Baroque- an artistic style that originated in Italy and spread to other European countries from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 18th century. The name of the style comes from the Portuguese - "pearl of irregular shape"; in the meaning of "bizarre", "strange", "changeable" this word entered the European languages. Baroque art reveals the essence of life in the movement and struggle of random changeable elemental forces. The main features of the Baroque are splendor, solemnity, dynamism. He is also characterized by bold contrasts of scale, color, light and shadow, a combination of reality and fantasy. Baroque is characterized by a fusion various arts in a single ensemble, the interpenetration of architecture, sculpture, painting and decorative art. Baroque ornaments use Renaissance elements - shells, acanthus leaves, garlands, mascarons, but more complex and expressive.
The Baroque style expressed the ideas of the infinity and diversity of the world, its variability. Man in Baroque art was perceived as a complex personality, experiencing dramatic conflicts. Everything unusual, mysterious seemed beautiful, attractive, and clear and correct - boring and dull. A feature of the Baroque is a more emotional contact with the viewer than in the previous era.
IN fine arts dominated by monumental decorative compositions on religious or mythological themes, ceremonial portraits designed to decorate interiors. In sculpture, the accuracy of the transfer of portrait features of the character and, at the same time, some of his idealization were established. The baroque work suggested several points of view.
In its extreme manifestations, Baroque comes to mysticism, dramatic tension, expression of forms. Events are glorified, artists prefer to glorify feats or depict scenes of torment.
The Church sought to use art for its own purposes: to inspire the people with reverence for power, to amaze or dazzle with its splendor, to captivate with examples of the exploits and martyrdoms of the saints. This explains the inclination of Baroque masters to grandiose sizes, complex forms, pathos, heightened emotionality.
Flemish Baroque differs significantly from Italian - the works of the Flemings are filled with a sense of the colorful wealth of the world, the elemental power of man and the abundantly fruitful nature. Flemish artists developed a genre of everyday life, in which an acutely critical attitude to the surrounding life was manifested, the life of ordinary people was reflected.
In the 16th century, still life finally established itself as an independent genre. It expressed interest in the material world, which originated in the Dutch "painting of things" of the early 15th century. Flemish still lifes, glorifying the beauty of earthly existence, the richness of the fruits of the earth and the sea, are cheerful and decorative. Canvases, large in size, bright in color, served as decoration for the walls of the spacious palaces of the Flemish nobility.
In the Flemish Baroque, to a greater extent than in Italy, realistic features are being developed. Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordans, Snyders captured the poeticized material beauty of nature and the image of a strong, energetic, healthy person. In painting, intended to decorate family castles, palaces of the aristocracy, Catholic churches, decorativeism, based on coloristic effects, dominates.
In 17th century Holland, painting was the leading art form. There were several painting schools that united major masters and their followers: Frans Hals - in Harlem, Rembrandt - in Amsterdam, Fabricius and Vermer - in Delft. The tastes of bourgeois society predetermined the development of Dutch art. The artist was completely dependent on the demands of the market. The rapid development of painting was explained not only by the demand for paintings by those who wanted to decorate their homes with them, but also by the view of them as a commodity. If talented artist defended his independence in matters of creativity, like Hals and Rembrandt, then he found himself isolated, died untimely in need and loneliness.
Baroque developed in France in a peculiar way. Here arose Grand Style, or Louis XIV Style, combining elements of Baroque and Classicism. With its figurative structure, this style expressed the ideas of the prosperity of a strong, absolute royal power. This was the first of the so-called "royal styles" (later on, individual stages in the development of French art began to be designated by the names of kings). A feature of the development of art in France was that here in the 17th century, in essence, the very concept of artistic style was formed. The history of styles in European art actually begins with the "Grand Style" of Louis XIV, since the concept of "style" was already recognized as the most important category of art. Style began to permeate all aspects of court life, life and customs. Along with this came the aestheticization of its individual elements. Refined artistic taste was valued at court; the style for the aristocrats of Berlin, Vienna and London turned into a real mania.
In the XVIII century, the Baroque moved into its final phase, called late baroque. In different countries, its time limits were determined in their own way. It existed for the longest time in monumental and decorative painting, especially in the murals of temple interiors and sculpture.
