ARTH:2020 - Western Architecture
Abbey Church of St. Pierre (AKA Cluny III) Cluny, France (c. 1088-1121 AD) → [Romanesque]
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Hall of Abencerrajes in the Alhambra Palace Granada, Spain (c. 14th century AD) → [Islamic]
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King's College Chapel Cambridge, England (c. 1508-1515 AD) → [English Gothic]
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Laon Cathedral Laon, France (begun c. 1160 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Mihrab dome, Great Mosque of Cordoba Cordoba, Spain (c. 962-66 AD) → [Islamic]
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Milan Cathedral Milan, Italy (c. 1386) → [Late Gothic]
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Nave of Chartres Cathedral Chartres, France (c. 1194 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Notre-Dame Paris, France (c. 1163-1300 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Octagon, Ely Cathedral Ely, England (c. 1332- AD) → [English Gothic]
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Palazzo Vecchio Florence, Italy (c. 1299-1315) → [Late Gothic]
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Sainte-Chapelle Paris, France (c. 1241-1248 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Salisbury Cathedral (nave) Salisbury, England (c. 1220-1260 AD) → [English Gothic]
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San Miniato al Monte Florence, Italy (mid- 11th-12th centuries AD) → [Romanesque]
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Santa Croce Florence, Italy (c. 1296 AD) → [Late Gothic]
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Speyer Cathedral Speyer, Germany (c. 1030-1080 AD) → [Romanesque]
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St. Sernin (nave and choir) Toulouse, France (c. 1080-1120 AD) → [Romanesque]
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Strasbourg Cathedral (Plan B) Strasbourg, France (circa 1277) → [Late Gothic]
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Taj Mahal Agra, India (c. 1631-48 AD) → [Islamic]
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Florence Cathedral (Duomo) Florence, Italy (nave begun c. 1357) → [Late Gothic]
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Girona Cathedral Girona, Spain (c. 1312 AD) → [Late Gothic]
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Hagia Sophia Istanbul, Turkey (c. 532-537 AD) → [Byzantine] designed by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Architectural Significance: - In its prime it was the world's largest interior space. - One of the first uses of the fully pendentive dome. - Considered to be the epitome of Byzantine architecture (= pendentive dome; central-plan (centralized core was usually square); key aspects of structure, lighting, and decoration; differences from Early Christian structures = symbolism overshadowed functionalism [reversed priorities]; ) Cultural Significance: - the building stands as a monument to Emperor Justinian's ambition and character. - Justinian didn't rely on local craftsman and instead employed two guys from outside the building trade (Anthemius and Miletus)
Pont du Gard Aqueduct Nimes, France (early 1st century AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - Three levels on arches, and from one level to the next the span of the arches is not constant. Each one is a slightly different width of span, which was intentional to protect the bridge against subsidence (aka gradual sinking or caving). - even though Egyptians invented the arch early on, the Romans were the ones to systematically apply them to a wide range of structures.
(west façade) Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg, France (c. 1277) → [Late Gothic]
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Ambulatory, Basilica of Saint-Denis abbey Saint-Denise, France (c. 1140-1144 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Amiens Cathedral (nave) Amiens, France (begun c. 1220 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Annenkirche Annaberg, Germany (c. 1499 AD) → [Late Gothic]
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Arcade hall at Great Mosque of Cordoba Cordoba, Spain (begun c. 786 AD) → [Islamic]
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Beauvais Cathedral Beauvais, France (late 13th century AD) → [French Gothic]
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Bourges Cathedral (choir) Bourges, France (c. 1195 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Chartres Cathedral Chartres, France (c. 1145 century, rebuilt again after fire in 1194 AD) → [French Gothic]
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Dome of the Rock Jerusalem, Israel (c. 691-92 AD) → [Islamic]
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Durham Cathedral Durham, England (c. 1093 AD) → [Romanesque]
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Façade of Saint-Maclou Rouen, France (c. 1500-1514 AD) → [Late Gothic]
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Palatine Chapel Aachen, Germany (c. 796-805 AD) → [Carolingian] designed by Odo of Metz
Architectural Significance: - (preeminent) surviving Carolingian structure. - domed, double-shelled, two-storied octagon = reminiscent of Early Christian and Byzantine architecture. - modeled closely after St. Vitale in Ravenna (c. 526 AD), but now we notice the differences between them more than anything→ Palatine doesn't have the same fluidity and instead has sharp definitions and regular patterns, much more "chunky" and heavy. - essentially what they did was rebuild St. Vitale (one of the most impressive late antique buildings) in the structural mode of the "classic" Roman architecture at the time of the Colosseum. - towering enturance shows one of the major themes in medieval architecture = monumental facade, (which connects Palatine to another, very different, Carolingian building). Cultural Significance: - at Charlemagne's palace, [Charlemagne r. 768-814 AD]. - would be perceived as an antique revival. - took place in an age that was cut of from antique traditions but were desperately seeking to revive them as part of a new world order.
