Classicism in the architecture of Western Europe

Let's leave the Italians

Empty tinsel with its false gloss.

The meaning is most important, but in order to come to it,

We'll have to overcome obstacles and paths,

Strictly adhere to the planned path:

Sometimes the mind has only one road ...

You need to think about the meaning and only then write!

N. Boileau. "Poetic Art".

Translated by V. Lipetskaya

This is how one of the main ideologists of classicism, the poet Nicolas Boileau (1636-1711), taught his contemporaries. The strict rules of classicism were embodied in the tragedies of Corneille and Racine, the comedies of Moliere and the satire of La Fontaine, the music of Lully and the painting of Poussin, the architecture and decoration of the palaces and ensembles of Paris ...

Classicism was most clearly manifested in the works of architecture, focused on the best achievements of ancient culture - the order system, strict symmetry, clear proportionality of parts of the composition and their subordination to a common idea. The "austere style" of classicism architecture, it seemed, was called upon to visually embody its ideal formula of "blissful simplicity and calm grandeur." Simple and clear forms, calm harmony of proportions prevailed in the architectural structures of classicism. Preference was given to straight lines, unobtrusive decor, repeating the outline of the object. The simplicity and nobility of workmanship, practicality and expediency were reflected in everything.

Based on the ideas of the architects of the Renaissance about the "ideal city", the architects of classicism created a new type of grandiose palace and park ensemble, strictly subordinate to a single geometric plan. One of the outstanding architectural structures of this time was the residence of the French kings on the outskirts of Paris - the Palace of Versailles.

"Fairy dream" of Versailles

Mark Twain, who visited Versailles in the middle of the 19th century.

“I scolded Louis XIV, who spent 200 million dollars on Versailles when people didn’t have enough bread, but now I have forgiven him. It is incredibly beautiful! You look, by the eyes, and try to understand that you are on earth, and not in the gardens of Eden. And you are almost ready to believe that this is a lie, just a fairy-tale dream. "

Indeed, the "fabulous dream" of Versailles today amazes with the scale of the regular planning, the magnificent splendor of the facades and the brilliance of the decorative furnishings of the interiors. Versailles became a visible embodiment of the ceremonial-official architecture of classicism, expressing the idea of ​​a rationally arranged model of the world.

One hundred hectares of land in an extremely short time (1666-1680) were turned into a piece of paradise intended for the French aristocracy. Architects Louis Leveaux (1612-1670), Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708) and André Le Nôtre(1613-1700). Over the course of a number of years, they have rebuilt and changed a lot in its architecture, so that at present it is a complex alloy of several architectural slabs that incorporate the characteristic features of classicism.

The focus of Versailles is the Big Palace, to which three driveways converging beams lead. Located on a certain elevation, the palace occupies a dominant position over the area. Its creators divided the almost half-kilometer length of the facade into a central part and two side wings - a projection, which give it a special solemnity. The facade is represented by three floors. The first one, which serves as a massive base, is decorated with rustic stones after the model of the Italian Renaissance palaces-palazzo. On the second, front door, there are high arched windows, between which there are Ionic columns and pilasters. The tier crowning the building imparts monumentality to the appearance of the palace: it is shortened and ends with sculptural groups, which give the building a special elegance and lightness. The rhythm of windows, pilasters and columns on the facade emphasizes its classical severity and splendor. It is no coincidence that Moliere said about the Grand Palace of Versailles:

"The artistic decoration of the palace is so in harmony with the perfection that nature gives it that it can be called a magic castle."

The interiors of the Grand Palace are decorated in a Baroque style: they are replete with sculptural decorations, rich decor in the form of gilded stucco and carvings, many mirrors and exquisite furniture. The walls and ceilings are covered with colored marble slabs with clear geometric patterns: squares, rectangles and circles. Picturesque panels and tapestries on mythological themes glorify King Louis XIV. Massive bronze chandeliers with gilding add an impression of wealth and luxury.

The halls of the palace (there are about 700 of them) form endless suites and are intended for ceremonial processions, magnificent festivals and masquerade balls. The search for new spatial and light effects is clearly demonstrated in the largest hall of the palace - the Mirror Gallery (length 73 m). The windows on one side of the room were matched by mirrors on the other. Under sunlight or artificial lighting, four hundred mirrors created an exceptional spatial effect, conveying the magical play of reflections.

The decorative compositions of Charles Lebrun (1619-1690) in Versailles and the Louvre were striking in their ceremonial splendor. The "method of depicting passions" proclaimed by him, which assumed the pompous praise of high-ranking persons, brought the artist a dizzying success. In 1662, he became the first painter of the king, and then director of the royal tapestry manufactory (hand-woven carpet paintings, or tapestries) and the head of all decorative work in the Palace of Versailles. In the Mirror Gallery of the Palace, Lebrun painted

a gilded plafond with many allegorical compositions on mythological themes that glorified the reign of the "Sun King" Louis XIV. The piled up picturesque alleys and attributes, bright colors and decorative effects of the Baroque contrasted clearly with the architecture of classicalism.

The king's bedroom is located in the central part of the palace and faces the rising sun. It was from here that a view of three highways was opened, diverging from one point, which symbolically reminded of the main focus of state power. From the balcony all the beauty of the Versailles Park was revealed to the king. Its main creator André Le Nôtre managed to connect together the elements of architecture and landscape art. Unlike landscape (English) parks, which expressed the idea of ​​unity with nature, regular (French) parks subordinated nature to the will and intentions of the artist. The Versailles Park amazes with the clarity and rational organization of space, its drawing is precisely verified by the architect with the help of a compass and a ruler.

The alleys of the park are perceived as a continuation of the halls of the palace, each of which ends with a reservoir. Many pools have the correct geometric shape. At sunset hours, the smooth water mirrors reflect the sun's rays and weird shadows cast by bushes and trees, trimmed in the form of a cube, cone, cylinder or ball. Greenery forms either solid, impenetrable walls, or wide galleys, in the artificial niches of which are placed sculptural compositions, herms (four-sided pillars crowned with a head or a bust) and numerous vases with cascades of thin streams of water. The allegorical sculpture of the fountains, made by famous masters, is designed to glorify the reign of the absolute monarch. The "sun king" appeared in them in the guise of the god Apollo, then Neptune, leaving the water in a chariot or resting among the nymphs in a cool grotto.

Smooth lawn carpets amaze with bright and variegated colors with fancy flower ornaments. In vases (there were about 150 thousand of them) there were fresh flowers, which were changed in such a way that Versailles was in constant bloom at any time of the year. The park paths are strewn with colored sand. Some of them were lined with porcelain chips sparkling in the sun. All this splendor and splendor of nature was complemented by the smells of almonds, jasmine, pomegranate and lemon, spreading from greenhouses.

There was nature in this park

As if lifeless;

As if with a lofty sonnet,

We were busy with the grass there.

No dancing, no sweet raspberries,

Le Nôtre and Jean Lully

In gardens and dances of disorder

We could not stand it.

The yews are frozen, as if in a trance,

The bushes equalized the formation,

And squatted in curtsy

Memorized flowers.

V. Hugo Translated by E. L. Lipetskaya

N. M. Karamzin (1766-1826), who visited Versailles in 1790, told about his impressions in the "Letters of a Russian traveler":

“Hugeness, perfect harmony of parts, action of the whole: this is what a painter cannot depict with a brush!

Let's go to the gardens, the creation of Le Nôtre, whom the brave genius put on the throne of proud Art everywhere, and the humble Na-turu, like a poor slave, threw him at his feet ...

So, don't look for Nature in the gardens of Versailles; but here at every step Art captivates the eyes ... "

Architectural ensembles of Paris. Empire style

After the completion of the main construction work in Versailles, at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, André Le Nôtre launched an active work on the redevelopment of Paris. He carried out a breakdown of the Tuileries Park, clearly fixing the central axis on the continuation of the longitudinal axis of the Louvre ensemble. After Le Nôtre, the Louvre was finally rebuilt, the Place de la Concorde was created. The major axis of Paris gave a completely different interpretation of the city, meeting the requirements of grandeur, grandeur and splendor. The composition of open urban spaces, the system of architecturally designed streets and squares became a determining factor in the planning of Paris. The clarity of the geometric pattern of streets and squares linked into a single whole will become a criterion for assessing the perfection of the city plan and the skill of the city planner for many years. Many cities in the world will later experience the influence of the classic Parisian style.

The new understanding of the city as an object of architectural influence on a person finds clear expression in the work on urban ensembles. In the process of their construction, the main and fundamental principles of urban planning of classicism were outlined - free development in space and an organic connection with the environment. Overcoming the chaos of urban development, the architects sought to create ensembles designed for a free and unobstructed view.

Renaissance dreams of creating an "ideal city" were embodied in the formation of a new type of square, the boundaries of which were no longer the facades of certain buildings, but the space of adjacent streets and quarters, parks or gardens, a river embankment. Architecture seeks to connect in a certain ensemble unity not only structures directly adjacent to each other, but also very distant points of the city.

