Angkor has a Baroque style too!!

Dr Uday Dokras
What is the Baroque style?: The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep
colour, grandeur, and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. ... The style began at the start of the 17th
century in Rome, then spread rapidly to France, northern Italy, Spain, and Portugal, then to Austria,
southern Germany, and Russia. In the decorative arts, the style employs plentiful and intricate
ornamentation. The departure from Renaissance classicism has its own ways in each country. But a
general feature is that everywhere the starting point is the ornamental elements introduced by
the Renaissance. The classical repertoire is crowded, dense, overlapping, loaded, in order to provoke
shock effects. New motifs introduced by Baroque are: the cartouche, trophies and weapons, baskets of
fruit or flowers, and others, made in marquetry, stucco, or carved.

The English word baroque comes directly from the French (as the modern standard English-language
spelling might suggest). Some scholars state that the French word originated from the Portuguese
term barroco ("a flawed pearl"), pointing to[the Latin verruca, ("wart"), or to a word with the suffix -
ǒccu (common in pre-Roman Iberia). Other sources suggest a Medieval Latin term used in logic, baroco,
as the most likely source.

In the 16th century, the Medieval Latin word baroco moved beyond scholastic logic and came into use to
characterise anything that seemed absurdly complex. The French philosopher Michel de
Montaigne (1533–1592) associated the term baroco with "Bizarre and uselessly complicated."[8] Other
early sources associate baroco with magic, complexity, confusion, and excess.[7]
The word baroque was also associated with irregular pearls before the 18th century. The
French baroque and Portuguese barroco were terms often associated with jewelry. An example from
1531 uses the term to describe pearls in an inventory of Charles V of France's[clarification needed] treasures.
[9]
 Later, the word appears in a 1694 edition of Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française, which
describes baroque as "only used for pearls that are imperfectly round." [10] A 1728 Portuguese dictionary
similarly describes barroco as relating to a "coarse and uneven pearl".[11]
An alternative derivation of the word baroque points to the name of the Italian painter Federico
Barocci (1528–1612).[12]
In the 18th century the term began to be used to describe music, and not in a flattering way. In an
anonymous satirical review of the première of Jean-Philippe Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie in October
1733, which was printed in the Mercure de France in May 1734, the critic wrote that the novelty in this
opera was "du barocque", complaining that the music lacked coherent melody, was unsparing with
dissonances, constantly changed key and meter, and speedily ran through every compositional device. [13]
In 1762 Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française recorded that the term could figuratively describe
something "irregular, bizarre or unequal".[14]
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was a musician and composer as well as a philosopher, wrote in 1768 in
the Encyclopédie: "Baroque music is that in which the harmony is confused, and loaded with modulations
and dissonances. The singing is harsh and unnatural, the intonation difficult, and the movement limited. It
appears that term comes from the word 'baroco' used by logicians." [8][15]
In 1788 Quatremère de Quincy defined the term in the Encyclopédie Méthodique as "an architectural style
that is highly adorned and tormented".[16]
The French terms style baroque and musique baroque appeared in Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie
Française in 1835.[17] By the mid-19th century, art critics and historians had adopted the term "baroque"
as a way to ridicule post-Renaissance art. This was the sense of the word as used in 1855 by the leading
art historian Jacob Burckhardt, who wrote that baroque artists "despised and abused detail" because they
lacked "respect for tradition".[18]

1
In 1888 the art historian Heinrich Wölfflin published the first serious academic work on the
style, Renaissance und Barock, which described the differences between the painting, sculpture, and
architecture of the Renaissance and the Baroque. [19]
Characteristics of Baroque architecture

