DU2402 Baroque in Rome: Bernini versus Borromini

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Jiří Kroupa, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Kroupa, CSc.
Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 12:00–13:40 K21, except Mon 18. 11. to Sun 24. 11.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites are not required.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and Francesco Borromini (Castelli – Borromini; 1599-1667): The significance of both creators for baroque architecture, not only Italian, is extraordinary. Recently, both the eight-part television series La libertà di Bernini (2014) and the film Borromini and Bernini: a challange to perfection (2023) were dedicated to them.
Based on their intertwining biographies, the aim of the course will be to show
(a) what is Baroque in architecture,
(b) explore their interrelationship (and influence) in known creative contradiction, and
(c) pay attention to their main realisations from the position of art history as the history of artistic tasks (Kunstaufgabe).
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course the student will be able to:
- identify the principles of Baroque architecture;
- explore the relationship between the two personalities.
Syllabus
  • I. INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
  • 1. What is Baroque I: Cornelius Gurlitt, Alois Riegl, August Schmarsow
  • 2. What is Baroque II: Heinrich Wölfflin, Václav Richter, Germain Bazin
  • II. THE BEGINNINGS OF BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE IN ROME
  • 3. Sources – biographies (Baglione, Passeri, Baldinucci)
  • 4. Mannerism, Late Renaissance, Proto-Baroque: Romans, Lombards, Tuscans
  • 5. Carlo Maderna
  • III. BERNINI AND CASTELLI-BORROMINI: UNTIL THE 1640s
  • 6. Natura versus gravitas: the early works of Borromini and the meteoric rise of Bernini
  • 7. Palazzo Barberini: the birth of Baroque architecture
  • 8. The affair around St. Pietro, Borromini becomes an architect, end of personal collaboration
  • V. THE AGE OF INNOCENT X. (1644-1655)
  • 9. Architectural commissions in Baroque Rome: servitu particolare versus offer of invention
  • 10. Sant'Ivo: the first three minutes of the project and the long realization of the transforming tasks
  • 11. The City Palace in the Baroque: specification and variations of an architectural task
  • VI. THE AGE OF ALEXANDER VII. (1655-1667)
  • 12. Roma Alessandrina and the new rise of Bernini
  • 13. Realizations of the 1660s: the French glory of Bernini (1664) and the death of Borromini (1667)
  • VII. ACCADEMIA DI SAN LUCCA IN ROME
  • 14. The last three decades of the 17th century
  • 15. Bernini and Borromini - the challenge to perfection and its legacy
Literature
    recommended literature
  • BORSI, Franco. Gian Lorenzo Bernini : Architekt : das Gesamtwerk. Stuttgart: Belser, 1983, 376 stran. ISBN 3763017585. info
  • Borromini : Architekt im barocken Rom : 409. Ausstellung, 12. April-25. Juni 2000 : [Austellung zum vierhundertsten Geburtstag des Architekten : Wien, Albertina im Akademienhof]. Edited by Richard Bösel - Christoph Luitpold Frommel. Mailand [i.e. Milano]: Electa, 2000, xii, 633. ISBN 8843573837. info
    not specified
  • Bernini : Erfinder des barocken Rom. Edited by Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Hans-Werner Schmidt - Sebastian Schütze - Jean. Bielefeld: Kerber, 2014, 367 s. ISBN 9783735600011. info
  • Il giovane Borromini. Dagli esordi a San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Ed.: Manuela Kahn-Rossi - Marco Franciolli. Milano 1999
  • BALDINUCCI, Filippo. Filippo Baldinuccis Vita des Gio. Lorenzo Bernini. Translated by Alois Riegl. Wien: Anton Schroll & Co., 1912, iv, 284. info
Teaching methods
Series of lectures.
Assessment methods
Oral colloquium.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2024/DU2402