Basilica Trier, Germany (early 4th century AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - Constantine recycled the design of the Roman baths and adjusted them to be used for the basilicas he was building. - simple rectangular, unvaulted hall set before a huge semicircular apse, 2 rows of windows = structurally simple architecture of space, light, and surface (similar to Early Christian architecture). - looks like a fancy WW2 gas chamber. Cultural Significance: - was NOT used for commercial and legal affairs of the citizenry, instead it was essentially an Imperial Audience Hall.
Palace at Knossos (main staircase) Crete, Greece (c. 1500 BC) → [Crete and Mycenae]
Architectural Significance: - Cretan architecture rejected axiality, symmetry, and abstraction that the East used. - was colorful, atmosphere was comforting and informal. - relied heavily of wood and gypsum (which is why it is partially gone). - shaft of column tappers downward which is new Cultural Significance: - like the palaces of Babylon and Khorsabad it was more than just a residence; it was also a religious focal point. - Cretans were traders who built pleasure palaces and didn't have a definitive tomb type
Hypostyle Hall, Temple of Amun at Karnak Karnak, Egypt (c. 1305-1205 BC) → [Egypt]
Architectural Significance: - Differentiation between open papyrus flowers columns and closed papyrus-bud columns. - architectural illusionism = the open bud flowers were in the aisles with more sunlight from clerestory windows while the closed bud types were further. Cultural Significance: - hieroglyphs on the
Temple of Olympian Zeus Athens, Greece (c. 170 BC) → [Corinthian]
Architectural Significance: - HUGE, made Parthenon look small. - after this was constructed the Corinthian order became the principle exterior for temples. influential. Cultural Significance: -
Baths of Caracalla Rome, Italy (c. 211-217 BC) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - Roman baths = example of architectural functionalism. - 1 of the 2 largest and best preserved Imperial baths. Cultural Significance: - this demonstrates the Roman passion for giving rigorous order/symmetry to the world; reflects the standards of the Imperial Roman officialdom.
Maison Carrée Nîmes, France (c. 20 BC) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - a official Augustan temple of Corinthian splendor - new feature: the cella is expanded laterally to the very edge of the temple. This required the outermost row of columns to become half-columns along the outer wall of the cella (arrangement known as pseudoperipteral) ←fusion of Etruscan and Greek features. Cultural Significance: - the most famous example of the period where Augustus built temples with marble ("found a city of brick and left it one of marbel")
Palace of Diocletian Split, Yugoslavia (c. 300 AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - a rigidly symmetrical architectural response to a Roman world threatened by barbarian hordes. essentially Diocletian's PTSD influenced his taste in architecture. - built in the form of a powerful castrum fort. Cultural Significance: - Diocletian was the emperor of Rome and had a co-emperor, Maximianus. both of the emperors-in-retirement had their own villas by the sea and the styles of each were heavily contrasting by design.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Halicarnassus, Achaemenid Empire (Turkey) (c. 353 BC) → [Hellenistic]
Architectural Significance: - a tall base 100 ft square, a second story which was the tomb chamber, then on top of that was a square based pyramid, then a platform at the tippy top of 4-horse chariot. Cultural Significance: - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. - built for King Mausolus by his wife after he died
Pisa Cathedral complex Pisa, Italy (began c. 1063 AD) → [Romanesque]
Architectural Significance: - colonnades and decorative use of pointed arches - fusion of several different periods' styles: Early Christian Basilican→ cross vaults; Romanesque technology→ thick supporting arches; Gothic style→ arches and highly ornate decorations. Interior also demonstrates the transition between Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic styles. - initially built in Romanesque style but overall plan is a Latin cross plan. Cultural Significance: - the complex is an icon of devotion, because it took over 100 years to build.