Second half of the 18th century and the first third of the 19th century. in France mark a new stage in the development of classicism and its spread in European countries - neoclassicism... After the Great French Revolution and the Patriotic War of 1812, new priorities appeared in the city structure, consonant with the spirit of their time. They found the most vivid expression in the Empire style. It was characterized by the following features: ceremonial pathos of imperial grandeur, monumentality, appeal to the art of imperial Rome and Ancient Egypt, the use of attributes of Roman military history as the main decorative motives.

The essence of the new artistic style was very accurately conveyed in the significant words of Napoleon Bonaparte:

"I love power, but as an artist ... I love it in order to draw from it sounds, chords, harmony."

Empire style became the personification of the political power and military glory of Napoleon, served as a kind of manifestation of his cult. The new ideology fully corresponded to the political interests and artistic tastes of the new time. Large architectural ensembles of open squares, wide streets and avenues were created everywhere, bridges, monuments and public buildings were erected, demonstrating the imperial grandeur and power of power.

For example, the Austerlitz Bridge reminded of the great battle of Napoleon and was built from the stones of the Bastille. At Carrusel Square was built triumphal arch in honor of the victory at Austerlitz... Two squares (Concord and Stars), spaced from each other at a considerable distance, were connected by architectural perspectives.

Church of Saint Genevieve, erected by J.J. Soufflot, became the Pantheon - the resting place of the great people of France. One of the most spectacular monuments of that time is the column of the Great Army on the Place Vendome. Similar to the ancient Roman column of Trajan, it was supposed, according to the architects J. Honduin and J. B. Leper, to express the spirit of the New Empire and the thirst for greatness of Napoleon.

In the bright interior decoration of palaces and public buildings, solemnity and stately pomp were especially highly valued, their decor was often overloaded with military at-rites. The dominant motives were contrasting color combinations, elements of Roman and Egyptian ornaments: eagles, griffins, urns, wreaths, torches, grotesques. The Empire style was most clearly manifested in the interiors of the imperial residences of the Louvre and Malmaison.

The era of Napoleon Bonaparte ended by 1815, very soon they began to actively eradicate its ideology and tastes. The Empire, which disappeared like a dream, left works of art in the Empire style, which clearly testify to its former greatness.

Questions and tasks

1. Why Versailles can be attributed to the outstanding works?

As urban planning ideas of classicism of the XVIII century. found their practical embodiment in the architectural ensembles of Paris, for example, Place de la Concorde? What distinguishes it from the Italian Baroque squares of Rome in the 17th century, for example, Piazza del Popolo (see p. 74)?

2. How is the connection between the architecture of the Baroque and Classicism found expression? What ideas did classicism inherit from the baroque?

3. What are the historical prerequisites for the emergence of the Empire style? What new ideas of his time did he seek to express in works of art? What artistic principles does he rely on?

Creative workshop

1. Give your classmates a distance tour of Versailles. To prepare it, you can use video materials from the Internet. The parks of Versailles and Peterhof are often compared. What do you think are the grounds for such comparisons?

2. Try to compare the image of the “ideal city” of the Renaissance with the classicist ensembles of Paris (Petersburg or its suburbs).

3. Compare the design of the interior decoration (interiors) of the gallery of Francis I in Fontainebleau and the Gallery of Mirrors of Versailles.

4. Get acquainted with the paintings of the Russian artist A. N. Benois (1870-1960) from the cycle “Versailles. The King's Walk ”(see p. 74). How do they convey the general atmosphere of the court life of the French king Louis XIV? Why can they be considered as a kind of picture-symbols?

Topics of projects, abstracts or messages

"Formation of classicism in French architecture of the 17th-18th centuries"; "Versailles as a model of harmony and beauty of the world"; "A walk around Versailles: the connection between the composition of the palace and the layout of the park"; "She-maidens of the architecture of Western European classicism"; "Napoleon's Empire style in French architecture"; Versailles and Peterhof: Comparative Experience; "Artistic discoveries in the architectural ensembles of Paris"; "Places of Paris and the development of the principles of regular city planning"; "Clarity of composition and balance of volumes of the cathedral of the House of Invalids in Paris"; "Concord Square - a new stage in the development of urban planning ideas of classicism"; “The severe expressiveness of volumes and the parsimony of the decor of the Church of Saint Genevieve (Pantheon) by J. Soufflot”; "Features of classicism in the architecture of Western European countries"; "Outstanding architects of Western European classicism."

Additional reading books

Arkin D.E. Images of architecture and images of sculpture. M., 1990. Kantor A. M. et al. Art of the 18th century. M., 1977. (Small history of arts).

Classicism and Romanticism: Architecture. Sculpture. Painting. Drawing / ed. R. Toman. M., 2000.

Kozhina E. F. The Art of France in the 18th century. L., 1971.

Lenotr J. Everyday life of Versailles under the kings. M., 2003.

Miretskaya N. V., Miretskaya E. V., Shakirova I. P. Culture of the Age of Enlightenment. M., 1996.

Watkin D. History of Western European Architecture. M., 1999. Fedotova E.D. Napoleonic Empire style. M., 2008.

When preparing the material, the text of the textbook “World Artistic Culture. From the 18th century to the present ”(Author Danilova GI).

Urban planning and the city as an object of special research have attracted the interest of many leading architects. Less significant is considered to be the contribution of Italy to the field of practical urban planning. By the beginning of the 15th century. the city-communes of Central and Northern Italy were long-established architectural organisms. In addition, the republics and tyrannies of the 15th and 16th centuries. (excluding the largest ones - like Florence, Milan, Venice and, of course, papal Rome) did not have sufficient funds to create new large ensembles, especially since all attention continued to be paid to the construction or completion of cathedrals as the main religious center of the city. Few holistic urban planning endeavors, such as the center of Pienza, combine new trends with medieval building traditions.

Yet the generally accepted point of view somewhat underestimates the changes that took place in the 15th-16th centuries. in the cities of Italy. Along with attempts to theoretically comprehend what has already been practically done in the field of urban planning, one can also note attempts to implement in practice the existing theoretical urban planning ideas. For example, a new neighborhood with a regular street network was built in Ferrara; an attempt to create an integral urban organism at one time was made in the cities of Bari, Terra del Sole, Castro, and also in some others.

If in the Middle Ages the architectural appearance of the city was formed in the process of creativity and construction activities of the entire population of the city, then in the Renaissance, urban construction more and more reflected the aspirations of individual customers and architects.

With the growing influence of the richest families, their personal requirements and tastes increasingly influenced the architectural appearance of the city as a whole. Of great importance in the construction of palaces, villas, churches, tombs, loggias was the desire either to perpetuate and glorify oneself, or to compete in wealth and splendor with neighbors (Gonzaga - d'Este, d'Este - Sforza, etc.) and a constant desire live luxuriously. Along with this, the customers showed a certain concern for the improvement of the city, allocating funds for the reconstruction of its ensembles, for the construction of public buildings, fountains, etc.

A significant part of the palace and temple construction fell during the years of the economic crisis associated with the loss of eastern markets and was carried out at the expense of the wealth already collected, which was during the decline of handicrafts and trade in unproductive capital. The most famous and renowned architects, painters, sculptors were involved in the construction, who received large funds for the implementation of the work entrusted to them and could, satisfying the personal requirements of customers, to a greater extent show their creative individuality.

That is why the Italian cities of the Renaissance and are rich in original, dissimilar architectural ensembles. However, being works of the same era with well-established aesthetic views, these ensembles were based on the general principles of composition.

New requirements for the spatial organization of the city and its elements rested on a meaningful, critical perception of medieval traditions, on the study of monuments and compositions of antiquity. The main criteria were the clarity of the spatial organization, the logical combination of the main and the secondary, the proportional unity of structures and spaces that surround them, the interconnection of individual spaces, and all this on a scale commensurate with a person. The new culture of the Renaissance, at first insignificantly, and then more and more actively penetrated urban planning. The medieval city, which was the basis of the cities of the Renaissance, could not be significantly modified, therefore only reconstruction work was carried out on its territory, separate public and private buildings were erected, sometimes requiring some planning work; the growth of the city, which slowed down somewhat in the 16th century, usually proceeded due to the expansion of its territory.

The Renaissance era did not make any obvious changes in the planning of cities, but significantly changed their volumetric-spatial appearance, solving a number of urban planning problems in a new way.

Fig. 1. Ferrara. Schematic city plan: 1 - d'Este castle; 2 - Ariosto square; 3 - Carthusian monastery; 4 - Church of Santa Maria Nuova degli Aldigieri; 5 - Church of San Giuliano; c - Church of San Benedetto; 7 - Church of San Francesco; 8 - palazzo dei Diamanti; 9 - cathedral

Fig. 2. Verona. Schematic city plan: 1 - Church of San Zeno; 2 - Church of San Bernardino; 3 - area of ​​hospitals and Fort San Spirito; 4 - Grand Guardia Vecchia; 5 - Castello Vecchio; 6 - Palazzo Malfatti; 7 - Plaza delle Erbe; 8 - square dei Signori; 9 - Santa Anastasia square; 10 - cathedral; 11 - bishop's palace; 12 - antique amphitheater; 13 - Palazzo Pompeii; 14 - palazzo Bevilacqua

One of the first examples of a new layout at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. can serve Ferrara (Fig. 1). Its northern part was built up according to the project of Biagio Rossetti (mentioned 1465-1516). The main lines of the new street network connected the entrance gates of the fortifications he built. The intersections of streets were accented by palaces (palazzo dei Diamanti, etc.) and churches, erected by the same architect or under his direct supervision. The medieval center with the castle d'Este surrounded by a moat, the palazzo del Comune and other structures of the 12th-15th centuries, as well as the adjacent handicraft and trade part of the city, remained untouched. The new part of the city, built up at the direction of d'Este with houses of a certain number of storeys, acquired a more secular, aristocratic character and its straight wide streets with Renaissance palaces and churches gave Ferrara a different look from the medieval city. No wonder Burckhardt wrote that Ferrara is the first modern city in Europe.

