masterpieces by Asam. The high altar of the Church is framed by four
spiral columns. These four columns are used as a reference to the four-
Bernini columns over the grave of St. Peter in St. Peter's in Rome.

•At the top is God, the Saviour. Below the tabernacle, a relic of John of
Nepomuk is kept. Two angels, sculpted by Ignaz Günther, flank the
gallery altar and were added at a later date.

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 ROCOCO ARCHITECTURE ( BRIEF)
•Active dates: c. 1715-1789
•Stemmed from French word for shells and pebbles
•Often characterized by shell motifs
•Emerged during the Enlightenment
•Emphasizes goals of knowledge, freedom, happiness
•Pastel, light, soft colors
•Ethereal, delicate, graceful scenes of elite
•Feelings of playfulness, happiness, romance
•Scattered light
•Typically non-religious
•Symbols of beauty, courtship, mythology
•Materials: bronzes, gildings, marble, carved wood,
stucco
•Asymmetrical, curved forms and shapes

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 Baroque and Rococo: A Basic Comparison

•Rococo style had its inception in France, unlike the Baroque that had
beginnings in Italy than moved to other parts of Europe.

•The Rococo was not applied to exterior architecture as was the

Baroque, but was an expression of art and the interior.

•Baroque decoration was commonly applied to church interiors. The

Rococo, not as commonly.

•The Baroque aesthetic was generally a serious and somber one; not so
with the Rococo that expressed frivolity, elegance, and fantasy.

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 •Artificial light and use of mirrors was a component of interior
design in both styles, but the Baroque uniquely emphasized bold
contrasts by using highlighting and shadow.

•Purposeful lighting was likewise apparent in Rococo style, but it

was used to create a cozy space—sometimes by way of French
windows (tall narrow windows often almost wall height, that
also functioned as doors) decorated with tasseled curtains and
with artificial light sources—inherited from the Baroque—in the
form of candlesticks, wall brackets, etc

•As in the Baroque, interiors were often decorated with mirrors,

but in the Rococo, they become larger in scale and more
extensively used—the Galarie de Glaces, or Hall of Mirrors, at
Versailles Palace is a prime example of using mirrors in Rococo
style albeit the Palace itself is is an expression of the Baroque.

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 H
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 Neoclassical buildings can be
divided into three main type:

•Temple Style Building

•Palladian Building
• Classical Block Building

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 TEMPLE STYLE
•Used classical ruins, focused mainly on applying classical elements to churches
•front portico, or colonnade entrance – a classic feature of Roman and Greek temples.
• Many temple style buildings feature a peristyle (a continuous line of columns around a building)
EXAMPLES:
•Panthéon (Paris, by Jacques-Germain Soufflot) Roman-based
• British Museum (London, by Robert Smirke) Greek-based

PANTHEON ,PARIS THE BRITISH MUSEUM , LONDON

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 PALLADIAN ARCHITECTURE
•inspired by the villas of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, who was himself
inspired by the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.
•In Britain, architect Robert Adam became famous for his Palladian country houses.
EXAMPLE:
•The White House and United States Capitol.
•Both were constructed over long periods under various architects.
•a balustrade (a railing with vertical supports) along the edge of the roof.
•The balustrade is a common classical method of crowning a building that has a flat/low-lying roof.

The White House United States Capitol

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 CLASSICAL BLOCK BUILDINGS
•Rectangular or square in shape,Often with flat roofs
•Exteriors that display repeating columns or arches to form a classically decorative block like
appearance.
•The exterior is divided into multiple levels, each of which features a repeated classical pattern, often a
series of arches and/or columns.
•The overall impression of such a building is an enormous, classically-decorated rectangular block.
EXAMPLE:
•The Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève-1843 by French architect Henri Labrouste
•Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, designed by Charles Garnier, is one of the world's most famous
examples of the classical block style.

Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève-1843 Palais Garnier opera house in Paris

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 CHARACTERISTICS
Neoclassicism was about clean, straight lines, simple, geometric motifs, and plain, block colours.
Focused on harmony, simplicity, proportion and symmetry.
•Symmetrical form, Grand scale volumes
•Long,Blank walls
•Triangular pediment
•Doric Greek or Roman detailing
•Domed or flat roofs, depending on style
•Dramatic columns-Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
•Dome, Rotunda and Crypt
•Portico,Colonnade,Capital,Frieze
•Sculptural Reliefs
•Projections and recessions and their effects
of light and shade

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 SYMMETRICAL FORM

Pantheon, Paris United States Capitol

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 TRIANGULAR PEDIMENT
•Consists of a gable, usually of a triangular
shape, placed above the horizontal structure
of the entablature, typically supported by
columns.
•Triangular gable forming the end of the roof
slope over a portico (the area, with a roof
supported by columns, leading to the entrance of
a building); or a similar form used decoratively
over a doorway or window.

The White House Pantheon The Rotunda

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 COLUMNS
•Traditionally there were thought to be three
orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, all taken from
Greek architecture.
•Mostly fluted

Madeleine Paris

Pantheon , Paris The White House

United State Capitol The Rotunda

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 Anthemia

Swags

Frieze
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 DOMES AND ROTUNDA
•Roofs are flat and horizontal and often containing a
centered dome.
•Rotunda, in Classical and Neoclassical architecture,
building or room within a building that is circular or oval
in plan and covered with a dome.

Pantheon , Paris

United State Capitol The Rotunda University of Virginia

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 CRYPT
The large circular area is called the crypt.
Columns surmounted by arches support the floor of the rotunda.

United States Captol

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 Series of columns Exterior is built to represent classical Geometric gardens around
perfection and simplicity of form. buildings

Interiors - massive scale, symmetry, Roofs are flat and horizontal and often containing
simplicity, and tall columns: Pantheon in Paris a centered dome.Decorations - minimum
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 LA MADELEINE (ÉGLISE SAINTE-MARIE-MADELEINE)

The Eglise de la Madeleine is situated between Place de la Concorde and the Palais Garnier opera
house, in Haussmannian Paris.
Period Of Construction :- 1764-1842

INITIAL DESIGN INSPIRED BY MAISON CARREE LA MADELEINE

FROM NIMES
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 • Two false starts were made in building a church on the site.
• The first design began in 1757 and halted in 1764, with a dome surmounting the Latin cross.
• The second design began in 1789 and halted in 1797, with shortening of the nave with more
centralised design.
• The final construction began in 1806 when it was supposed to be a pantheon in honour of
Napoleon's I armies, but after the death of Napolean, King Louis XVII determined that the structure
would be used as a church.

ARCHITECTS INVOLVED
Claude Étienne de Beaumont, Pierre-Alexandre Vignon, Jaques Marie Huve

ARCHITECTURAL
Neoclassical Architecture

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND FEATURES

The Exterior​
• The church is 108 m long and 43 m wide.
• The portico has 8 fluted roman Corinthian columns
20 m high and the total structure has 52 columns
which supports the structure. LA MADELEINE
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 • The entablature is embellished with a bipartite architrave
surmounted by frieze with a decoration of garlands and putti.
• The Pediment Frieze designed by Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire
whose subject is The last Judgement which depicts Christ the
Judge at the center of the composition and on His right the
archangel Gabriel with his horn announcing the Day of Judgment
and on His left the archangel Michael wielding the sword of
justice, it is in the figure of Mary Magdalene kneeling at the foot
of Christ that the underlying message of the sculpture is revealed.
ENTABLATURE AND FRIEZE

THE PEDIMENT FRIEZE

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 Interior
• Standing in the narthex (porch) of the church, to the top is coffered barrel vault, lavishly gilded
like the rest of the interior.

3 DOMES INSIDE THE BRONZE STATUES OF THE SAINTS

DOOR ENTRANCE

• Above the door is the famous pipe organ on which such composers as Camille Saint-Saëns and
Gabriel Fauré played.
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 • Towards the nave there are 3 domes supported by the pendentives decorated with colossal relief
figures.

APSE THE RAPTURE OF MARY MAGDALENE

• Each dome is coffered and has a glazed oculus allowing in light.

• Three pairs of wide bays each with pedimented niches are supported by ionic columns that serve
to form side altars.
• At the north end is the semi-dome of the apse, under which sits the altar and behind it a
theatrical statue by Carlo Marochetti of Magdalene being lifted up by angels.