Lion Gate Mycenae, Greece (c. 1250 BC) → [Crete and Mycenae]
Architectural Significance: - cyclopean jambs and lintel, triangular relief of two heraldic lions. - fused the Egyptian monumental stone carving element (Lion relief) with a sensitivity to the organic logic. - the triangular relief over a post-and-lintel form technique became commonplace in Greek architecture Cultural Significance: -
Porta Nigra Trier, Germany (c. 200 AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - designed for their visual impressiveness as well as their "defensive potency". - 1 of the 2 most visually elaborate gates of this type, was not in Rome but instead in a decentralized Roman port city where they were more likely to get attacked. Cultural Significance: - built to defend distant Roman provinces from incursions of barbarians which were once again a serious threat.
Pyramids of Menkure, Khafre, and Khufu Giza, Egypt (c. 2750-2530-2500 BC) → [Egypt]
Architectural Significance: - during the 4th dynasty (Khufu) was when they were first able to construct a entirely sloped pyramid (52º) Cultural Significance: - (1) Khufu, (2) Khafre, (3) Menkure - the pyramids at Giza were the supreme Egyptian response to the vast landscape and the pharaonic will to immortality.
Model of typical Etruscan temple (as described by Vitruvius) (c. 530 BC) → [Etruscan]
Architectural Significance: - even though it depended on Greek models it did not clearly embody them. - had a simpler prostyle arrangement (columns across front), not the peripteral form (rows of columns around perimeter) - tetrastyle porch. - most popular column type used was the Tuscan order which they invented (blend of Greek orders)→ later became a favorite of the Romans as well. - 4 columns in front widely spaced: which drew the viewer's attention NOT towards the columns but towards the interior porch decoration and the ornamental roof (= visual centerpiece of the building). Cultural Significance: - written description of the "Templum Etruscum" in De Architectura by Vitruvius (= Roman architect)
Orthodox Baptistery Ravenna, Italy (c. 400-450 AD) → [Early Christian]
Architectural Significance: - excessive interior decor and ornaments cover the surrounding walls = marble inlays, stucco sculpture, mosaic designs. - exterior is a square plan with rounded corners, interior is a niched octagon. Cultural Significance: - c. 402 AD the Western capital was moved from Milan to Ravenna. - Emperor Justinian reconquered Italy from the Ostrogoths and gave it back to the Byzantine Empire, making Ravenna the residence of Byzantine officials.
Temple of Artemis Ephesus, Turkey, (6th-4th centuries BC) → [Ionic]
Architectural Significance: - from this structure (even though its in ruins) we can get an idea of what other Ionic temples where like Cultural Significance: - considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Temple of Venus Baalbek, Lebanon (3rd century AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - integrates a tetrastyle porch with a domed cella. - material used was cut-stone voussoirs NOT concrete. Cultural Significance: - although unusual, it seems to be modeled after the Pantheon in Rome even 200-ish years later.
Altar of Zeus Pergamon, Turkey (c. 197-159 BC) → [Hellenistic]
Architectural Significance: - late Hellenistic trends. - lower zone of the monument next to the stairs was faced with the finest sculptural work of the Hellenistic period = a huge, passionate, and active frieze of the Battle of the Gods and the Giants Cultural Significance: - (random fact that might help me remember this shit better: the beginning of the Hellenistic period is marked by the death of Alexander the Great in c. 323 BC)
Reims Cathedral (west façade) Reims, France (c. 1241- AD) → [French Gothic]
Architectural Significance: - masterpiece of Gothic architecture (French High Gothic period). - compact & unified appearance. Style of elegance and refinement Cultural Significance: - was the site of 25 coronations of the kings of France
Katholikon and Theotokos churches Monastery of Hosios Loukas Phocis, Greece (10th-11th centuries AD) → [Byzantine]
Architectural Significance: - medieval Byzantine style = conservative and small in scale, less architecturally dynamic, relied more on function and meaning/symbolism. - later Byzantine architecture shaped around the ritual of mass - example of one of the most common type of medieval Byzantine churches cross-in-square or quincunx Cultural Significance: - all of the subsequent phases of Byzantine architecture are still not completely understood.