But even without planning new districts, the builders of the Renaissance with the greatest skill used all the elements of landscaping and small architectural forms of the city, starting with canals and ending with arcades, fountains and paving ( A typical example, dating back to the 15th century, is the well in the cathedral square in Pienza; in the XVI century. the role of the fountain in the ensembles becomes more complicated (for example, the fountains installed by Vignola in Rome, Viterbo and in the villas located in their vicinity ) - for the general improvement and aesthetic enrichment of the architectural appearance of even tiny towns or individual ensembles. In a number of cities, such as Milan, Rome, streets were straightened and widened.

The canals were built not only for irrigation of fields, but also in cities (for defense, transport, water supply, flood protection, for production - wool washing, etc.), where they formed a well-thought-out system (Milan), which often included dams and sluices, and associated with urban defensive structures (Verona, Mantua, Bologna, Livorno, etc., Fig. 2, 3, 5, 21).

Street arcades, which were encountered in the Middle Ages, sometimes stretched along entire streets (Bologna, Fig. 4) or along the sides of the square (Florence, Vigevano, Fig. 7).

The Renaissance left us remarkable urban complexes and ensembles, which can be divided into two main groups: ensembles that have developed historically (they relate mainly to the 15th century), and ensembles created at the same time or over a number of construction periods, but according to the plan of one architect , sometimes completely completed during the Renaissance (mainly in the 16th century).

A remarkable example of the ensembles of the first group is the ensemble of Piazza San Marco and Piazzetta in Venice.

In the first half of the 15th century. parts of the Palazzo Doge were built, overlooking both the Piazzetta and the San Marco Canal. The marble paving of Piazza San Marco dates back to the beginning of the same century, which later united it with the Piazzetta. At the beginning of the XVI century. the reconstruction works of the central square of the city attract the most prominent architects: Bartolomeo Bon increases the height of the campanile from 60 to 100 m and crowns it with a hipped roof; Pietro Lombardo and others build the Old Procuration and the Clock Tower; in 1529, the stalls were removed from the Piazzetta, allowing a view of the lagoon and the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore. The Piazzetta plays an important role as a spatial transition from the vastness of the lagoon to the central square, emphasizing its size and compositional significance in the structure of the city. Sansovino then expands the area to the south, placing the building of the Library he built on the Piazzetta, 10 meters from the Campanile, and builds at the foot of the Lodgetta Tower. By the end of the XVI century. Scamozzi builds New Prosecutions. However, the western side of the square was completed only at the beginning of the 19th century.

The development of Piazza San Marco on the shores of the lagoon at the mouth of the Grand Canal is determined both functionally - the convenience of delivering goods to the place of the main Venetian fairs and disembarking guests of honor in front of the palace and the cathedral - and artistically: as if the reception hall of the city; like the ensemble of the squares of ancient Miletus, the St. Mark's Square showed to the arrivals how rich and beautiful the capital of the Venetian Republic was.

A new attitude to a building as a part of a whole, the ability to connect buildings with the surrounding space and find a contrasting, mutually beneficial combination of diverse structures led to the creation of one of the best ensembles not only of the Renaissance, but also of world architecture.

The high architectural culture of Venice also manifested itself in the gradually emerging ensembles of Piazza Santi Giovanni e Paolo (with the Colleoni monument by Verrocchio) and the city's shopping center.

An example of the consistent development of the ensemble is the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, as well as the complex of central squares in Bologna, where interesting urban planning traditions had developed by that time.

Fig. 5. Bologna. Schematic city plan: 1 - Malpighi square; 2 - Ravegnana square; 3 - Maggiore square; 4 - the area of ​​Neptune; 5 - Arciginnasio square; 6 - Church of San Petronio; 7 - Palazzo Publico; 8 - Palazzo Legata; 9 - Palazzo del Podesta; 10 - portico dei Banks; 11 - palazzo dei Notai; 12 - Palazzo Arciginnasio; 13 - palazzo del Re Enzo; 14 - Mercantia; 15 - palaces of Izolani; 16 - Church of San Giacomo; 17 - kaza Grassi; 18- palazzo Fava; 19 - Palazzo Armorini; 20-College di Spagna; 21 - Palazzo Bevilaqua; 22 - palazzo Tanari

Bologna's layout has preserved the imprints of its centuries-old history (Fig. 5). The city center dates back to the time of the Roman military camp. The radially diverging streets of the eastern and western regions grew in the Middle Ages, connecting the antique gates (not preserved) with the gates of new (XIV century) fortifications.

The early development of guild production of beautiful dark red bricks and terracotta building parts, as well as the proliferation of arcades that stretched along the sides of many streets (they were built until the 15th century), gave the urban development noticeable features of community. These features also developed during the Renaissance, when the City Council paid great attention to construction (see the standard designs of houses for the suburbs developed by the Council's decision, with primitive porticos that were supposed to fold into street arcades - Fig. 6).

Piazza Maggiore, located in the very heart of the old city, with the huge castle-like palace of Publiko overlooking it, uniting a number of public buildings of the medieval commune, and the cathedral - throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. received an organic connection with the main street through Neptune Square (the fountain that gave it its name was built by G. da Bologna in the 16th century) and significantly changed its appearance in the spirit of a new style: in the 15th century. Fioravante worked here, rebuilding the Palazzo del Podesta, and in the 16th century. - Vignola, which united the buildings on the eastern side of the square with a common facade with a monumental arcade (portico dei Banki).

The second group of ensembles, completely subordinate to a single compositional concept, includes mainly architectural complexes of the 16th and subsequent centuries.

Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence, despite the uniform nature of its development, is an example of an intermediate type ensemble, since it was not conceived by one master. However, the simple, light and at the same time monumental arcade of the Brunellesco Orphanage (1419-1444) determined the appearance of the square; a similar arcade was repeated on the west side in front of the Servi di Maria monastery (Sangallo the Elder and Baccio d'Agnolo, 1517-1525). The later portico in front of the Church of Santissima Annunziata (Giovanni Caccini, 1599-1601) is higher than the two side ones and, together with the equestrian monument to Ferdinand I (G. da Bologna, 1608) and fountains (1629), testifies to a new trend in construction ensembles: emphasize the role of the church and identify the dominant compositional axis.

With the accumulation of wealth, the most influential representatives of the young bourgeoisie sought to earn the recognition of their fellow citizens, decorating their hometown, and at the same time to express their power with the help of architecture, building magnificent palaces for themselves, but also donating money for the reconstruction and even complete restructuring of their parish church, and then erecting there are other buildings in its parish. Thus, for example, peculiar groups of structures arose around the palaces of the Medici and Rucellai in Florence; the first included, in addition to the palace, the Church of San Lorenzo with the chapel - the tomb of the Medici and the Laurenziana library, the second consisted of the Rucellai palace with a loggia opposite it and the Rucellai chapel in the Church of San Pancrazio.

From the construction of a group of buildings of this kind, there was only one step to the creation of a whole ensemble, which decorates the native city, at the expense of the "father of the city".

An example of such a reconstruction is the Fabriano center, where Pope Nicholas V and his entourage moved during the plague epidemic in Rome. The reconstruction of Fabriano was commissioned in 1451 by Bernardo Rossellino. Without changing the configuration of the central square, which still remained closed in the medieval era, Rosselino is trying to somewhat streamline its development, enclosing the sides with porticoes. The framing of the square with galleries, focusing the attention of the audience on the austere Palazzo Podesta, crowned with battlements, testifies to the fact that the main thing on it, despite the arrival of the pope in the city, remains this ancient civil building. The reconstruction of the center of Fabriano is one of the first urban planning attempts of the Renaissance to organize the space of the square according to the principle of regularity.

Another example of a one-time reconstruction of the central square and of the entire city is Pienza, where only a part of the work envisaged by the same Bernardo Rossellino was carried out.

Pienza square, with a clear subdivision of structures located there, into main and secondary ones, with a regular outline and deliberate expansion of the territory of the square towards the cathedral to create free space around it, with patterned paving separating the trapezoidal square itself from the street running along it, with carefully thoughtful color scheme of all buildings framing the square is one of the most characteristic and well-known ensembles of the 15th century.

An interesting example is the regular building of the square in Vigevano (1493-1494). The square on which the cathedral stands and the main entrance to the Sforza Castle was located was surrounded by a continuous arcade, above which a single facade, decorated with paintings and colored terracotta, stretched (Fig. 7).