In Russia, in the first quarter of the 18th century, the first national style was formed - Russian baroque. It is characterized by: clarity of composition with decorative splendor of decoration, play of light and shadow on the facades, wide and high windows starting right from the floor, framed by complex architraves; enfilades of rooms decorated with gilded carvings, parquet made of expensive woods, picturesque plafonds with an illusory breakthrough of space into the depths; gilding and sculpture in the exterior decoration of the building, colorful color combinations (intense blue or turquoise and white, sometimes a combination of orange and white).
In the XVIII century, Russian art in just a few decades was destined to turn from religious to secular, to master new genres (still life, portrait, landscape, historical Genre etc.) The reforms of Peter I affected not only politics, economics, but also art. He surrounded himself with talented foreign architects, sculptors and painters, sent Russian artists to study abroad.
In Russia, the Russian Baroque style manifested itself most clearly in architecture. At the same time, there were certain differences between the architectural schools of Moscow (Naryshkin baroque) and St. Petersburg (Petrine baroque).
The national aspirations of the era were manifested in the program following the ancient Russian models in religious construction. The plans of churches and cathedrals again, as in pre-Petrine times, acquire centricity and five domes, which is perceived literally as a symbol of Russian people and nationality. The gilding of domes, the gilded ornaments of cupolas and domes, the fanciful stucco molding in the frames of windows and portals, the gilded wooden carvings of the iconostasis, icon cases and frames of icons brought the cult buildings closer to those of the palace, and introduced a secular character into their appearance.
Naryshkin baroque. Baroque elements appeared in the decorative forms of Russian architecture in the second half of the 17th century. The new richly decorated style was called the Naryshkin, or Moscow, baroque, since Russian architecture of the 17th century differed significantly from Italian and Astro-German. If the Western European Baroque is characterized by tension, constrained energy, then for the Russian - optimistic elation and festivity.
In baroque architecture, pilasters, columns, vases, cartouches, and sculptures were grouped in different ways to create majesty and wealth. A variety of interior decor was envisaged, combined on the walls and ceiling with colorful panels, figured mirrors, and lamps. Furniture was also selected complex and intricate in form, rich in decor. All this created general impression splendor and luxury.
Petrovsky Baroque- a term applied by art historians to the architectural and artistic style approved by Peter I and widely used for the design of buildings in the new Russian capital of St. Petersburg. Limited by the conditional framework of 1697-1730 (the time of Peter and his immediate successors), it was architectural style, which merged the influences of the Italian Baroque, early French classicism, German and Dutch civil architecture and a number of other styles and trends. Thus, Peter's Baroque is not Baroque in its purest form, and this term is rather arbitrary. At the same time, it certainly reflects the latent, still implicit architectural trend of the Petrine era and helps to explain the further evolution of Russian architecture to the mature baroque of the middle. XVIII century. This style is characterized by simplicity of volumetric constructions, clarity of articulation and restraint of decoration, and a flat interpretation of facades.
Unlike the Naryshkin Baroque, which was popular in Moscow at the time, the Petrine Baroque represented a decisive break with the Byzantine traditions that had dominated Russian architecture for almost a millennium.
Its main representatives: Jean-Baptiste Leblon, Domenico Trezzini, Andreas Schluter, J. M. Fontana, N. Michetti and G. Matarnovi arrived in Russia at the invitation of Peter I. Each of these architects, who worked in St. Petersburg, contributed to the appearance of the buildings being built is the tradition of his country, the architectural school that he represented.
The main ornamental motifs of the Baroque era
The baroque ornament has a lot in common with the late Renaissance, which is quite natural in view of the organic continuity of these styles. An important role is still played by the motif of the acanthus curl, often turning into a cartouche, as a connecting element of most compositions. It has already been noted that this motive has an extremely active, "violent" character, pouring into juicy heavy fruits. Among these scrolls, the characters that inherited the ornament "inherited" from the Renaissance are active, but now they amaze with stunning realism.
Allegory is still the language of this ornament, but a much more meaningful, logical plot action, a kind of paradoxical expediency, has appeared in it. So, for example, in one of the compositions you can see a scene of a very real deer hunt, in which, in addition to the hunter and the dog, the goddess, cupids take part. Moreover, all these characters get confused in the curls of the mythological acanthus as if in thick real grass, hide in them, step over them.
If in the Renaissance decor we see our own, inner world, isolated from reality, then the Baroque ornament constantly strives to violate these boundaries. Elements of baroque ornament depicted on columns, cornices, portals, tapestry borders, picture frames, decorating all sorts of things, actively invade the plot canvas or real space.
