La ciudad barroca y su relación con la performance, la visibilidad, la visión y el espectáculo., Monografías, Ensayos de Urbanismo

¡Descarga La ciudad barroca y su relación con la performance, la visibilidad, la visión y el espectáculo. y más Monografías, Ensayos en PDF de Urbanismo solo en Docsity! Essay: The Pre-modern Baroque City and its Relationship to Performance, Visibility and Vision and the Spectacle CARMEN TATO LOPEZ - 12820193 11248 Architectural History and Theory: Urbanism and the City Tutor: Nicholas Sargent Word count: 3078 School of Architecture UTS Autumn Semester 2017 1 Content Essay References Bibliography Appendix 1 – Weekly Readings Appendix 2 – Topic summary and debate questions pp. 2 – 11 pp. 12 – 13 pp. 14 pp. 15 – 45 pp.46 - 48 4 Among the parts of the buildings it is imperative to highlight the façade, particularly the ones from churches, since these were the ones that created the sets of the spectacle. The facades of the houses of the population´s vast majority went unnoticed, because they were humbler, in order to emphasize the ones of important buildings. They evolved rapidly, from the elegance and symmetry of the Renaissance to a show-piece ready to perform in the Baroque, they ‘grow dark and forbidding’ (Milton 1980). The front façade was normally more adorned that the other three, because it was the one that stood in the main street or in the square. It was massive and exceptionally ornate with volutes and decorative pillars, to show luxury and thus the power of the church or nobility (Wöllflin 1961). To build them specific materials, that helped create that feeling of heaviness, were used, for example grey stone (Milton 1980), marble and other stones. The effect that the façade produced was strengthened by the interior of the building, which followed the same pattern of double structure and was built with materials that emphasized the wealth of the owner, for instance marble columns and sculptures, amethyst and bronze in the ornaments, gold and shiny detail… (Rietbergen 2006) Not only the buildings were responsible for this representation of supremacy. During the 16th century giant fountains started to appear in the city (fig. 3). They were constructed in squares near or even sharing the wall of important buildings. Technically, they were meant to correct optically the geometry of the squares (Delbeke & Macarthur & Leach 2015), but symbolically they acted along with the architecture to enhance its message. Like the facades, they were monumental and impressive, ornamented and constructed with noble materials like marble. They lacked the purpose of buildings and its sole aim was being admired and portraying the idea o massiveness and grandeur. Fig. 3. Fontana di Trevi, Rome, architect: Bernini 5 These characteristics of the Baroque that speak of sumptuousness and grandeur sent a propagandistic message to the citizens: first they were made to be admired and appealed by the them as spectators; simultaneously they kept the population controlled by being part of the spectacle that they directed, leading their attention to certain elements and buildings, and guiding their steps through the city. The message of opulence and the creation of hierarchy between the inhabitants of the city, that the buildings sent on their own, was reinforced by the city planning, that focused on shaping the vistas and framing this important buildings and other city markers, such as monuments. So that, not only the façade of the buildings worked as scenery, but the whole city operated together as a stage. ‘The city itself was coaxed to acquire the look of an ideal theatre environment in order to reflect the tempered dominion of the prince’ (Kostof 1999). Many features of this style helped creating these vistas3. First of all, the creation of scenes with different heights was decidedly important to stablish the social hierarchy. This differentiation in status through height was achieved in two different ways: using the natural topography or creating stairs, ramps and platforms to access important buildings (Caves 2005). With these alterations in the vertical axis, ‘the elements of the Baroque (…) interact and subordinate themselves to a dominant focus’ (Norberg-Schulz 1986). On top of the stairs or the ramps, there was always a significant building, whether related to the aristocracy or the church. The variance in height did not only frame the building creating the vista that was intended, but additionally it generated a dramatic entrance to the building. Allowing the population to see the building, but making a crucial distinction between the citizens that had to climb the stairs, if they were allowed, and the ones that belonged on top of them. The difference in height functioned as a visual representation of the different social strata. It was also used to create a spectacle, using the balconies of the upper heights as a stage for the representation of power. A great example for this is St. Peter´s Basilica and Piazza in the Vatican (fig. 4, 5 & 6). Bernini4 designed the piazza and the Basilica, but he had to adjust to the demands of the church: the 3 ‘The primary purpose of a vista is the framing of a distant view’ (Kostof 1999). In addition to it, a vista refers to a particular view of scene, in this instance of a particular building. 