Further development of the ensembles went in the direction of their ever greater isolation from the social life of the city, since each of them was subordinated to a particular task and solved with a pronounced individuality, isolating it from the environment. Squares of the XVI century. were no longer the public squares of the commune cities of the early Renaissance, intended for ceremonial processions and holidays. Despite the complexity of the spatial compositions, with far open perspectives, they primarily played the role of an open lobby in front of the main building. As in the Middle Ages, although with a different spatial organization and compositional construction methods, the square was again subordinated to the structure - the leading building of the ensemble.

Among the first ensembles of the 16th century, in which the previously outlined compositional techniques were consciously used in a single design, include the Belvedere complex in the papal Vatican, then the square in front of the Farnese Palace in Rome (the ensemble's design included an unrealized bridge over the Tiber), the Roman Capitol and complex of the extended Palazzo Pitti with the Boboli Gardens in Florence.

The rectangular Piazza Farnese, completed in the middle of the 16th century, as well as the palace begun by Antonio de Sangallo the Younger and completed by Michelangelo, are entirely subordinate to the principle of axial construction, which has not yet been explained in the Santissima Annunziata ensemble.

Three short parallel streets from Campo di Fiori lead to Piazza Farnese, the middle of which is wider than the side streets, which, as it were, predetermines the symmetry of the ensemble. The portal of the Farnese Palace coincides with the axis of the garden portal and the center of the rear loggia. The composition of the ensemble was completed by the setting of two fountains (Vignola took bronze baths for them from the baths of Caracalla), placed symmetrically to the main entrance and somewhat shifted to the eastern side of the square. This arrangement of fountains frees up the space in front of the palace, transforming the city square into a kind of atrium in front of the residence of a powerful family (cf. the central square in Vigevano).

One of the most remarkable examples of an architectural ensemble not only of the 16th century. in Italy, but in all world architecture is the Capitol Square in Rome, created according to Michelangelo's plan and expressing the socio-historical significance of this place (Fig. 9).

The central location of the Palace of the Senators with its tower and double staircase, the trapezoidal shape of the square and the staircase-ramp leading to it, the symmetry of the side palaces, finally, the pattern of the paving of the square and the central location of the equestrian sculpture - all this strengthened the importance of the main building and the dominant axis of the ensemble, emphasizing the importance of and the self-contained position of this square in the city, from which a wide view of Rome stretched out at the foot of the hill opened up. The disclosure of one side of the square, its clearly expressed orientation towards the city, while simultaneously subordinating the space of the square to the main building - this is a new feature introduced by Michelangelo into the architecture of urban ensembles.

The works that significantly altered Rome, resurrecting it from the ruins of the Middle Ages, had a significant impact on the architecture of Italy and all of Europe. Renaissance ensembles, scattered over the territory of the ancient capital, were much later captured by the city and included as its elements in a single system, but they were the backbone that determined the further architectural and spatial organization of Rome as a whole.

The ruins of the ancient city predetermined the scale and monumentality of the streets and structures of the leading ensembles being built. The architects studied and mastered the principles of regular antique town-planning compositions. New paths in urban planning were based on a conscious search for better, more convenient and rational layouts, on reasonable reconstructions of old buildings, on a thoughtful synthesis of fine arts and architecture (Fig. 9, 10).

Outstanding architects of the Renaissance - Brunellesco, Alberti, Rossellino, Leonardo da Vinci, Bramante, Michelangelo - conceived a number of grandiose transformations of cities. Here are some of these projects.

In 1445, by the jubilee 1450 in Rome, significant work was planned for the reconstruction of the Borgo region. The authors of the project (Rossellino and, possibly, Alberti) apparently envisaged defensive structures and the improvement of the city, the reconstruction of the Borgo quarters and a number of churches. But the project was costly and remained unfulfilled.

Leonardo da Vinci witnessed the misfortune that befell Milan - the plague epidemic in 1484-1485, which claimed more than 50 thousand inhabitants. Overcrowding, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in the city contributed to the spread of the disease. The architect proposed a new layout for Milan within the expanding city walls, where only the important citizens were to remain, who were obliged to rebuild their possessions. At the same time, according to Leonardo, twenty smaller cities with 30 thousand inhabitants and 5000 houses each should have been founded not far from Milan. Leonardo considered it necessary: ​​"To divide this huge gathering of people who, like sheep in a flock, spread a bad smell and are fertile ground for epidemics and death." Leonardo's sketches provided for roads on two levels, viaducts on the approaches from the countryside, an extensive network of canals that provide a constant supply of fresh water to cities, and much more (Fig. 11).

In those same years, Leonardo da Vinci worked on a reconstruction plan, or rather a radical restructuring of Florence, enclosing it in a regular decahedron of walls and laying along its diameter, using the river, a grandiose canal equal in width to Arno (Fig. 12). The project of this canal, which provided for a series of dams and branching smaller channels, serving to wash all the streets of the city, was clearly utopian in nature. Despite Leonardo's proposed social (estate) settlement in the city, the architect strove to create healthy and comfortable living conditions for all residents of Florence.

After a fire destroyed the market near the Rialto Bridge in Venice in 1514, Fra Giocondo created a project for the reconstruction of the area. The quadrangular island, framed by canals, had a quadrangular shape and was to be built up along the perimeter with two-storey shops. In the center was a square with four arched gates on the sides. The centrality of the composition was emphasized by the church of San Matteo located in the middle.

Fra Giocondo's proposals were interesting and new from an urban planning point of view, but remained unfulfilled.

Michelangelo, defending the freedom of his beloved Florence and apparently wishing to preserve the spirit of democracy, so inherent in her earlier, proposed a project for the reconstruction of its center. In all likelihood, the social centers of antiquity, which were the peristyles of the polis, served as a prototype for the new square.

Michelangelo intended to surround the Piazza della Signoria with galleries hiding all previously built palaces, chambers of commerce, guild and guild houses and emphasizing with their homogeneity the grandeur of the palace of the Signoria. The gigantic scale of the loggia dei Lanzi, which was supposed to serve as the motive for the arcade of these galleries, and the monumental arched roofs of the streets that overlooked the square, corresponded to the scope of the Roman forums. The dukes of Florence did not need such restructuring, more important was the construction of the Uffizi with the transitions from the management of the duchy - the Palazzo Vecchio - to the personal chambers of the rulers - the Palazzo Pitti. The great master's project was also not implemented.

The above examples of projects, as well as the work carried out, indicate that a new idea of ​​the city as a single one was gradually ripening: a whole in which all parts are interconnected. The idea of ​​a city developed in parallel with the emergence of the idea of ​​a centralized state, of autocracy, which could, in the new historical conditions, bring about a reasonable redevelopment of cities. The development of urban planning clearly expressed the specificity of the culture of the Renaissance, where art and science were inextricably welded together, which predetermined the realism of the art of the new era. Being one of the most important types of social activity, urban planning required from the architects of the Renaissance significant scientific, technical and specific artistic knowledge. The redevelopment of cities was largely associated with the changed technique of combat, the introduction of firearms and artillery, which forced the rebuilding of the defensive structures of almost all medieval cities. A simple belt of walls, which usually followed the relief of the area, was replaced by walls with bastions, which determined the star-shaped shape of the perimeter of the city walls.

Cities of this type appear since the second third of the 16th century, and testify to the successful development of theoretical thought.

The contribution of the masters of the Italian Renaissance to the theory of urban planning is very significant. Despite the inevitable utopianism in the formulation of these problems in those days, they were nevertheless developed with great boldness and completeness in all treatises and theoretical documents of the 15th century, not to mention urban planning fantasies in the visual arts. Such are the treatises of Filarete, Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio Martini and even Polyphilo's fantasy novel Hypnerotomachia (published in 1499) with their schemes of an ideal city, such are the numerous notes and drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.

Renaissance treatises on architecture and urban planning proceeded from the need to meet the needs of the reorganization of cities and rested on the scientific and technical achievements and aesthetic views of their time, as well as on the study of the newly discovered works of ancient thinkers, especially Vitruvius.

Vitruvius considered the issues of planning and building of cities from the point of view of amenities, health and beauty, which was quite consistent with the new views of the Renaissance.

The carried out reconstructions and unrealized projects of urban transformation also stimulated the development of urban planning science. However, the difficulties of radical transformations in the already established cities of Italy gave the urban planning theories a utopian character.

Urban planning theories and projects of ideal cities of the Renaissance can be divided into two main stages: from 1450 to 1550 (from Alberti to Pietro Cataneo), when the problems of urban planning were considered very widely and comprehensively, and from 1550 to 1615 (from Bartolomeo Ammanati to Vincenzo Scamozzi), when questions of defense and, at the same time, aesthetics began to prevail.

In the first period, the treatises and projects of cities pay a lot of attention to the selection of terrain for the location of cities, the tasks of their general reorganization: the resettlement of residents according to a professional and social basis, planning, improvement and development. Of no less importance during this period was the solution of aesthetic problems and the architectural and spatial organization of both the entire city as a whole and its elements. Gradually, towards the end of the 15th century, more and more attention was paid to the issues of general defense and the construction of fortifications.

Reasonable and convincing judgments about the choice of the location of cities in practice were completely inapplicable, because new cities were rarely erected, moreover, in places predetermined by economic development or strategy.