Quadratura or trompe-l'œil ceiling of the Church of the Gesù from Rome, by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, from 1673 to 1678[20]
The Baroque style of architecture was a result of doctrines adopted by the Catholic Church at the Council
of Trent in 1545–63, in response to the Protestant Reformation. The first phase of the Counter-
Reformation had imposed a severe, academic style on religious architecture, which had appealed to
intellectuals but not the mass of churchgoers. The Council of Trent decided instead to appeal to a more
popular audience, and declared that the arts should communicate religious themes with direct and
emotional involvement.[21][22] Similarly, Lutheran Baroque art developed as a confessional marker of
identity, in response to the Great Iconoclasm of Calvinists.[23]
Baroque churches were designed with a large central space, where the worshippers could be close to the
altar, with a dome or cupola high overhead, allowing light to illuminate the church below. The dome was
one of the central symbolic features of Baroque architecture illustrating the union between the heavens
and the earth, The inside of the cupola was lavishly decorated with paintings of angels and saints, and
with stucco statuettes of angels, giving the impression to those below of looking up at heaven. [24] Another
feature of Baroque churches are the quadratura; trompe-l'œil paintings on the ceiling in stucco frames,
either real or painted, crowded with paintings of saints and angels and connected by architectural details
with the balustrades and consoles. Quadratura paintings of Atlantes below the cornices appear to be
supporting the ceiling of the church. Unlike the painted ceilings of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel,
which combined different scenes, each with its own perspective, to be looked at one at a time, the
Baroque ceiling paintings were carefully created so the viewer on the floor of the church would see the
entire ceiling in correct perspective, as if the figures were real.
The interiors of Baroque churches became more and more ornate in the High Baroque, and focused
around the altar, usually placed under the dome. The most celebrated baroque decorative works of the
High Baroque are the Chair of Saint Peter (1647–53) and the Baldachino of St. Peter (1623–34), both
by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Baldequin of St. Peter is an example of the
balance of opposites in Baroque art; the gigantic proportions of the piece, with the apparent lightness of
the canopy; and the contrast between the solid twisted columns, bronze, gold and marble of the piece with
the flowing draperies of the angels on the canopy. [25] The Dresden Frauenkirche serves as a prominent
example of Lutheran Baroque art, which was completed in 1743 after being commissioned by the

2
Lutheran city council of Dresden and was "compared by eighteenth-century observers to St Peter's in
Rome".[1]
The twisted column in the interior of churches is one of the signature features of the Baroque. It gives
both a sense of motion and also a dramatic new way of reflecting light. The cartouche was another
characteristic feature of Baroque decoration. These were large plaques carved of marble or stone, usually
oval and with a rounded surface, which carried images or text in gilded letters, and were placed as interior
decoration or above the doorways of buildings, delivering messages to those below. They showed a wide
variety of invention, and were found in all types of buildings, from cathedrals and palaces to small
chapels.[26]
Baroque architects sometimes used forced perspective to create illusions. For the Palazzo Spada in Rome,
Borromini used columns of diminishing size, a narrowing floor and a miniature statue in the garden
beyond to create the illusion that a passageway was thirty meters long, when it was actually only seven
meters long. A statue at the end of the passage appears to be life-size, though it is only sixty centimeters
high. Borromini designed the illusion with the assistance of a mathematician.

Italian Baroque

Santa Maria della Salute in Venice (1631–1687)/ Saint Ignatius from Rome (1626–1650)

The first building in Rome to have a Baroque facade was the Church of the Gesù in 1584; it was plain by
later Baroque standards, but marked a break with the traditional Renaissance facades that preceded it. The
interior of this church remained very austere until the high Baroque, when it was lavishly ornamented.
In Rome in 1605, Paul V became the first of series of popes who commissioned basilicas and church
buildings designed to inspire emotion and awe through a proliferation of forms, and a richness of colours
and dramatic effects. Among the most influential monuments of the Early Baroque were the facade of St.
Peter's Basilica (1606–1619), and the new nave and loggia which connected the facade to Michelangelo's
dome in the earlier church. The new design created a dramatic contrast between the soaring dome and the
disproportionately wide facade, and the contrast on the facade itself between the Doric columns and the
great mass of the portico.
In the mid to late 17th century the style reached its peak, later termed the High Baroque. Many
monumental works were commissioned by Popes Urban VIII and Alexander VII. The sculptor and
architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed a new quadruple colonnade around St. Peter's Square (1656 to
1667). The three galleries of columns in a giant ellipse balance the oversize dome and give the Church
and square a unity and the feeling of a giant theatre. [29]
Another major innovator of the Italian High Baroque was Francesco Borromini, whose major work was
the Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane or Saint Charles of the Four Fountains (1634–46). The
sense of movement is given not by the decoration, but by the walls themselves, which undulate and by
concave and convex elements, including an oval tower and balcony inserted into a concave traverse. The
interior was equally revolutionary; the main space of the church was oval, beneath an oval dome.

3
Painted ceilings, crowded with angels and saints and trompe-l'œil architectural effects, were an important
feature of the Italian High Baroque. Major works included The Entry of Saint Ignatius into
Paradise by Andrea Pozzo (1685–1695) in the Church of Saint Ignatius in Rome, and The triumph of the
name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli in the Church of the Gesù in Rome (1669–1683), which
featured figures spilling out of the picture frame and dramatic oblique lighting and light-dark contrasts.
[30]
 The style spread quickly from Rome to other regions of Italy: It appeared in Venice in the church
of Santa Maria della Salute (1631–1687) by Baldassare Longhena, a highly original octagonal form
crowned with an enormous cupola. It appeared also in Turin, notably in the Chapel of the Holy
Shroud (1668–1694) by Guarino Guarini. The style also began to be used in palaces; Guarini designed
the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, while Longhena designed the Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal, (1657),
finished by Giorgio Massari with decorated with paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.  A series of
massive earthquakes in Sicily required the rebuilding of most of them and several were built in the
exuberant late Baroque or Rococo style.

