English Baroque is a term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).
Baroque aesthetics, whose influence was so potent in mid-17th century France, made little impact in England during the Protectorate and the first Restoration years.
Sir Christopher Wren presided over the genesis of the English Baroque manner, which differed from the continental models by clarity of design and subtle taste for classicism. Following the Great Fire of London, Wren rebuilt fifty three churches, where Baroque aesthetics are apparent primarily in dynamic structure and multiple changing views. His most ambitious work was St Paul’s Cathedral (1675–1711), which bears comparison with the most effulgent domed churches of Italy and France. In this majestically proportioned edifice, the Palladian tradition of Inigo Jones is fused with contemporary continental sensibilities in masterly equilibrium. Less influential were straightforward attempts to engraft the Berniniesque vision onto British church architecture (e.g., by Thomas Archer in St. John’s, Smith Square, 1728) and the contemporary mood soon shifted toward the stripped down orthodoxy of British Palladianism popularised by Colen Campbell’s influential Vitruvius Britannicus.
Although Wren was also active in secular architecture, the first truly Baroque country house in England was built to a design by William Talman at Chatsworth, starting in 1687. The culmination of Baroque architectural forms comes with Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Each was capable of a fully developed architectural statement, yet they preferred to work in tandem, most notably at Castle Howard (1699) and Blenheim Palace (1705). Appuldurcombe House, Isle of Wight, now in ruins, but conserved by English Heritage, must also be mentioned.
Castle Howard is a flamboyant assembly of restless masses dominated by a cylindrical domed tower. Blenheim is a more solid construction, where the massed stone of the arched gates and the huge solid portico becomes the main ornament. Vanbrugh’s final work was Seaton Delaval Hall (1718), a comparatively modest mansion yet unique in the structural audacity of its style. It was at Seaton Delaval that Vanbrugh, a skillful playwright, achieved the peak of Restoration drama, once again highlighting a parallel between Baroque architecture and contemporary theatre. Despite his efforts, Baroque was never truly to the English taste and well before his death in 1724 the style had lost currency in Britain.
In the early 18th century the style was associated with Toryism, the Continent and Popery by the dominant Whig aristocracy. At Wentworth Woodhouse, Thomas Watson-Wentworth and his son Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham replaced a Jacobean house with a substantial Baroque one in the 1720s, only to find fellow Whigs unimpressed. So a huge new Palladian building was added, leaving the older one intact.
Palladianism
Inigo Jones (1573-1652) introduced Renaissance architecture, particularly the Palladian architecture in England. Son of a Catholic tailor of Welsh origin, Inigo Jones began his studies as a painter and became a set designer and costume designer. Called to the court of Denmark, he worked for King Christian IV until 1605, when he returned home. Before returning to London, however, he had the opportunity to stay for a period in Italy. In England he entered the service of King James I and was appointed court architect. To push James I to entrust him with the task intervened the fact that Jones had been in Italy a second time, between 1613 and 1614, accompanied by the collector Thomas Howard, count of Arundel. During the trip the two friends had visited the artistic centers of Emilia and Veneto and then moved to Florence and Rome. During the return trip Jones had stopped for a long time in the Vicenza area, where he had had the opportunity to study in depth the works of Andrea Palladio. Back in London, the king gave him the task of building the Queen’s House, near Greenwich. The residence, whose work began in 1616, was initially built for Queen Anne of Denmark, but following the death of this and James I, her successor Charles I wanted to give it to his wife Henrietta Maria. The works ended in 1635. The building, modeled on the Italian country villas built during the Renaissance, in particular the Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano, represents the new orientation of English architecture and the detachment from late medieval forms.
While working on the Queen’s House continued, Jones received his second major assignment. In 1619 the king commissioned him to build the Banquet Hall in central London. For the construction of the Palace, which was to be used for court parties, Jones returned to the designs of Andrea Palladio and designed a monumental building. The building was part of the Whitehall building complex and is today the only one left intact. The banquet hall of the Banqueting House was frescoed by Rubens, on the orders of Charles I. Next to the committed orders, Inigo Jones was also chosen for the construction of public works, such as the square in Covent Garden.