The architects' treatises and their projects express a new worldview of the era that gave birth to them, where the main thing is caring for a person, but a chosen, noble and wealthy person. The class stratification of the Renaissance society accordingly gave rise to a science that served for the benefit of the possessing class. The best districts of the ideal city were allocated for the resettlement of the "noble".

The second principle of organizing the urban area is the professional-group settlement of the rest of the population, which indicates the significant influence of medieval traditions on the judgments of the architects of the 15th century. Craftsmen of related professions had to live in close proximity to each other, and their place of residence was determined by the "nobility" of their craft or profession. Merchants, money changers, jewelers, usurers could live in the central area near the main square; shipmen and ropemen had the right to settle only in the outer quarters of the city, behind the ring street; masons, blacksmiths, saddlers, etc. were to be built near the entrance gates to the city. Craftsmen, necessary for all segments of the population, such as hairdressers, pharmacists, tailors, had to be settled evenly throughout the city.

The third principle of the organization of the city was the distribution of the territory into residential, industrial, trade, public complexes. Provided for their reasonable connection with each other, and sometimes a combination, for the most complete service of the city as a whole and the use of its economic and natural data. This is the project of the ideal city of Filarete - "Sforcinda".

The planning of cities, according to the judgments of urban planning theorists, had to be necessarily regular. Sometimes the authors chose a radial-circular (Filarete, F. di Giorgio Martini, Fra Giocondo, Antonio da Sangallo Jr., Francesco de Marchi, Fig. 13), sometimes orthogonal (Martini, Marki, Fig. 14), and a number of authors proposed projects combining both systems (Peruzzi, Pietro Cataneo). However, the choice of the layout was usually not a purely formal, mechanical measure, since most of the authors determined it primarily by natural conditions: the topography of the area, the presence of reservoirs, rivers, prevailing winds, etc. (Fig. 15).

Usually the main public square was located in the center of the city, first with the castle, and then with the town hall and cathedral in the middle. Trade, cult areas of regional significance in radial cities were located at the intersection of radial streets with one of the city's circular or bypass highways (Fig. 16).

The territory of the city should have been improved, according to the architects who created these projects. The overcrowding and unsanitary conditions of medieval cities, the spread of epidemics that destroyed thousands of townspeople, made people think about the reorganization of buildings, about basic water supply and cleanliness in the city, about its maximum recovery, at least within the city walls. The authors of the theories and projects suggested defusing buildings, straightening the streets, laying canals along the main of them, recommended greening streets, squares and embankments in every possible way.

Thus, in the imaginary "Sforzinda" Filaret, the streets had to slope towards the outskirts of the city to drain rainwater and flush with water from a reservoir in the city center. The eight main radial streets and around the squares were provided with navigable canals, which ensured the silence of the central part of the city, where the entry of wheeled vehicles was to be prohibited. The radial streets were to be landscaped, while the main ones (25 m wide) were framed by galleries along the canals.

Leonardo da Vinci's urban planning ideas, expressed in his many sketches, speak of an exceptionally broad and bold approach to the problems of the city, and at the same time point to specific technical solutions to these problems. So, he established the ratio of the height of buildings and the gaps between them for the best insolation and ventilation, developed streets with traffic at different levels (and the upper ones - illuminated by the sun and free from traffic - were intended for the "rich").

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, in his project, proposed the perimeter development of neighborhoods with a well-ventilated green interior space. Here, apparently, the ideas of the improvement and improvement of the urban area, expressed by Leonardo da Vinci, were developed.

The sketches of houses in the ideal city of Francesco de Marca are clearly influenced by previous eras or, rather, retain the character of the buildings prevailing in the cities of the Renaissance, inherited from the Middle Ages - narrow, multi-storey buildings with upper floors brought forward (see Fig. 16).

Along with the indicated functional and utilitarian problems, there is a considerable place in the projects of ideal cities of architects of the 15th and early 16th centuries. aesthetic issues of the volumetric-spatial organization of the city are also occupied. In the treatises, the authors repeatedly return to the idea that the city should be decorated with beautiful streets, squares and individual structures.

Speaking about houses, streets and squares, Alberti has repeatedly mentioned that they should be consistent both in size and in appearance. F. di Giorgio Martini wrote that all parts of the city should be organized prudently, that they should be in relation to each other in proportions similar to the parts of the human body.

The streets of ideal cities were often framed by arcades with complex arched passages at their intersections, which had, in addition to functional (shelter from rain and the scorching sun), and purely artistic significance. This is evidenced by the proposals of Alberti, the project of the oval city and the central rectangular square of the city of F. de Marches and others (see Fig. 14).

Since the end of the 15th century, the method of the centric composition of cities (Fra Giocondo) gradually gained increasing importance in the work of architects who worked on the schemes of ideal cities. The idea of ​​the city as a single organism, subordinate to a common plan, by the 16th century. dominates the theory of urban planning.

An example of such a solution is the ideal city of Peruzzi, surrounded by two walls and built according to a radial scheme, with a peculiarly solved bypass highway in the shape of a square. Defensive towers, located both in the corners and in the center of the composition, enhance the centricity of the location not only of the main building, but of the entire city as a whole.

The drawing of the ideal city of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger with its star-shaped walls and radial streets with a common ring-shaped highway resembles the city of Filarete. However, a round square with a round building in the center is a further development of the ideas of the predecessors of Antonio da Sangallo Jr. and, as it were, continues the idea of ​​a centric composition in relation to the city. This was not the case either in the radial city of Filarete (the center is a complex of asymmetrically located rectangular squares), or in the radial and serpentine cities of Francesco di Giorgio Martini.

The last representative of the theorists of the Renaissance, covering comprehensively all issues of urban planning, was Pietro Cataneo, a famous builder of fortifications, who in 1554 began to publish his treatise on architecture in parts. Cataneo lists five basic conditions that he believes must be considered when designing and building a city: climate, fertility, convenience, growth potential, and the best defense. From the point of view of defense, the author of the treatise considers polygonal cities to be the most expedient, arguing that the shape of a city is a derivative of the size of the territory they occupy (the smaller the city, the simpler its configuration). However, the inner space of the city, regardless of its external configuration, Cataneo is composed of rectangular and square residential blocks. The idea of ​​autocracy also dominates him: for the ruler of the city, Cataneo envisaged the creation of a calm and well-protected castle, both from internal and external enemies.

Since the middle of the XVI century. issues of urban planning and ideal cities were no longer the subject of special works, but were covered in treatises on general issues of architecture. In these treatises, the already known techniques of planning and volumetric composition vary. In the second half of the XVI century. the purely external side of the design of the project and the drawing of details become almost an end in itself (Buonayuto Lorini, Vasari). Sometimes only individual elements of the city were developed without taking into account its general scheme (Ammanati). The same trends are outlined by the middle of the 16th century. and in the practice of urban planning.

Palladio's treatise on architecture (1570) is the last theoretical work of the 15th century, which also contains many interesting and deep judgments about urban planning. Just like Alberti, Palladio did not leave behind a project of an ideal city and in his treatise he only expresses his wishes about how the streets should be planned and built up, what the city's squares should be and what impression its individual buildings and ensembles should make.

The last representatives of the Italian urban theorists were Vasari the Younger and Scamozzi.

Giorgio Vasari the Younger, when creating his city project (1598), put aesthetic tasks at the forefront. In its general plan, the principles of regularity and strict symmetry stand out prominently (Fig. 17).

At the beginning of the 17th century. (1615) Vincenzo Scamozzi turned to the design of ideal cities. It can be assumed that when designing the city, he, unlike Vasari, proceeded from fortification considerations. The author regulates to some extent both the settlement of the city and its trade and craft organization. However, Scamozzi's layout is nevertheless mechanistic, not organically connected either with the shape of the dodecagonal plan or with the scheme of defensive structures. This is just a beautifully drawn master plan diagram. The ratio of the sizes of the areas, each separately and in comparison with each other, has not been found. The figure lacks the subtle proportioning that is present in the Vasari project. The squares of the city of Scamozzi are too large, due to which the whole scheme loses its scale, against which Palladio warned, saying that the square in the city should not be too spacious. It should be noted that in the town of Sabbioneta, in the planning and development of which Scamozzi, on behalf of Gonzago, took an active part, the scale of streets and squares was chosen very convincingly. Scamozzi adheres to the same technique for the composition of the central square, which was outlined by Lupicini and Lorini. He does not build it up, but puts the main buildings on the territory of the quarters adjacent to the square, so that they face the square with their main facades. This technique is typical of the Renaissance and it is legitimized by theorists of urban planning and in the schemes of ideal cities.

During the period of general economic decline and social crisis in the middle of the XVI century. in urban planning theory, secondary issues begin to prevail. A comprehensive consideration of the city's problems is gradually leaving the field of vision of the masters. They solved particular issues: the composition of the peripheral squares (Ammanati), the new development system of the center (Lupicini, Lorini), the careful development of the drawing of defensive structures and the master plan (Maggi, Lorini, Vasari), etc. Gradually, with the loss of a broad approach to development functional and artistic tasks in urban planning science and practice, professional decline is also maturing, which manifested itself in the aesthetic formalism and arbitrariness of some planning decisions.