The towers of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela by Fernando de Casas Novoa (1680 (centre

tower) and 1738–1750) and Angkor frontal view to the right

YouTube profile image800 x 800 px

4
Carved stone relief depicting hindu gods and battle scenes at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Suryavarman II & Construction

Suryavarman II is considered one of the greatest monarchs of the Khmer Empire (802-1431 CE) for his
creation of a strong central government that united the land. Suryavarman II also sent numerous military
expeditions against the kingdom of Dai Viet in modern-day Vietnam and the neighboring Champa
kingdoms, but these were largely unsuccessful. His greatest successes were in diplomacy, not  war, as he
successfully opened relations with China which increased trade and stimulated the economy.
Although he is remembered as a great ruler, Suryavarman II was a usurper, who assassinated his great
uncle Dharanindravarman I (r. 1107-1113 CE) to take the throne. He is said to have compared the coup to
destroying a serpent but what this alludes to, or what his motivation was, is unclear. He then legitimized
his rule through personal accomplishments and immortalized it through the construction of the grand
complex of Angkor Wat, dedicated to his personal protector-god Vishnu, most likely in gratitude for his
victory. He had amassed considerable wealth through trade and taxes and spared no expense in the
creation of his temple. Scholar Christopher Scarre notes:
The Khmer's unique form of kingship produced, instead of an austere civilization like that of the Indus, a
society that carried the cult of wealth, luxury, and divine monarchy to amazing lengths. This cult reached
it apogee in the reign of Suryavarman II who built the temple of Angkor Wat. (366)
The building was purposefully situated, and paths created in the jungle, so that visitors could only enter
from the west, a direction traditionally associated with the land of the dead but also with Vishnu, to
experience spiritual renewal as they drew closer to the divine energies of the temple. The design, and
imposing height, was intended to draw the eye upwards to read the great stories of the gods, heroes, and
ancestors carved in stone across the walls and up the columns of the great temple. All around the
complex, homes and workshops were built, markets and other businesses were opened, and a network of
roads created.

5
Suryavarman II)

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

A substance known as laterite was formed to support the emerging temple which was then encased in
sandstone. The sandstone blocks used in construction were quarried from a site known as the Kulen Hills,
18 miles north, and floated to the construction site through a series of canals. It is unknown how long
construction took to complete and, according to some interpretations, it was never fully completed.
Religious Background
Angkor Wat can be interpreted in many different ways but Suryavarman II wanted to ensure that,
however one saw the work, he would be part of it. Suryavarman II is depicted in statuary as Vishnu,
consorting with the god, and performing his responsibilities as ruler such as reviewing his troops and
holding court. The appearance of the monarch's likeness in so many different scenes, in fact, led early
excavators to conclude that the site was a funerary temple.
There are compelling reasons to come to this conclusion: unlike the other temples in the area - which face
east - Angkor Wat faces west toward the land of the dead. Further, the bas-reliefs which adorn the temple
are clearly meant to be read counterclockwise and, in funeral services, one conducts traditional religious
rituals in reverse. If any evidence had ever been found of Suryavarman II's burial at the site, there would
be no contesting the claim for it as a funerary temple; but there is no evidence of this.
It is possible that it was begun as a funerary temple but it remained unfinished at Suryavarman
II's death and he was cremated and buried elsewhere. It is more likely, however, that Suryavarman II had
it purposefully built to honor his god, and this claim holds more weight when one considers the king's
religious beliefs.

Suryavarman II practiced a form of Hinduism known as Vaishnavism, which is devotion to the god

Vishnu above all others. Although Hinduism is generally regarded as a polytheistic religion by
westerners, it is actually henotheistic, meaning there is only one god with many different aspects. In a
henotheistic belief system, a single god is considered too immense to be grasped by the human mind and
so appears in a multiplicity of personalities all of which focus on a single different aspect of human life.