Decor can be so active that it overshadows the content itself. So, on the tapestry "The Miraculous Catch", made according to Raphael's cardboard, the gospel story is, as it were, relegated to the background due to the extreme activity of the border. The cupids depicted on it comically repeat this plot: they diligently pull huge fish, as a result of which its well-known profanity occurs.
An important point of the Baroque ornament, also inherited from the previous style, is the excessive “irregularity”, the picturesque interpretation. This is a whole world with its stormy abundance, in which “irregularity”, non-strict correspondence of symmetry emphasizes paradoxical realism, man-made.
In baroque ornamentation, we can observe and further history transformations of shell, medallion and cartouche motifs. So, the shell often takes the form of a fan or carnation (Persian influence). It can also be associated with the French royal lily, which also shows the original connection of these motifs.
Further diverse development is the architectural volute motif outlined in the Renaissance ornament with long, extended connecting lines. These lines, sometimes with graceful, smooth bends, sometimes with clear right angles, are extremely important. They seem to organize the entire decorative space, denoting symmetrical relationships in it, giving definiteness to the compositions. Sometimes one can see the complete cooling down of this motif to simple geometric articulations, already without any volutes, where the classicist traditions are most clearly manifested. They are present in the decor, as it were, on a "parity" basis with baroque components, creating extremely intense, internally contradictory, complex decorative solutions. Finally, they can be completely absent, and then the baroque bacchanalia triumphs, as if striving to get rid of any rapport dependence altogether.
The Baroque ornament is distinguished by its diversity and expressiveness. He retains the motifs of Greek and mainly Roman art, willingly uses half-human and half-animal figures, heavy garlands of flowers and fruits, motifs of shells and lilies in combination with a symbolic sun; the antique acanthus leaf motif is widely used. In combination with the most whimsical and unexpected curls, the acanthus ornament is used by almost all types of applied art.
Ornament of the second half of the 17th century. (later Baroque) is strictly symmetrical, it is characterized by imitation of architectural details: columns, broken pediments, balustrades, consoles. The decor of this period is rich, somewhat heavy and majestic. In addition to classical ovs, acanthus, trophies, the ornament is replete with volutes, cartouches, shells, altars, floor lamps, dragons, caryatids and vases with flowers. During this period, the role of the decorator increases even more. A number of artists continue the undertaking of Jacques Androuet Ducéro.
Gradually, the combination of straight and rounded lines, which was developed by the end of the 17th century, became a characteristic feature of the decor. At the same time, other new motifs appeared: a diamond-shaped mesh decorated with small rosettes, called trellis, and an ornament imitating a curtain incised with teeth and decorated with tassels - a lambrequin.
The ornamental compositions of the engraver Jean Beren (1679-1700) are widely used in many types of applied art. J. Beren largely relies on the ornamentation of the French Renaissance. The dominant role in his ornamental compositions is played by grotesques, which were born on the basis of the study of grotesques of the 16th century. His ornaments are characterized by materiality and sculptural tangibility, which gives the compositions a certain heaviness and rhythmic stability.
Jean Berne develops further determined in French decorative arts type of composition with a central figure in an ornamental frame. Most often it is a figure of a deity or a mythological character: Apollo, Venus, Diana, Flora, Bakh. It bears the main semantic load and determines the choice of other elements of the decor of the composition.
A number of motifs that have developed in the work of J. Beren become decisive in the ornamentation of the subsequent period. These include curls connected by short straight stripes, thin spirals turning into acanthus, a flat ribbon ornament - everything that makes it possible to distinguish French grotesques from Italian and Flemish ones with their characteristic masks, hermes, candelabra-shaped forms.
The work of J. Beren was an expression of the style of that time and played an important role in its subsequent development.
Tiered porticos and garlands, baskets and arabesques, cornucopias and musical instruments - all this is symmetrically enclosed in magnificent frames. In the refinement and lightness of the composition, the features of the new decor of the 18th century are outlined.
The baroque style ornament has found wide application in different countries of Europe, acquired its own special features under the influence of the national traditions of each of them. A whimsical pattern of a wide variety of fruits and leaves, conveyed with amazing expressiveness, is found in Moscow churches of the late 17th century. It covers the extraordinary beauty of gilded iconostases. This complex carved ornament was called the "Flerm carving", and was carried out by special masters of the Armory.