The theoretical teachings of the Renaissance about urban planning, despite their utopianism, still had some influence on the practice of urban planning. It was especially noticeable during the construction of fortifications in small-sized port and border towns-fortresses, which were built in Italy in the 16th and even in the 17th centuries. in an extremely short time.

Almost all the most prominent architects of this period took part in the construction of these fortresses: Giuliano and Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, Sanmicheli, Michelangelo and many others. Among the numerous fortresses erected by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, the city of Castro by Lake Bolsena, built in 1534-1546, should be noted. by order of Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese). Sangallo designed and implemented the entire city, highlighting and placing especially the palaces of the pope and his entourage, public buildings with spacious galleries, a church, a mint. For the rest, according to Vasari, he also managed to create sufficient amenities. Castro was destroyed in 1649 and is best known for his sketches.

The centric composition of ideal cities was not ignored by the architects, who created large architectural complexes, where the residence of the feudal lord was supposed to dominate. This is how Vignola created the town of Caprarola, in fact - only an approach to the Farnese Palace. Narrow streets, low houses, small churches - like the foot of the magnificent Farnese castle. The narrowness and modesty of the town emphasize the grandeur and monumentality of the palace. In this logically simple scheme, the author's intention is expressed with the utmost clarity, who managed to show the main and the secondary in the contrasting combination so widespread in the architecture of the Renaissance.

Almost simultaneously, in Malta, which had belonged to the Order of the Knights of Malta since 1530, the Italians built the fortress city of La Valletta, founded in honor of the victory over the Turks (1566). The city was founded on a promontory washed by bays deeply cutting into the island's territory and protected by forts flanking the harbor entrances. From the point of view of defense, the territory of the city was chosen extremely wisely. The belt of fortifications consisted of powerful walls and high bastions, surrounded by deep ditches carved into the rock on which the city rested. Outlets directly to the sea were arranged in the defensive structures, and an artificial inner harbor was created in the northeastern part, enclosed in a ring of city walls. The originally conceived rectangular plan was not fully implemented, since the city had a rocky foundation, which made it difficult to trace the streets and build the houses themselves (Fig. 18).

From the north-east to the south-west, the city was cut by the main longitudinal street, which runs from the main mainland gate to the square in front of Valletta's citadel. Parallel to this main highway, three more longitudinal streets were laid on both sides symmetrically, intersected by transverse streets located perpendicular to the main one; they were not passable, as they were staircases, carved into the rock. The division of streets was made in such a way that from the longitudinal highways it was possible from each intersection to observe the appearance of the enemy along four intersecting streets at right angles, that is, here one of the basic principles underlying the design of ideal cities was fully observed, in particular voiced by Alberti.

The geometric rigidity of the plan was mitigated by the complex shape of defensive structures and the placement of a number of small quarters, the size of which depended on the free space in the peripheral areas of the city, due to the complexity of the coastal relief and the location of the city walls. Valletta was almost simultaneously built up with very similar residential buildings of equal height, with a few windows in the form of loopholes. Development proceeded along the perimeter of the blocks, and the rest of the territory of the residential blocks was greened. Corner houses necessarily had residential towers equipped with defensive sites, where a stock of stones and other means of defense was kept against the enemy who had burst into the city.

In fact, Valletta was one of the first, almost fully realized, ideal cities of the Renaissance. Its general appearance indicates that specific natural conditions, tasks of a specific strategy, convenient communication with harbors and many other conditions dictated directly by life, forced the city to be built not in the form of an abstract scheme with a bizarre pattern of squares and crossroads, but in the form of a rational, economical schemes, significantly adjusted by the requirements of reality during the construction process.

In 1564, Bernardo Buontalenti built on the northern border of Romagna (not far from Forlì) the fortified city of Terra del Sole - an example of an ideal Renaissance city with a regular plan. The outlines of the fortifications, the plan of the city itself, the location of the center are close to the drawings of Cataneo (Fig. 19).

Bernardo Buontalenti was one of the most prominent urban planners and fortifiers of his time, who managed to comprehensively solve the problem of building a fortified city. This comprehensive view of the city as a single organism is also borne out by his work in Livorno.

The star-shaped form of the fortress, bypass canals, orthogonal planning, the axial construction of the main square, framed by galleries and which is the threshold of the cathedral - all this speaks for the fact that Livorno is the realization of the ideal city of the Renaissance. Only the presence of the winding line of the coast and the structure of the port somewhat violate the geometric correctness of the ideal scheme (Fig. 20, 21).

Fig. 22. Left - Palma Nuova, 1595; on the right - Grammichele (aerial photography)

One of the last ideal cities of the Renaissance to be realized in nature is the northeastern Venetian fortress city of Palma Nuova. The author of the project is unknown (presumably Lorini or Scamozzi). According to Merian, a 17th century German geographer, Palma Nuova was founded by the Venetians in 1593 and completed in 1595.

The general plan of the city, surrounded by powerful defensive structures, is a radial diagram of the ideal cities of the Renaissance (Fig. 22) and, according to the drawing, it is closest to the design of Lorini in 1592.

The Palma Nuova plan is a nine-sided square with eighteen radial streets leading to a ring road just outside the center; six of them face the hexagonal main square. The skill of the author of the project is reflected in the placement of streets, thanks to which the combination of the nine-sided outer perimeter of the walls and the hexagon of the central square of the city seems completely organic.

Twelve squares were designed in front of each bastion and entrance gates, and at the intersection of the third ring road with radial streets that do not go to the central square, six additional intra-district squares were created.

If the routing of the streets of Palma Nuova was carried out almost exactly according to the project, then the defensive structures were erected much more powerful than envisaged. The development of the city is not quite regular and very diverse, but this does not violate the internal order inherent in Palma Nuova.

The centricity of the composition is emphasized by the simplest means: the hexagonal square was lined with greenery and had a flagpole in the center instead of the unconstructed main building, on which the axes of all radial streets overlooking the square were oriented.

Under the influence of the urban planning theories of the Renaissance, the layout of Grammichele in Sicily was created, laid in the form of a hexagon in 1693 (Fig. 22).

In general, the history of Italian urban planning in the 15th-16th centuries, which left us with a number of architectural ensembles of world importance and many smaller complexes and urban centers full of unique charm, still presents a rather variegated picture.

Until the second half of the 15th century, while the cities still enjoyed some independence, the traditions of the Middle Ages were strong in urban planning, although architects tried to give the established cities a new, usually more regular look.

From the middle of the 15th century. Along with the public customer in the face of the city, the individual customer with the means, power, individual taste and requirements is gaining more and more importance. The contractor was no longer the workshop, but the architect. To an even greater extent than the customer, he possessed his own personality, a kind of talent, a certain creative credo and significant powers from the customer. Therefore, despite the greater economic, social and cultural unity than in the Middle Ages, the cities of Italy of that period are very individual and dissimilar.

From the second quarter of the XVI century. with the development of centralized states, with the streamlining of the idea of ​​autocracy, the requirements for the city as an integral organism are more and more clearly outlined.

All this time, parallel to the practical activities of architects who built only by order of the lords, the science of urban planning was developing, which was expressed, as a rule, in treatises about ideal cities, their fortifications, the beauty of their composition and many other related issues. However, these ideas were far from always translated into reality, so urban planning practically developed in two directions: the construction of a number of large ensembles in already existing cities and the construction of fortress cities in the most vulnerable territories of individual states and duchies of Italy.

From the very beginning of the Renaissance, every element of the city and the ensemble was thought out comprehensively, not only from the functional, but also from the artistic side.

Simplicity and clarity of spatial organization - rectangular areas of often multiple proportions, framed by galleries (Carpi, Vigevano, Florence - Piazza Santissima Annunziata); the logical selection of the main thing, when, without losing their individuality, all the buildings of the ensemble formed an integral composition (Pienza, Bologna, Venice); proportional and large-scale uniformity of buildings and spaces around them, emphasizing the importance of a particular building (staging of the cathedral in Pienza, trapezoidal square in front of the cathedral in Venice); division and combination of separate spaces, interconnected and subordinate to each other (central squares of Bologna, Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Piazzetta, Piazza San Marco in Venice); the widespread use of fountains, sculptures and small forms (columns on the Piazzetta, masts in front of the cathedral and the Colleoni monument in Venice, the Gattamelata monument in Padua, the Neptune fountain in Bologna, the Marcus Aurelius monument on the Capitol in Rome) - these are the main methods of composition of the architectural ensemble, widely used during the Renaissance in Italy. And, although life did not allow a radical breakdown and restructuring of the existing cities, the central ensembles of many of them received a new, truly Renaissance look.

Gradually, the masters of the Renaissance began to strive for uniformity in the development of entire complexes (Florence, Vigevano, Carpi, Venice, Rome) and went further, complicating the architectural and spatial composition and solving the complex problems of including new representative ensembles in the development of the city (Capitol, St. Peter's Cathedral ).

In the second half of the XVI century. a new understanding of the ensemble appeared: it appears around one structure, as a rule, with a symmetrical structure. The simplicity and clarity of the previous compositions are gradually replaced by the complicated techniques of architectural and spatial organization. The square is more and more often interpreted as an open lobby, as a subordinate space, opening up in front of the representative buildings of the feudal nobility or the church. Finally, there is a desire to take into account the movement of the viewer and, accordingly, introduce new elements of dynamic development into the ensemble (Capitol in Rome) - a technique that was already developed in the next era.