6
In Hinduism, Brahma is the supreme deity who creates the world while, in his form as Vishnu he
preserves life and, as Shiva, takes life away and rewards humans for their toil with death, which then
continues the cycle of rebirth or leads to union with the oversoul. Angkor Wat reflects the course of life,
death, and eternity according to Vaishnavism, removing Brahma as the supreme god and replacing him
with Vishnu.
Vishnu appears to human beings in many forms throughout the centuries as avatars - like the popular
Hindu god Krishna - to guide and instruct people. The most famous example of this comes from the
religious text Bhagavad-Gita (“Song of God”) when Krishna visits Prince Arjuna on the battlefield of
Kurukshetra to explain the nature of existence and one's purpose in life. The temple of Angkor Wat is
designed to fulfill this same purpose through its ornamentation which tells the story of the human
condition, the immanence of the gods, and how one is to best live one's life.
SURYAVARMAN II ELEVATED THE POSITION OF THE COMMON PEOPLE, USING
RELIGION, BY DECREEING THE WORSHIP OF VISHNU, A DEITY WHO WAS A
PROTECTOR OF ALL.
The rise of Vaishnavism in Cambodia was a direct result of the conflicts between the Khmers and the
neighboring Champa. Suryavarman I (r. c. 1006-1050 CE) extended the frontiers of his realm into
Thailand during his reign and came into conflict with the cities of the Champa. The Champa's religion
was Buddhism (which was also the faith of the Khmer elite) which was viewed with hostility by most
Khmer who saw it as a threat to their faith. Vishnu, as a protector-god, rose in popularity through these
conflicts and the backlash against Buddhism.
By the time of Suryavarman II's reign, the form of Hinduism known as Brahmanism, which favored the
elite, was growing more popular in the region and Buddhism had also gained more adherents.
Suryavarman II elevated the position of the common people, using religion, by decreeing the worship of
Vishnu, a deity who was a protector of all, not the supreme creator aspect nor the destructive aspect but
the mediator between human beings and the divine who had also proven himself a benevolent guardian.
One of the most popular stories of Vishnu's kindness and cleverness in the interests of human beings
is The Churning of the Ocean (also known as The Churning of the Ocean of Milk) in which he tricks the
demons into surrendering the amrita (ambrosia) which will make the gods immortal and preserve eternal
order. This story is among the most famous bas-reliefs found at Angkor Wat and supports the claim that
the building was originally conceived of as a temple of worship rather than a funerary site.
Stories in Stone
Angkor Wat is designed to represent Mount Meru, the spiritual and physical nexus in Hinduism which is
the center of all reality. The five peaks of Mount Meru are represented by the five spires of the temple.
Brahma and the Devas (demigods) were thought to live on Mount Meru and it is famously referenced
in The Mahabharata when Yudhishthira and his brothers travel to the gates of heaven. One by one the
brothers die until only Yudhishthira and his faithful dog are left. When they reach the border of heaven,
the gatekeeper tells Yudhishthira that he may enter for the worthy life he lived but that dogs are not
allowed in heaven. Yudhishthira rejects any paradise which does not include dogs and turns away, but the
gatekeeper stops him and reveals himself as Vishnu who was only testing him one last time before
allowing him entrance.
Stories such as this are told all over the temple where one finds scenes from the classic works of Hindu
religious literature such as the Ramayana and Bhagavad-Gita. The great Battle of Kurukshetra from
the Gita is depicted clearly as is the Battle of Lanka from the Ramayana. As most people could not read
in the 12th century CE, Angkor Wat served as a gigantic book on which the important religious and
cultural tales could be related visually.

7
Churning of the Ocean of Milk

The temple was galleried – meaning it progresses upwards through a series of galleries - giving ample
room for the designers to explore the cultural, religious, and temporal history of the people. The outer
gallery of the temple stretches for over 1,960 feet (600 m) covered in these reliefs. Angkor Wat was
designed to represent the world with the four corners of the outer wall anchored at the four corners of the
earth and the moat representing the surrounding oceans. Scenes from everyday life, mythological tales,
religious iconography, and royal processions all wind themselves around the façade.
At the western entrance, a large statue of eight-armed Vishnu has been placed in the present day to
receive visitors who place offerings at his feet in supplication or in gratitude for prayers answered. The
central sanctuary of the temple is aligned north-south to the axis of the earth, and the Vishnu statue once
stood in the center, making clear that Vishnu was at the heart of all earthly and divine occurrences. The
galleries, according to some scholars, were used for astronomical observations and were built specifically
for that purpose so that astronomers could clearly view the rotation of the heavens in the night sky. There
is no doubt the site was linked to astronomical observances as it is precisely positioned to mirror the
constellation of Draco, the dragon, which represents eternity because it never sets.