It found a place for complex interweaving of intricately torn cartouches, with characteristic ridges along the edges of the scrolls and rows of convex pearls. These motifs penetrated to Moscow through Ukraine and Poland, where baroque ornamentation was widespread.
In Russia, baroque ornamentation was also widely used in the design of the interiors of the palaces created by F.-B. Rastrelli in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo, and Peterhof. A common property of Rastrelli's interiors is their secular, entertaining, festive appearance. In them everywhere - an abundance of color, stucco, pattern. In the decorative decoration of the interiors, the master most often uses motifs of shells, floral curls, cartouches, cupids. In the hands of Russian carvers, even the fanciful curls of ornamental forms in the Baroque style are sweeping and light in their own way, full of a special life-affirming power. The ornament of Russian baroque is the pride of Russian architecture, it has adequately enriched the world achievements of ornamentation.
In the applied art of Russia at the beginning of the 17th century, the decor still retains its clarity and clarity of design. In the future, the desire for a decorative filling of space, for “patterning”, which does not leave the slightest place devoid of patterns, is growing more and more.
By the end of the XVII century. the floral ornament gradually begins to lose its conditional character. Instead of stems elongated in a straight line or curled in tight spirals, plants are depicted in more natural and close to nature positions. Figures of animals and birds appear among the floral ornament. Sibyls, biblical scenes, fabulous creatures (mermaid, unicorn, syrin) are depicted on silver items. By the end of the century and in the first years of the XVIII century. more and more often in the ornament there are fruits and berries, lush bundles and whole garlands of fruits and flowers suspended on ribbons threaded into rings. Artists are showing increasing interest in literary works, engravings, popular prints. Numerous scenes, mostly inspired by engravings from Piscator's "Face Bible" (Holland), are enclosed in beautiful frames of flowers, leaves and scrolls in the Western Baroque style, perceived by Russia from Ukraine.
In the 17th century in Russian gold and silver work, much of what was widely developed in the 18th century is outlined - the desire to convey plastic volumetric forms, observation of nature and, in connection with this, a realistic depiction of plants, animals and people, the transition from linear, contour Images to the transmission of chiaroscuro and space, from religious themes - to the secular.
In the 17th century in Russian ornament saves national characteristics and basically develops in the same ways as the ornamentation of countries Western Europe, among which France occupies a leading place in applied art.
Ornament in interior items and arts and crafts of the Baroque period.
Interior
In the Baroque, there is a reverence for the ancient classics. The halls of state meetings are painted with monumental classical scenes from the life of the gods, decorated with antique sculptures. In the decorative arts, sculptural and architectural details associated with antiquity also appear, the dimensions of the ornament increase. Clear and massive forms, rich color contrasts predominate, expensive exotic materials are often used.
The general impression created by the interior of the Italian Baroque is power, luxury and theatricality, while French interiors, being just as large and magnificent, tend to be more balanced and orderly.
Lighting effects became another feature of the decorative arts, as can be seen very clearly in the still lifes of the Dutch, as well as in the use of mirrors in combination with reflective surfaces in the interior. Interest in movement finds its embodiment, for example, in the bases, shaped like twisted columns. Non-linear forms and the play of light on an undulating surface are also characteristic of the Baroque.
An interest in light and movement can be seen in the making Auricular style at the beginning of the 17th century in Dutch silverware. Named for its resemblance to the human ear, this style is characterized by abstract, dense forms and effects of rippling water, sometimes strange monsters.
The fantastic ornament, so fashionable in the second half of the 16th century, begins to dominate. The play of light on the wavy surfaces of silver creates the impression of a bizarre deformation of the metal, as if in the process of melting. Auricular ornamentation is mainly used in Dutch silverware, although it appears occasionally in furniture and very rarely in ceramics and textiles.
The establishment of a lively trade with the countries of the Far East is another key moment in the development of the decorative art of the 17th century. Numerous trading companies began to supply the European market with products made of lacquer, porcelain, silk, which contributed to the formation of a taste for the exotic. The goods were expensive and available only to the rich, but the demand was so great that cheap fakes of lacquerware and white-and-blue porcelain began to be produced in European countries.
At first they were quite close to the oriental prototypes, but gradually the creators, while maintaining an exotic touch, are moving away more and more from the original and create a style called "chinoiserie".