Changes are also taking place in the urban planning theories developed by the architects of the Renaissance. If in the XV and in the first half of the XVI century. these theories covered the problem of the city comprehensively, then in the second half of the 16th century. the authors focus primarily on private issues, without losing, however, the idea of ​​the city as a single organism.

We see that the Renaissance era gave impetus not only to the development of urban planning ideas, but also to the practical construction of more convenient and healthy cities, prepared cities for a new period of existence, for a period of capitalist development. But the short duration of this era, the rapid economic decline and intensification of feudal reaction, the establishment of a monarchical regime in a number of areas and foreign conquests interrupted this development.

The chapter “Results of the development of Italian architecture in the 15th-16th centuries”, section “Architecture of the Renaissance in Italy”, encyclopedia “General history of architecture. Volume V. Architecture of Western Europe XV-XVI centuries. Renaissance". Responsible editor: V.F. Marcuson. Authors: V.F. Markuson (Results of the development of architecture), T.N. Kozina (Urban Development, Ideal Cities), A.I. Opochinskaya (Villas and gardens). Moscow, Stroyizdat, 1967

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Federal Agency for Railway Transport

Siberian State Transport University

Department of "Philosophy"

RENAISSANCE SKETCHES

abstract

In the discipline "Culturology"

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Professor student gr. D-111

Bystrova A.N. ___________ Kamyshova E.V.

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08.12.2012

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Introduction

The Renaissance is considered one of the brightest periods in the history of the development of European culture. We can say that the revival is a whole cultural era in the process of transition from the Middle Ages to modern times, during which a cultural revolution (turning point, shift) took place. Fundamental changes are associated with the elimination of mythology.

Despite the origin of the term Renaissance (French Renaissance, "renaissance"), the revival of antiquity was not and could not be. A person cannot go back to his past. The Renaissance, using the lessons of antiquity, introduced innovations. He brought back to life not all antique genres, but only those that were characteristic of the aspirations of his time and culture. The Renaissance combined a new reading of antiquity with a new reading of Christianity.

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the connection between the modern era and the Renaissance - this is a revolution, first of all, in the system of values, in the assessment of everything that exists and in relation to it.

The main goal of the work is to show the fundamental changes that have taken place in the worldview of the greatest figures of the era under consideration.

1. Renaissance culture

XIII - XVI centuries have been a time of great changes in economics, politics and culture. The rapid growth of cities and the development of crafts, and later the transition to manufacturing, transformed the appearance of medieval Europe.

Cities began to come to the fore. Not long before this, the most powerful forces of the medieval world - the empire and the papacy - were experiencing a deep crisis. V Xvi For centuries, the disintegrating Holy Roman Empire of the German nation became the scene of the first two anti-feudal revolutions - the Great Peasant War in Germany and the Netherlands Uprising.

The transitional nature of the era, the process of liberation from the medieval paths taking place in all areas of life, at the same time, the still undeveloped capitalist relations could not but affect the features of the artistic culture and aesthetic thought of that time.

According to A. V. Stepanov, all the changes in the life of society were accompanied by a wide renewal of culture - the flourishing of the natural and exact sciences, literature in national languages, and fine arts. Having originated in the cities of Italy, this renewal then captured other European countries. The author believes that after the advent of printing, unprecedented opportunities opened up for the dissemination of literary and scientific works, and more regular and close communication between countries contributed to the penetration of new artistic trends.

This did not mean that the Middle Ages retreated before new trends: in the mass consciousness, traditional ideas were preserved. The church opposed new ideas using a medieval means - the Inquisition. The idea of ​​freedom of the human person continued to exist in a society divided into estates. The feudal form of peasant dependence did not completely disappear, and in some countries (Germany, Central Europe) there was a return to serfdom. The feudal system showed quite a lot of vitality. Each European country has outlived it in its own way and in its own chronological framework. For a long time capitalism existed as a way of life, embracing only a part of production both in the city and in the countryside. Nevertheless, the patriarchal medieval slowness began to recede into the past.

The great geographical discoveries played a huge role in this breakthrough. For example, in 1492. H. Columbus, in search of a way to India, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed near the Bahamas, discovering a new continent - America. In 1498. the Spanish explorer Vasco da Gama, having rounded Africa, successfully brought his ships to the shores of India. WITH Xvi v. Europeans infiltrate China and Japan, about which they previously had only the most vague idea. The conquest of America began in 1510. V Xvii v. Australia was discovered. The idea of ​​the shape of the earth has changed: F. Magellan's circumnavigation of the world confirmed the hypothesis that it has the shape of a ball.

Contempt for everything earthly is now replaced by a greedy interest in the real world, in man, in the consciousness of the beauty and grandeur of nature, which could be proved by analyzing the cultural monuments of the Renaissance. The indisputable primacy of theology over science in the Middle Ages was shaken by the belief in the unlimited possibilities of the human mind, which becomes the highest measure of truth. Emphasizing interest in the human as opposed to the divine, representatives of the new secular intelligentsia called themselves humanists, deriving this word from the concept “ studia humanitanis ", Which meant the study of everything connected with the nature of man and his spiritual world.

The works and art of the Renaissance became characterized by the idea of ​​a free being with unlimited creative possibilities. It is associated with anthropocentrism in the aesthetics of the Renaissance and the understanding of the beautiful, the sublime, the heroic. The principle of an artistically and creatively beautiful human personality was combined by the theorists of the Renaissance with an attempt at mathematical calculus of all kinds of proportions, symmetry, and perspective.

For the first time, aesthetic and artistic thinking of this era is based on human perception as such and on a sensually real picture of the world. Here, the subjectivist-individualistic thirst for sensations of life is striking, regardless of their religious and moral interpretation, although the latter, in principle, is not denied. The Renaissance aesthetics orients art towards imitating nature. However, in the first place here is not so much nature as the artist, who in his creative activity is likened to God.

E. Chamberlin considers pleasure to be one of the most important principles of perception of works of art, because it testifies to a significant democratic tendency as opposed to the scholastic "learning" of previous aesthetic theories.

The aesthetic thought of the Renaissance contains not only the idea of ​​absolutizing the human individual as opposed to the divine personality in the Middle Ages, but also a certain awareness of the limitations of such individualism, based on the absolute self-affirmation of the individual. Hence the motives of tragedy, found in the works of W. Shakespeare, M. Cervantes, Michelangelo and others. This is the inconsistency of a culture that has departed from the ancient-medieval absolutes, but due to historical circumstances, has not yet found new reliable foundations.

The connection between art and science is one of the characteristic features of culture. Artists sought support in the sciences, often stimulating their development. The Renaissance was marked by the emergence of artist-scientists, among whom the first place belongs to Leonardo da Vinci.

Thus, one of the tasks of the Renaissance is human comprehension of the world filled with divine beauty. The world attracts man because he is spiritualized by God. But in the Renaissance there was another tendency - a person's feeling of the tragedy of his existence.

2. The image of the world and man in the creations of the great masters Renaissance

The term "Renaissance" (translation of the French term "Renaissance") indicates the connection between the new culture and antiquity. As a result of their acquaintance with the East, in particular with Byzantium, during the era of the Crusades, Europeans got acquainted with ancient humanistic manuscripts, various monuments of ancient fine arts and architecture. All these antiquities began to be partially transported to Italy, where they were collected and studied. But in Italy itself there were many ancient Roman monuments, which also began to be carefully studied by representatives of the Italian urban intelligentsia. A deep interest in the classical ancient languages, ancient philosophy, history and literature has awakened in Italian society. The city of Florence played an especially important role in this movement. A number of prominent figures of the new culture emerged from Florence.

Using the ancient ideology, once created in the most economically lively cities of antiquity, the new bourgeoisie reworked it in its own way, formulating its new worldview, sharply opposite to the previously dominant worldview of feudalism. The second name of the new Italian culture - humanism just proves this.

Humanistic culture in the center of its attention put the man himself (humanus - human), and not the divine, otherworldly, as it was in medieval ideology. There was no room for asceticism in the humanistic worldview. The human body, its passions and needs were viewed not as something "sinful" that had to be suppressed or tortured, but as an end in itself, as the most important thing in life. Terrestrial existence was recognized as the only real one. Cognition of nature and man was declared to be the essence of science. In contrast to the pessimistic motives that prevailed in the worldview of medieval scholastics and mystics, optimistic motives prevailed in the worldview and mood of the people of the Renaissance; they were characterized by faith in man, in the future of mankind, in the triumph of human reason and enlightenment. A constellation of eminent poets and writers, scientists and figures of various forms of art participated in this great new intellectual movement. Such wonderful artists brought glory to Italy: Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgione, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian.

The undoubted achievement of the Renaissance was the geometrically correct construction of the picture. The artist built the image using the techniques he developed. The main thing for the painters of that time was to observe the proportions of objects. Even nature fell under mathematical tricks.