4 Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), Baroque architect and sculptor, known for St. Peter square and Basilica and his sculpture ‘The Rape of Proserpina’. He was one of the main architects and urban planers of the Baroque in Rome, along with Borromini. Therefore, he was partly responsible for the monumentality of Rome. 6 façade of St. Peter had to be visible from any angle of the square, in order to allow every citizen to see the pope (Norberg-Schulz 1986). This confirms that the vistas were sought consciously. Furthermore, it means that the spectacle was open to everyone that wanted to watch it, the pope standing in the balcony and the population together in the piazza, in a lower level both symbolically a literally. ‘St. Peter´s (…) is such a powerful symbol of hierarchy’ (Hertzberger 2005) and spectacle, it shows ‘how architects con abuse space in order to impress’. Fig. 4: St. Peter square Fig. 5: view from below (population) Fig. 6: view from Pope´s balcony (power) Secondly, in order to convey this message of grandeur and power, ornaments and other decorative elements were used to help complete the stage in the city. For instance, monuments were placed in public squares, framed by the streets. These operated as markers throughout the city, specifying which were the important squares and streets. They staged equestrian statues to emphasize the power of certain rulers, but also Egyptian obelisks (fig. 7), triumphal arches and commemorative columns (Kostof 1999). Fig. 7. Egyptian obelisk, Piazza della Rotunda, Rome The Baroque finds inspiration in the Classical, not so much in its architecture, like the Renaissance did, but in its tactic of locating stages that were meant to host different performances. These performances were habitually linked either to authority or to power. For example, commemorative columns represented military victory or national sovereignty. Triumphal arches were monumental and visually striking on their own, but also served to perform the Emperor´s triumphal passage, or as a place to welcome imperial visits. 9 to pursue the dramatic result. Complex forms were more valued than simple and symmetrical ones, the circle was replaced by the oval and the straight line was combined with the diagonal (Giffords 20017), the same that occurred with the streets in the urban scale. Fig. 10. Chiaroscuro. ‘The Rape of Proserpina’. Bernini The forms faded in the buildings combining architecture and the chiaroscuro as a component of it, sculpture and painting to confuse the viewer and set the perfect stage to make emotions arise. Optical illusions were developed in order to challenge the observer (fig. 12). Perspectives were painted in the walls6, creating false architectures, that were presented as existent and seemed real (Giffords 20017). Even the architecture itself was not what it appeared to be. Perspectives were faked to make spaces look bigger than they were. An example that really excels, and combines the drama of the Baroque with the theatre itself, is Vicenzo Scamozzi´s7 Teatro Olimpico. Behind the stage a long street is shown, it appears to be constructed and it is actually real and not painted, but it is much smaller than it seems. The visual artifice played by Scamozzi works better depending on the sit of the theatre, but the apparently long street is visible from any siting point (Kuritz 1988), deceiving the senses of the spectators and making them feel that the theatre is outside. 6 tromp l´oleil 7 Vicenzo Scamozzi (1548-1616), worked as an architect in the Republic of Venice. Finished the Teatro Olimpico after Andrea Palladio´s death. He worked in the period of the transition between the Renaissance and the Baroque. Fig. 11. The curve and the oval. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Borromini 10 Fig. 12. Fra Andrea Pozzo´s Glorification of Saint Ignatius, church of Sant´Ignazio, Rome The Baroque was very related to theatrical effects and dramatic settings. This effects were meant to thrill the viewer and trigger their emotions, as well as to intimidate them and create a clear hierarchical system in society. On the one hand it stimulated the viewer to investigate and move through the buildings to discover how they were, as if the they were part of the play. On the other hand, the viewers were mere spectator of a stage created to prove power and wealth. To sum up, the pre-modern Baroque City has a particular relation to the spectacle and vision in different ways. First of all, the spectacle was used to impose a hierarchy in the city, using the architecture as a massive instrument to display the power of the Church, as well as the monarchy. Creating vast buildings and fountains, made of expensive materials that were meant to be admired by the population and also to inculcate fear on them. Secondly, the creation of vistas in the city, framing the important buildings and markers, such as monuments, using the organization of the street or the different height as frames. This spots were the stages for the spectacles of power, meaning the places where the monarchy showed its supremacy, the military performed the victory marches and the church performed its masses. 11 Finally, the architecture itself is highly theatrical. It creates, together with the sculptures and the paintings, different optical illusions that engage the viewer. It does not reveal everything, so that the observer is forced to do an active effort to comprehend the forms. All in all, the Baroque City is planed with the aim of facilitating the spectacle and the performance of power that creates a hierarchy within its inhabitants, fulfilling Debord´s definition of spectacle, using architecture not only as a mean to an end but as a spectacle on its own. Baroque architecture sets the places of performance and creates, at the same time, another spectacle.