Since European knowledge of the Far East was very approximate, decorators had to use their imagination in decorating themes.
This was followed by a further emancipation of expressiveness, which created a fantastic, rich vocabulary of decoration, which had a huge impact on the development of decorative art in the 17th and 18th centuries. Having changed, products made of white and blue porcelain begin to acquire traditional European forms.
At this time, flowers were a widespread element in decorative art. New types of plants are being brought to Europe, botanical gardens are being created, and the well-being of experienced gardeners is growing. The result is not only the fashion for displaying cut flowers and the creation of new forms of flower vases, but also the rapid enrichment of artists and decorators with new motives.
In the first half, the tulip trade reaches its peak, tulips are depicted as elaborately painted or stylized, they are engraved on silver, they appear on fabrics and pieces of furniture decorated with marquetry, they are painted on pottery.
Another motif borrowed from nature and antiquity is the acanthus. However, it is used much more often than other leafy ornaments, not being associated with any specific era. Serrated split acanthus leaves appear among architectural details in every area of the decorative arts, becoming a dominant motif in Baroque decor.
In the last quarter of the century, the more strict and formal style of "Baroque Classicism" prevailed, adopted by the French court and manifested itself in the works of French decorators and designers.
The works of such decorators are widely distributed in the form of prints, specially engraved boards with ornaments, which are easy to translate into various materials. They became a powerful source of inspiration in the decorative arts of the early 18th century.
An important aspect of the work of French decorators of the 17th and early 18th centuries. there was a revival of grotesque ornamentation. It was made up of acanthus tendrils, lambrequins, as well as fantastic creatures, symmetrically located inside the thinly twisted edges. Although these motifs began to appear in 16th-century examples, they become more refined and linear, introducing a new element of airy lightness and elegance, in many ways predicting the Rococo style.
The decor of the Church of Santa Croce (La Chiesa di Santa Croce 1353-1549) Lecce is an example of the Baroque style.
Architectural ornaments have adorned buildings since ancient times. Most often in the facade ornament there were forms that had symbolic meaning. Gradually, the previously functional details of the building structure also became decorative elements. For example, in baroque, they became decorative elements of style, having lost their load-bearing function. The architectural decor was also determined by the elements of religious rites and symbolism. For example, the Greeks decorated buildings with garlands of leaves, the heads of sacrificial animals. The inhabitants of Northern Europe decorated their houses with images of animals, personifying certain human qualities. Ropes of knots woven together in Romanesque cult art meant the expulsion of demons. War trophies were included in the decor of Roman architecture as symbols of victories. Baroque decorations are diverse and expressive, they combine different traditions and eras, they contain motifs of Greek and Roman decorative elements, fantastic figures of half-humans, half-animals, floral ornaments. In baroque, patterns and decor include voluminous garlands of flowers, fruits, shells; acanthus, axes, arrows and other military paraphernalia.
The gate "Naples" (Arc de Triomphe. 1548) is decorated with military paraphernalia. Lecce. Apulia. Italy.
Trellis - diamond-shaped mesh with small rosettes.
Mascarons (mascherone) - stone images in the form of a human or animal head from the front. Mascarons could have a comic, dramatic or romantic appearance. In the Baroque era, mascarons were most often grotesque.
In addition, there are volutes, cartouches, dragons, vases in the baroque ornament; trellis; mascarons, ribbons, curved stems of plants. The baroque pattern is based on three-dimensional forms. Plastic decorative elements are intertwined with each other, create the impression of heaps, often overloading the facades of buildings.
Mascaron - Neptune. Baroque style.
In baroque decor is distinguished by splendor, exaltation, contrast and dynamism. In the philosophy of style - religious dogmas about human consciousness, capable of perceiving the Divine only through illumination, which, according to the architects and sculptors of that time, could descend only if a person was struck by the scale and majesty of the temples. Baroque decor is composed of plots and compositions of a religious and allegorical nature. Late Baroque ornamentation contains architectural elements: columns, pediments, consoles, reduced size balustrades. During this period, baroque decorations were especially large in size and seemed heavy, hanging over the viewer. Natural materials were sometimes used as decor in the Baroque, for example, churches could be decorated with human bones.