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut Deir el-Bahari, Egypt (c. 1450 BC) → [Egypt] designed by Senmut
Architectural Significance: - mortuary temples became a necessary development after the decline of pyramids. - designed by Senmut. - monument characterized the shift from the compact geometry of the Old Kingdom pyramids (= self contained majesty) to the linear composition of the New Kingdom temples (= worshiper as an active participant). - the closest that Egypt came to the architecture of the Classical world. Cultural Significance: - New Kingdom temples caused worshipers to become active participants.
Xerxes's Hall of 100 Columns Persepolis, Iran (c. 480 BC) → [Ancient Near East]
Architectural Significance: - one of Persepolis' top three principle structures. - open space and airy, unlike the cramped environment of Mesopotamian construction. - hypostyle interior, columns topped with heraldic bulls, landscaping, ornamented columnar detail. Cultural Significance: - Persians were Zoroastrians which made them a secular community more-or-less which caused their architecture to be simple and functional
Step Pyramid of King Zoser Saqqara, Egypt (c. 2750 BC) → [Egypt]
Architectural Significance: - part of a larger complex - evolution from the traditional funerary mastaba into the first (step) pyramid. - used new material: cut stone instead of sun baked bricks. Cultural Significance: - For King Zoser (Third Dynasty). - assisted by Imhotep = aka the first recorded architect in history.
Church of St. Riquier Centula, France (c. 790-799 AD) → [Carolingian]
Architectural Significance: - plan recalls the Early Christian basilica. - helped further develop the Constantinian prototype→ transformed the fundamental concept of the basilica. - Cultural Significance: - destroyed in late Middle Ages
Stonehenge Salisbury Plain, England (c. 2000 BC) → [Prehistory]
Architectural Significance: - post-and-lintel = system of architectural construction based on vertical supports and horizontal beams - Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated and only surviving lintelled stone circle in the world.
Solomon's Temple Jerusalem, Israel (10th century BC) → [Ancient Near East]
Architectural Significance: - rectangular structure surrounded by courtyards, two bronze columns. - comparable to the Greek temple and its predecessor the Aegean megaron. Cultural Significance: - primary symbol of Jewish religion and culture. - was destroyed when Israel was conquered by Babylonians (587-586 BC) then rebuilt (519-515 BC) replaced again then destroyed by Romans (70 AD)
Monument of Julii Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France (c. 40-30 BC) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - rejection of the old earth-hugging Etruscan type of tomb Cultural Significance: - an extroverted structure designed to impress the passerby rather than envelop the deceased with a monumental space.
San Vitale Ravenna, Italy (c. 526 AD) → [Byzantine]
Architectural Significance: - relatively small and schematically related to Hagia Sophia ("double-shell" plan with an octagonal core). - architecturally more strict/disciplined Cultural Significance: - construction began under Ostrogoth rule but finished under Byzantine rule. - an example of other Justinianic Structures (aside from Hagia Sophia) which provided a better point of departure for subsequent development.
The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar with Ishtar Gate Babylon (Iraq) (c. 575 BC) → [Ancient Near East]
Architectural Significance: - soft and elegant, contrasted with the Assyrian stiffness and Sumerian functionality. - lavish ornaments and enameled brick reliefs; Lapis lazuli blue glazed brick. - Babylon now surrounded by defensive walls and the Ishtar Gate was the most famous entrance into the city. Cultural Significance: - last Assyrian kingdom fell in c. 612 BC. - Assyrian kings (like Nebuchadnezzar) in Babylon maintained political independence and decided to revive Babylonian culture instead of continuing Assyrian ways → rebuilt shit and new palaces were constructed in the old manner.