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 • In the cupola of the choir, is Ziegler’s mural entitled The History of Christianity, showing Magdalene
ascending into heaven borne by three angels.

MATERIALS USED
• Two monumental bronze doors form the entrance.
• The structure of La Madeleine is stone and its
cover, bronze.
• Outside the building has a trilithic
structure composed of columns
and lintels.
• The materials used are mainly
stone in the outside
• Inside marbles of different colors THE FRESCO OF THE DOME OF THE
for coating the walls; gold for APSE, MADE BY ZIEGLER.
friezes, capitals and other details;
and wooden pulpit and organ.

BRONZE DOOR
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 UNITED STATES CAPITOL
•Location : Washington DC
•Ground coverage : 274 acres
•Construction started : 1793
•Architects : Original design was drawn by Dr. William Thornton. The current was designed by Thomas
U. Walter. There have been 12 Architects of the Capitol who have all made contributions to the building.
•Material used : Brick clad in sandstone and marble; Dome is made of 8,909,200 pounds of cast iron.
•Height : 88m – 5 levels
•Floor area : 16.5 acres (67,000 m2)

The winning design for the U.S.

Capitol, submitted by
William Thornton
•Ground floor : Committee rooms, spaces for
congressional officers, Hall of Columns, House chamber
the Brumidi Corridors, the restored Old Rotunda
Supreme Court Chamber, and
the Crypt beneath the Rotunda.
•Second floor : Chambers of the House of
Representatives (in the south wing), the
Senate chamber
Senate (in the north wing), offices of the
congressional leadership, In the center under
the dome is the Rotunda, semicircular
chamber south of the Rotunda - National Staturuary hall
Statuary Hall
•Third floor : Access to the galleries from
which visitors to the U.S. Capitol may watch
the proceedings of the House and the Senate
Old Senate chamber
when Congress is in session. The rest of this
floor is occupied by offices, committee rooms
and press galleries.
•Fourth floor, basement/terrace level :
Occupied by offices, machinery rooms,
workshops and other support areas.
•The original low dome was replaced in the 1850s by the current white cast-iron dome lifted into place by
steam-powered derricks (modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome).
•It was topped by the Statue of Freedom, a 19ft 6 inches-tall bronze statue of a woman wearing a helmet
and holding a sheathed sword and a laurel wreath.
• Under the dome is the Rotunda- 96 ft in diameter 54m high, where historical exhibits are presented.

Statue of Freedom
•The curved sandstone walls are divided by fluted Doric pilasters with wreaths of olive branches carved
into the frieze above, Eight framed niches hold large historical paintings.
•540 rooms and 658 windows (108 in the dome alone) and approximately 850 doorways, miles of
corridors
•Crypt- large circular area with Columns surmounted by arches support the floor of the rotunda.
A tomb area was built for the remains of George Washington beneath the Crypt, but his will specified that
he wished to be buried at his home at Mount Vernon, and his descendants honored this wish.
•The building features unique Corinthian-style columns, with capitals that depict tobacco leaves and corn
cobs to symbolise the wealth and bounty of the nation respectively.
•The half-dome shape of National Statuary Hall - whispering gallery produces an acoustical effect
•There are 100 statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

Crypt Corinthian Column Dome Statuary Hall

 NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE INFLUENCE IN MODERN LIVING
The neoclassical style is about elegance and sophistication. interpreting mordern designs with different cultures of
neoclassical architecture into a new style having timeless elegance.
Colors: mild: cream, gray, blue, yellow and green. Luster black, red, gold and silver are used
Furniture. simple but symmetrical, Dark wood furniture and rooms are embellished with beautiful ornaments, stone and
marble floors, and Persian carpets. The fabrics -luxurious but not ostentatious - damask silk, brocade, linen, and velvet.
Decorations. Urns, jugs, Wedgwood china, pottery, statues, Large mirrors, artwork and decorative moldings adorn walls
and ceilings..The neoclassical aesthetic combines luxury and opulence with a relaxed atmosphere to provide an elegant aura
and charm.

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ROCOCO VS NEOCLASSICAL

THANK YOU
THANK YOU