In other words, artists during the Renaissance sought to convey an accurate image of, for example, a person against the background of nature. If we compare it with modern methods of recreating a seen image on some canvas, then, most likely, photography with subsequent adjustments will help to understand what the Renaissance artists were striving for.

Renaissance painters believed that they had the right to correct the flaws of nature, that is, if a person had ugly facial features, the artists corrected them in such a way that the face became cute and attractive.

By depicting biblical subjects, Renaissance artists tried to make it clear that the earthly manifestations of a person can be portrayed more clearly if they use biblical stories. You can understand what the fall, temptation, hell or heaven is if you begin to get acquainted with the work of artists of that time. The same image of the Madonna conveys to us the beauty of a woman, and also carries in itself an understanding of earthly human love.

Thus, in the art of the Renaissance, the paths of scientific and artistic comprehension of the world and man were closely intertwined. Its cognitive meaning was inextricably linked with sublime poetic beauty; in its striving for naturalness, it did not descend to petty everyday life. Art has become a universal spiritual need.

Conclusion

So, the Renaissance, or the Renaissance, is an era in the life of mankind, marked by a colossal rise of art and science. The Renaissance era proclaimed a person the highest value of life.

In art, the main theme has become a person with unlimited spiritual and creative potential.The art of the Renaissance laid the foundations of the European culture of the modern era, radically changed all the main types of art.

New types of public buildings have developed in architecture.Painting was enriched with a linear and aerial perspective, knowledge of the anatomy and proportions of the human body.The earthly content penetrated the traditional religious themes of works of art. Interest in ancient mythology, history, everyday scenes, landscape, and portrait has increased. There was a painting, there was painting with oil paints. The creative individuality of the artist has come to the fore in art.

In the art of the Renaissance, the paths of scientific and artistic comprehension of the world and man were closely intertwined.Art has become a universal spiritual need.

The Renaissance is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful eras in the history of mankind.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. T.K. KUSTODIEVA ITALIAN ART OF THE RENAISSANCE OF THE XIII-XVI CENTURIES (SKETCH-GUIDE) / T.K. KUSTODIEVA, ART, 1985 .-- 318 S.
2. IMAGES OF LOVE AND BEAUTY IN THE CULTURE OF RENAISSANCE / L.M. BRAGINA, M., 2008 .-- 309 S.
3. A. V. Stepanov THE ART OF THE RENAISSANCE. ITALY XIV-XV CENTURY / A.V. STEPANOV, M., 2007 .-- 610 S.
4. A. V. Stepanov THE ART OF THE RENAISSANCE. NETHERLANDS, GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN, ENGLAND / A.V. STEPANOV, ABC-CLASSIC, 2009 .-- 640 p.
5. CHEMBERLIN E. THE RENAISSANCE. LIFE, RELIGION, CULTURE / E. CHEMBERLIN, CENTER POLYGRAPH, 2006 .-- 240 p.

After the completion of the main construction work in Versailles, at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries, André Le Nôtre launched an active work on the redevelopment of Paris. He carried out a breakdown of the Tuileries Park, clearly fixing the central axis on the continuation of the longitudinal axis of the Louvre ensemble. After Le Nôtre, the Louvre was finally rebuilt, the Place de la Concorde was created. The major axis of Paris gave a completely different interpretation of the city, meeting the requirements of grandeur, grandeur and splendor. The composition of open urban spaces, the system of architecturally designed streets and squares became a determining factor in the planning of Paris. The clarity of the geometric pattern of streets and squares linked into a single whole will become a criterion for assessing the perfection of the city plan and the skill of the city planner for many years. Many cities in the world will later experience the influence of the classic Parisian style.

The new understanding of the city as an object of architectural influence on a person finds clear expression in the work on urban ensembles. In the process of their construction, the main and fundamental principles of urban planning of classicism were outlined - free development in space and an organic connection with the environment. Overcoming the chaos of urban development, the architects sought to create ensembles designed for a free and unobstructed view.

Renaissance dreams of creating an "ideal city" were embodied in the formation of a new type of square, the boundaries of which were no longer the facades of certain buildings, but the space of the adjacent streets and quarters, parks or gardens, and a river embankment. Architecture strives to connect in a certain ensemble unity not only structures directly adjacent to each other, but also very distant points of the city.

Second half of the 18th century and the first third of the 19th century. in France mark a new stage in the development of classicism and its spread in European countries - neoclassicism... After the Great French Revolution and the Patriotic War of 1812, new priorities appeared in urban planning, consonant with the spirit of their time. They found the most vivid expression in the Empire style. It was characterized by the following features: ceremonial pathos of imperial grandeur, monumentality, an appeal to the art of imperial Rome and Ancient Egypt, the use of the attributes of Roman military history as the main decorative motives.

The essence of the new artistic style was very accurately conveyed in the significant words of Napoleon Bonaparte:

"I love power, but as an artist ... I love it in order to extract sounds, chords, harmony from it."

Empire style became the personification of the political power and military glory of Napoleon, served as a kind of manifestation of his cult. The new ideology fully corresponded to the political interests and artistic tastes of the new era. Large architectural ensembles of open squares, wide streets and avenues were created everywhere, bridges, monuments and public buildings were erected, demonstrating the imperial grandeur and power of power.

For example, the Austerlitz Bridge reminded of the great battle of Napoleon and was built from the stones of the Bastille. At Carrusel Square was built triumphal arch in honor of the victory at Austerlitz... Two squares (Concord and Stars), separated from each other at a considerable distance, were connected by architectural perspectives.

Church of Saint Genevieve, erected by J.J. Soufflot, became the Pantheon - the resting place of the great people of France. One of the most spectacular monuments of that time is the column of the Great Army on the Place Vendome. Similar to the ancient Roman column of Trajan, it was supposed, according to the architects J. Honduin and J. B. Leper, to express the spirit of the New Empire and the thirst for greatness of Napoleon.

In the bright interior decoration of palaces and public buildings, solemnity and stately pomp were especially highly valued, their decor was often overloaded with military paraphernalia. The dominant motives were contrasting color combinations, elements of Roman and Egyptian ornaments: eagles, griffins, urns, wreaths, torches, grotesques. The Empire style was most clearly manifested in the interiors of the imperial residences of the Louvre and Malmaison.

The era of Napoleon Bonaparte ended by 1815, and very soon they began to actively eradicate its ideology and tastes. From the Empire that disappeared like a dream, there are still works of art in the Empire style, which clearly testify to its former greatness.

Questions and tasks

1. Why is Versailles one of the greatest works of art?

As urban planning ideas of classicism of the XVIII century. found their practical embodiment in the architectural ensembles of Paris, for example, Place de la Concorde? What distinguishes it from the Italian Baroque squares of Rome in the 17th century, for example, Piazza del Popolo (see p. 74)?

2. How is the connection between the architecture of the Baroque and Classicism found expression? What ideas did classicism inherit from the baroque?

3. What are the historical prerequisites for the emergence of the Empire style? What new ideas of his time did he seek to express in works of art? What artistic principles does he rely on?

Creative workshop

1. Give your classmates a distance tour of Versailles. To prepare it, you can use video materials from the Internet. The parks of Versailles and Peterhof are often compared. What do you think are the grounds for such comparisons?

2. Try to compare the image of the "ideal city" of the Renaissance with the classicist ensembles of Paris (St. Petersburg or its suburbs).

3. Compare the design of the interior decoration (interiors) of the gallery of Francis I in Fontainebleau and the Gallery of Mirrors of Versailles.

4. Get acquainted with the paintings of the Russian artist A. N. Benois (1870-1960) from the cycle “Versailles. The King's Walk ”(see p. 74). How do they convey the general atmosphere of the court life of the French king Louis XIV? Why can they be considered as a kind of picture-symbols?

Topics of projects, abstracts or messages

"Formation of classicism in French architecture of the 17th-18th centuries"; "Versailles as a model of harmony and beauty of the world"; "A walk around Versailles: the connection between the composition of the palace and the layout of the park"; "Masterpieces of Western European Classicism Architecture"; "Napoleonic Empire style in French architecture"; Versailles and Peterhof: Comparative Experience; "Artistic discoveries in the architectural ensembles of Paris"; "Places of Paris and the development of the principles of regular city planning"; "Clarity of composition and balance of volumes of the cathedral of the House of Invalids in Paris"; "Concorde Square - a new stage in the development of urban planning ideas of classicism"; “The severe expressiveness of volumes and the parsimony of the decor of the Church of Saint Genevieve (Pantheon) by J. Soufflot”; "Features of classicism in the architecture of Western European countries"; "Outstanding architects of Western European classicism."

Additional reading books

Arkin D.E. Images of architecture and images of sculpture. M., 1990. Kantor A. M. et al. Art of the 18th century. M., 1977. (Small history of arts).

Classicism and Romanticism: Architecture. Sculpture. Painting. Drawing / ed. R. Toman. M., 2000.

Kozhina E. F. The Art of France in the 18th century. L., 1971.

Lenotr J. Everyday life of Versailles under the kings. M., 2003.

Miretskaya N. V., Miretskaya E. V., Shakirova I. P. Culture of the Age of Enlightenment. M., 1996.

Watkin D. History of Western European Architecture. M., 1999. Fedotova E.D. Napoleonic Empire style. M., 2008.