Erechtheion Athens, Greece (c. 420 BC) → [Ionic]
Architectural Significance: - very unusual composition. no two sides were the same, 3 different porches, etc. - only ordinary composition is to the east which is the main facade = a hexastyle Ionic porch. - Porch of the Maidens, south side, 6 female figures as columns = "caryatids"→ hints at the underlying anthropomorphism of the Greek orders; the columns were seen through the lens of the human image. Cultural Significance: - sacred because it included→ the tomb of Cecrops (the legendary founder of Athens); rock with the mark of Poseidon's trident; sacred olive tree of Athena. - was eventually turned into a church and then a Turkish harem.
Hagia Sophia Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey (c. 532-537 AD) → [Byzantine] designed by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Architectural Significance: - the "ideal" Byzantine model. - the building does not develop uniformly in all directions, but only with bilateral symmetry. - at the same time the church is centralized AND longitudinal in orientation, square AND octagonal, and 4 levels high. - The structural elements were intentionally hidden, the structure was means to "flow" = this becomes even more clear when compared to the Pantheon (it's Roman counterpart) - columns meant to echo Classical models. - mosaic, one of the greatest examples of marble incrustation in the ancient world. - precarious structure, unconventional and risky. The structure was/is unstable ∴ collapsed on two different occasions. It's amazing that the building is still standing at all. Cultural Significance: - meant to reflect Emperor Justinian's ambition and character. - Justinian = very religious and was convinced he was on a divine mission to reestablish orthodoxy. - Justinian brought in 2 men from outside the building trade (Anthemius = natural scientist + geometer; Isidorus = professor of physics) to construct the dome bc he recognized that no trade-bound professional would take the risk.
Trinity Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury, England (c. 1175-1184 AD) → [English Gothic] designed by William of Sens
Architectural Significance: - the Trinity Chapel was a Early Gothic style add-on to the existing Romanesque Canterbury Cathedral Cultural Significance: -
Forum of Trajan Rome, Italy (c. 113 AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - the entrance way resembled a triumphal arch - contained many statues of Trajan inside of the forum. - at the center rose the Column of Trajan which proclaimed his mastery over nature (bc the column is so incredibly tall) and also his mastery over mankind (bc surface of the column was covered with reliefs of how he won the Dacian wars). Cultural Significance: - the last forum added by Julius Caesar to the group of other forums.
"Treasury of Atreus" tholos. Mycenae, Greece (13th century BC) → [Crete and Mycenae]
Architectural Significance: - the most important tomb type was the tholos = pointed dome with corbeled structure. - dromos = sloping entrance passage that sunk into the ground. - like the Egyptians, Mycenaeans recognized that the key to long lasting structures was geometry and proportions. - the inside was decorated with rosettes and ornamental frieze bulls Cultural Significance: - Mycenaeans were warriors who built citadels and tombs -
Arch of Titus Rome, Italy (c. 90 AD) → [Roman]
Architectural Significance: - triumphal arch = structure bearing statuary and inscriptions to commemorate the feats of successful Roman generals. - earliest preserved arch of this kind - the capitals of the half-columns are the first known examples of the "Composite order"→ a Roman invention that joins the Corinthian leaves with the Ionic volutes. Cultural Significance: - erected in honor of the conqueror of Palestine
Basilica Paestum, Italy (c. 530 BC) → [Doric]
Architectural Significance: - unique to the Doric frieze = vertical grooved elements (triglyphs) between nearly square fields (metopes) - this temple differs a little bit from the "ideal" doric temple: 9 columns at the short ends is rare; the 18 columns on the sides are spaced wider than the ones on the ends; 8 columns in the middle; - after the change from timber to the more durable monumental, stone technique then we start to find standing remains. - one of the most remarkable archaic doric temples. - the oldest temple at Paestum. Cultural Significance: -
Valley Temple of Khafre Giza, Egypt (c. 2530 BC) → [Egypt]
Architectural Significance: - use of megalithic limestone. post and lintels Cultural Significance: -Built to carry out the mummification and purification process before the pharaohs were left in the pyramid. - This demonstrates how important death and the afterlife were to the Egyptians.