The emerging architects of the time were all students of Inigio Jones, such as Isaac de Caus (1590-1648), or his family members, such as John Webb (1611-1672). Isaac de Caus, of French origins, is the creator of Wilton House, the country residence of the Counts of Pembroke, built in Venetian style. The house includes two large representative rooms where there are some paintings made at the time by van Dyck for the count of Pembroke. The design of Wilton House until recently was attributed to Inigo Jones while today we are quite sure of the authorship of Caus. John Webb and Roger Pratt (1620-1684) are known for the design of country villas commissioned by the nobility after the return of the monarchy. Webb built the palace of King Charles II at the Greenwich Hospital, while Pratt was the residence of Clarendon House.
Roman classicism
The reconstruction of Christopher Wren
With the outbreak of the civil war and the establishment of the Commonwealth under the tutelage of Oliver and Richard Cromwell, the architectural fervor that had characterized the ages of James I and Charles I was abruptly interrupted. In the post-revolutionary climate, with a clearly puritanical imprint, the architectural style of Inigo Jones had no place: the absence of a commission such as that represented by the sovereign and by the nobles of his court interrupted the great architectural production.
In 1660 with the return of Charles II to the throne, there was a renewed awakening of the arts. With the sovereign arose new forms of pictorial art, theater, music and even architecture, which in these years, considered the true years of English baroque, achieved the highest results. The main exponent of this second period, defined, Roman classicism, was Christopher Wren (1632-1723). Wren, from a realist family of scholars, studied at the Westminster School and then at Oxford. After completing his studies, he was given a professorship in astronomy at the University of London. In 1661 he was called to Oxford and was entrusted with the construction of his first two architectural works, the Sheldonian Theater (1662-1663) and the Pembroke College Chapel (1663-1665). When the works were finished in Oxford, he left for a trip to the continent; in particular he stayed in the Netherlands and France, where he studied and copied numerous construction projects, including those made by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the Louvre. During his stay in Paris he met François Mansart, Louis Le Vau and Bernini. Back in London, the city was hit by a violent plague followed by a fire that almost completely destroyed the city: the destroyed houses were 1300, the churches 88, including the cathedral.
Charles II then asked Wren to redesign the capital, but the projects presented were deemed unattainable. Nonetheless, the king entrusted him with the construction of 51 churches and the cathedral. St Paul’s Cathedral was designed by Wren with a union of different styles: the dome ideally recalls St. Peter’s in Rome (although referring to the temple of San Pietro in Montorio di Bramante in the external structure), the main facade of the Louvre in Paris. Wren was also a great maker of towers, in which he joined Gothic and Borromini elements.
Wren’s other great works were the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, Kensington Palace, and Greenwich Hospital. For the realization of Kensington Palace, Wren originally turned to the projects for the realization of the Louvre: the building, which rises on a previous Tudor house, presents itself today, inside and outside, as a union of elements of clear influence French, like the windows, and of absolute novelty, like the contrast of colors, white and red. The Royal Hospital Chelsea and the Greenwich Hospital, hospitals reserved for soldiers and sailors, present themselves as monumental buildings of clear French Baroque inspiration: model for both was the Hôtel des Invalides, built in the center of Paris by the king of France Louis XIV .
The second period
The second classical period of the Baroque sees as its principal representatives two of Wren’s pupils, John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) and Nicholas Hawksmoor (1671-1736). They operated essentially under the reigns of William III of Orange, Anna Stuart and George I Hanover. Vanburgh, of Flemish origins, grew up in aristocratic circles and was a supporter of Whig party politics, while Hawskmoor, of peasant origins, was a plasterer. In 1699 they were both commissioned by the Count of Carlisle to design Castle Howard, a monumental country house in Yorkshire. The building includes the palace, a stable, a chapel and numerous courtyards. The park is rich in architectural elements defined as “historical”, including Egyptian obelisks and Greek temples. In addition to these, Hawksmoor also dedicated himself to the construction of a large mausoleum, which became the tomb of the Howard family. The palace, of remarkable innovation, amazed the contemporaries for the drum dome, of Roman and religious character. The other great project of the two architects was the one made for Blenheim Palace. The palace, a gift from the nation to the Duke of Marlborough, winner of the army of Louis XIV during the Battle of Blenheim, is located in Oxfordshire and presents itself as another majestic country house. Like Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace is a union of different architectural styles, even if in this case the English heritage is marked: in fact there are elements already used by Inigo Jones for the London buildings, angular towers that refer to the Elizabethan age and numerous decorations echoing the Middle Ages.
The two architects were flanked by many lesser-known artists, who contributed to the reconstruction of the capital and to the decoration of large university centers such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Source From Wikipedia