The church, the decor of which is made up of human bones - Ossuary (Kostnice v Sedlci), Cemetery Church of All Saints on the outskirts of the city of Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic. The bones of 40,000 people were used to decorate the church. The church was built next to the monastery cemetery, which grew rapidly, and during the plague it had to be freed from old bones in order to bury the dead. The old bones were kept in the ossuary at the Sedlec Monastery. In the 16th century, one of the monks bleached the bones and put them into pyramids; after his death, the church was closed for 350 years. Only in the 18th century did Prince Schwarzenberg, the owner of the monastery land, commission the wood carver Frantisek Rint to create the decoration of the church from human remains. The carver soaked the bones in bleach and then used them to create decorations. The coat of arms of the prince is also made of bones. Outside, the church has retained its Gothic appearance, while inside its decoration can be described as baroque.
In the 18th century, bone decoration was created in the Kostnica church in the Czech Republic. Author Frantisek Rint.
In the Baroque, decor is present in the form of voluminous stucco elements, often covered with paint or gilding. The baroque ornament was formed depending on the national traditions of each country, symbols, mythologies. However, regardless of stylistic trends, he always retained his characteristic scale and plasticity.
Under the ornament you need to understand the decoration, which is necessary to fill the free space on objects. He acts as one of the types of creativity, which is not indicated separately, but decorates the products. The ornament is presented as a complex artistic structure, which includes: color, texture, special lines. Be sure to use natural motifs in the form of a bend of the stem, a patterned leaf, etc. The concept of "ornament" is interconnected with such a concept as decor, which does not exist in a separate form. What are baroque ornaments?
baroque style
How ornament is manifested - an artistic style that originated in Italy and spread to many states of Europe from the end of the 16th to the middle of the 18th century. The name of the style comes from the Portuguese "irregular pearl".
The ornament is characterized by its originality and picturesqueness. It preserved some motifs of Greek and Roman art. In the ornaments, figures of half-animals and half-humans, various garlands of flowers are used, a combination of the symbolic sun with lilies and shells occurs.
Late Baroque (second half of the 17th century) is characterized by symmetry. It imitates architecture in the form of columns, balustrades and consoles. At this time, the decor is rich, but heavy and majestic.
Ornamental motifs
What are the baroque ornaments and patterns? In addition to classical acanthus, the ornament consists of cartouches, shells, floor lamps and flower vases. There are many garlands, arabesques, and musical instruments, which are richly framed and arranged symmetrically.
On baroque ornaments, you can see the following pictures: outlandish flowers of an unusual shape, twigs and leaves of plants, sheaves with ears of corn and many other drawings. They were then placed on the fabrics.
Baroque ornament in the states of Western Europe
What baroque ornaments were used during this period? Initially, this style was applied in the sculpture and architecture of churches and for a long time kept certain features of the Renaissance.
The greatest flourishing of the Baroque falls on the middle of the 18th century. By this period, it covers all areas artistic activity. The style entered construction (ecclesiastical, civil), in the manufacture of fabrics, clothing, weapons and jewelry.
The general focus of the Baroque is the decorative decoration of the home and the decoration of things. The main goal was to create mystical splendor, to create a feeling of living and active force. This was necessary for the needs of the Catholic Church. In this style, churches served to glorify the power of Catholicism with the help of architecture, sculpture, painting, etc. The most widespread baroque spread in those countries where the traditions of Catholics were strong - in Italy, France and Spain.
Gradually, this style embraced the palaces of kings and nobility. Baroque in many countries was to the taste of the monarchs, allowing them to exalt their superiority. In a more simplified way, it spread to rural and urban residents.
Baroque style ornament in Russia
What baroque ornaments were used in Russia? In the second half of the XVIII century. in Russia, especially in furniture, two styles are combined: baroque and rococo. During this period, the famous architects F. Rastrelli, S. I. Chevakinsky and others were busy creating beautiful palaces with luxurious decoration for the rich people of St. Petersburg. Palaces appear in majestic beauty: ceremonial halls, huge mirrors and windows, an abundance of lighting fixtures and candles. All furniture is conceived as a general decorative decoration, which consists of carved armchairs and consoles. It is installed on the sides of the room. The ceremonial halls were considered the center of the palace and were furnished with special luxury, while the living rooms were decorated much more modestly.
During this period, there was a shortage of interior items and furniture in the palaces. They had to be moved from Winter Palace in Summer, which made the furniture unusable. Catherine II recalled this in her correspondence.
The use of baroque style in interior decoration
The main type of decor is carving, which was painted in several shades or was gilded.
