Reading Comprehension 4

3. When I was coming up with the design for the Palladian floor plan and listening to the music at the same time, I kept thinking about centrality and symmetry. If you listen to the music carefully it has a great repetition to it that if you were to draw the music out it would seem symmetrical. This is where I developed my plan from, I wanted to take a square then divide that square up with a circle, so no matter which way you folded it you would always end up with the same rhythmic patterns.

4. Before you can break the rules first you must know them. In the Baroque period I feel that they knew all the rules of classicism and then turned them upside down in the most theatrical way possible. In times where classicism ruled, everything stood still with little movement, it was all about repetition and everything being symmetrical. However, this design atheistic faded when people like Bernini turned classicism on its head. Instead of having all his lines be straight and linear he decided to push the boundaries outward and introduce curvilinear lines that flowed and had movement. His statue of David is a great example, where as Michelangelo’s David is captured in a very erect manner, Bernini’s has movement and emotion. This is why the Baroque period is considered theatrical, no longer is staging beauty an option, this time period is about being in the moment and depicting action as it happens. Light also plays a huge role in the Baroque period. Light was used to enhance the beauty of the curves and enhance the contrast of the negative spaces. A great example of light play would be in the Hall of mirrors at Versai. The interior is gilded with gold statues and crystal chandeliers. The light comes in through the southern exposure that is adorned with a massive wall of windows, and then the light proceeds to bounce off the mirrors and reflects onto the statues and chandeliers. Creating the most magnificent lighting affect throughout the entire interior. This space captures a fluidity of movement through ornament, contrast, and light. An art critic of the Baroque era, Heinrich Wolffin, writes, “[the baroque's] greatest achievement, revealed a completely new conception of space directed towards infinity: form is dissolved in favor of the magic spell of light”. I feel that this quote defines Baroque and eloquently states the intent of the theatrical essence of the time period.