The walls were covered with silk fabrics with drawings in the form of flowers. Sometimes velvet was used, which was blue, green or crimson. Such walls served as an excellent frame for paintings with gilded frames.
A lot of mirrors helped to visually enlarge the room. The walls had niches in which marble or bronze sculptures were located.
The colors were presented in vibrant hues. The most used are blue or white with gold and green colors.
The ceiling is painted, with bright paintings. Images of animals, birds, fruits, etc. were applied.
Baroque style furniture
What baroque ornaments could be found in furniture? It contained the following features:
- All furniture facades are devoid of a rectangular contour, which is typical for Renaissance style products.
- In baroque furniture, its surfaces (tabletops) are broken by patterned inlay.
- For the first time, curved surfaces were used in furniture, which were obtained from wood by bending. In expensive products, such forms have cabinet doors, and sometimes side walls of chests of drawers.
- Border symmetry with the correct ornament, which is characteristic of Gothic, is replaced by a free pattern. Furniture is inlaid with ivory, copper, ebony, etc.
- The baroque style is characterized by complex figurativeness of such elements as the legs of tables, chairs and cabinets.
Baroque elements are rarely used in modern furniture. Floral ornaments have become somewhat widespread, which are used in a simplified form on cabinet doors or on countertops.
Rococo ornament
What do baroque and rococo ornaments have in common? The Rococo style is a late stage in the development of the Baroque, which has always strived for greater freedom and simplicity of composition.
Its name comes from the French "rocaille", which means rock. In the 17th century fountains began to be decorated in the form of fragments of stone blocks, which were covered with plants intertwined in a chaotic manner. This was the beginning of the development of a style whose main property was asymmetry.
In rococo, admiration for the art of China, India and Persia is felt, so palm trees, figures of monkeys and dragons can be seen among the ornaments. Also, the style is characterized by love for nature, but not for its natural beauty, but for artificial.
As before, ancient mythology becomes a source of inspiration. Venus becomes the main figure and everyone who is connected with her by the plot. These are nymphs, cupids.
That's how in the interweaving of these elements was born a new style distinguished by elegance and grace.
Classicism style
Consider the ornament of baroque and classicism. What is the difference? From the end of the 17th century the era of classicism begins. The excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum had a significant influence on the appearance of the style. Once again, ancient art becomes a source of inspiration. However, a new vision of the world is added to classicism.
The ornament takes on balance with clear and distinct straight lines, squares, ovals and rectangles.
Many elements that are characteristic of baroque and rococo are preserved, but excesses and congestion with details are getting rid of.
Many figured compositions are refined and full of harmony. Among the favorite motifs: sphinxes, baskets of flowers, lion's head, dolphins, etc.
The ornament of classicism attracts with simple and graceful lines, which is manifested in its similarity with Greek art.
The baroque ornament, possessing solemnity and dynamism, left its mark on the subsequent styles that arose with its unique compositions.
Baroque stone patterns of the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (chiesa di Santa Croce in Geusalemme). 17th-18th centuries Rome.
Development of baroque ornament
Modern baroque, as well as its prototype, the European style of the 17th-18th centuries, is characterized by scale, sharp combinations of light and shadow, fantasy, ornateness in the decoration of buildings and interiors. Baroque ornamentation covered cornices, columns, borders, door portals, window openings, picture frames, and furniture. The baroque ornament uses elements of the late Renaissance - mascarons, shells, acanthus scroll, cartouche. Baroque patterns are enriched with realistic relief images of people and animals, which are mixed with cupids, mythical creatures, flowers and floral scrolls. The motifs of a shell, a cartouche, a medallion are being transformed: for example, a shell in baroque jewelry can take the form of a carnation, a fan, the sun, and resemble a French royal lily. In addition, the Baroque ornament borrows a relief pattern from Greek and Roman art: half-human and half-animal figures, flower garlands, fruits.
Baroque ornament on the facade of the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome (Chiesa di Santa Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano). Rebuilt in 1605 by the architect Carlo Moderna.
Baroque patterns of the second half of the 17th century. symmetrical, images often imitate architectural elements: pediments, columns, balustrades. In the baroque ornament of this period there are trophies, classical ovs, caryatids, atlantes, dragons, vases with flowers. Smooth lines are combined with straight lines, new motifs appear: a grid with rosettes, a lambrequin, teeth, brushes. Thin spirals, curls connected by straight lines, ribbons, masks, candelabra remain popular. Lush frames include baskets, arabesques, a cornucopia, musical instruments.
Baroque ornament elements.
By the end of the 17th century, the baroque floral pattern becomes more realistic, the plants look like natural ones. Images of animals, birds, fabulous creatures, mermaids, unicorns, sibyls are woven into the floral ornament. In the middle of the 17th - early 18th centuries. the grotesque was revived, and the baroque sometimes took extreme expressive, intense forms in relief images.
Expressive baroque decoration of the Trevi Fountain. Architect Nicola Salvi. 1732-62 Rome.
By the 18th century garlands of fruits and berries, bundles of leaves, stems threaded into rings appear in the ornamental elements of the Baroque.
Baroque ornament.
In the last quarter of the 18th century a more formal Baroque style is in vogue. Ornaments were distributed from the capital of France in engraved form on boards.
Baroque ornament in Europe
Baroque ornament was widely used in different countries of Europe, enriched national traditions every people. Baroque pattern in Moscow churches of the late 18th century. was called "Flem carving", it was created by the masters of the Armory. Broken cartouches, fruits, leaves were combined in these Baroque decorations, creating the image of the Garden of Eden. The decor was gilded, while the main structure remained dark. "Flemish carving" (Flemish, Belarusian) differed from the flat traditional Russian carving in its relief and imitated stucco molding. According to the technique of execution, the thread corresponded to the European version. The art of Flemish carving came to Russia in the middle of the 17th century, when Belarusian carvers, at the invitation of Patriarch Nikon, came to decorate the Church of the Resurrection in New Jerusalem. After the disgrace of the patriarch, they began to work at the royal court. This type of carving has become very popular, because. it was possible to create luxurious decorations for temples.
Flemish carving in the Church of the Intercession in Fili - a model for temples at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries.
Baroque elements were used in the design of churches and palaces in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo, Peterhof with an abundance of stucco, ornate, complex patterns.
The Church of the Intercession in Fili (1692-1693) in his Naryshkin estate near Moscow is decorated with baroque elements.
In the decor of the church, motifs of shells, cartouches, cupids, curls were used - characteristic elements of the Baroque.
The Flemish baroque ornament is distinguished by the presence of a large number of fruits, plants, flowers, everyday scenes. The development of the baroque contemporary to that period was determined by the tastes of society.
Baroque patterns adorn the Flemish Baroque church - the Church of St. Michael.
In Holland, there were several schools, in Harlem - Frans Hals, in Amsterdam - Rembrandt, in Delft - Fabricius and Wermer.
Baroque decor on the buildings of the Grand Place in Brussels, 17th century.
In France, baroque became a royal style, expressing the ideas of prosperity. He included royal symbols in the ornament. In the royal courts of Berlin, Vienna, London, this style was considered a sign of refined taste.
Types and materials of modern baroque decor
Among the baroque ornaments: ormushl (Ohrmuschel - auricle), combining a cartouche with ribbon weave and grotesques (Invented in Flanders at the end of the 16th century), knorpelwerk (Knorpel - cartilage and Werk - work) - a baroque pattern, in the pattern of which are masks, monster muzzles or the crest of a sea wave, received particular distribution in the works of German masters of the 17th century; Strapwork (strapwork), Rollwerk (Rollwerk from Rolle - roller, reel, bundle and Werk - work) - a semi-unfolded roll of parchment with notched edges. Often framed by a cartouche, trellis (treillage - lattice) - in the form of an oblique grid, decorated with small rosettes (a characteristic ornament of Louis XIV and Rococo styles), a lambrequin, reminiscent of the curtain of the same name.
Strapwork.
Rollwork.
For the design of interiors and facades of modern baroque buildings, in addition to natural and artificial stone, gypsum, concrete, you can use a light, reliable material - polyurethane.
Bas-relief made of polyurethane for the design of facades and interiors in the modern baroque style.
Sheaves threaded into polyurethane rings for modern baroque buildings. Panel - stucco imitator for interior design and facades in the modern baroque style.
The features of the material make it possible to make any relief image on its basis, which can decorate any interior or facade of buildings, since polyurethane is molded under pressure and is able to convey the finest detail of the form. It is resistant to low temperatures, temperature extremes, humidity and mechanical stress, and can also imitate natural materials: stone, wood.