启蒙运动对现代建筑的影响(英语版)

The influence of the Enlightenment on western architecture 2011级英语一班马佳学号：201152010111
The background
The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) was a cultural movement of intellectuals beginning in the late 17th- and 18th-century Europe emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition.Its purpose was to reform society using reason, challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method.It promoted scientific thought,skepticism,and intellectual interchange.It opposed superstition and intolerance, with the Catholic Church a favorite target.Some Enlightenment philosophes collaborated with Enlightened despots,who were absolute rulers who tried out some of the new governmental ideas in practice. The ideas of the Enlightenment have had a long-term major impact on the culture, politics, and governments of the Western world. Originating about 1650 to 1700, it was sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), John Locke (1632–1704), Pierre Bayle (1647–1706), Voltaire (1694–1778) and physicist Isaac Newton (1643–1727).Ruling princes often endorsed and fostered these figures and even attempted to apply their ideas of government in what was known as enlightened absolutism. The Scientific Revolution is closely tied to the Enlightenment, as its discoveries overturned many traditional concepts and introduced new perspectives on nature and man's place within it. The Enlightenment flourished until about 1790–1800, after which the emphasis on reason gave way to Romanticism's emphasis on emotion, and a Counter-Enlightenment gained force.
The Enlightenment Assertion
The Enlightenment thinkers strongly criticized the feudal autocratic system and the spiritual pillar — the Catholic Church, described the future blueprint of "rational kingdom", provided the ideological and theoretical preparation of achievement dominance for the bourgeoisie. In France, the Enlightenment disclosed the feudal system deeply, and did sufficient preparation for the upcoming the French Revolution. After that, the Enlightenment had been spread to other parts of the world to enlighten people's thoughts and shake the feudal rule.In general,the ideological principles,what advocated by the Enlightenment ideologists,including Natural Rights,tripartite political system,freedom,equality,democracy and legality,had been widely spread.These formed a strong social ethos that shook the foundation of the feudal rule, promoted the development of capitalism,as well as promoted the social progress. Subsequently, many works of the Enlightenment ideologists had also been introduced to Asian countries such as China and Japan, that inspired those person of noble aspirations to struggle for the transformation of the old society.
Meanwhile,the principles that had been promoted by the Enlightenment --- natural rights,freedom and equality, democratic,had brought vitality to the western architecture. There was the neoclassicism in the corresponding period with the Enlightenment , after that,there also were schools of romanticism, eclecticism, organic, modernism and so on.This period could be called a hundred flowers in bloom. Comparing with the Enlightenment’s previous architectural styles, we clearly see the influence of Western Enlightenment on architecture.It made the architecture of the western styles become more diversified and closer to the lives of the ordinary people.
Different architectural styles and features in different periods Before, I will divide the Enlightenment period into two aspects to introduce different architectural styles and features of different periods.
1.The early Enlightenment-- the Baroque style
The Baroque is a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. The style began around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe.The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent, in response to the Protestant Reformation, that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement.The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumph, power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence.
In Baroque architecture, new emphasis was placed on bold massing, colonnades, domes, light-and-shade (chiaroscuro), 'painterly' color effects, and the bold play of volume and void. In interiors, Baroque movement around and through a void informed monumental staircases that had no parallel in previous architecture. The other Baroque innovation in worldly interiors was the state apartment, a sequence of increasingly rich interiors that culminated in a presence chamber or throne room or a state bedroom. The sequence of monumental stairs followed by a state apartment was copied in smaller scale everywhere in aristocratic dwellings of any pretensions.
Baroque architecture was taken up with enthusiasm in central Germany , Austria and Russia .In England the culmination of Baroque architecture was embodied in work by Sir Christopher Wren, Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, from ca. 1660 to ca. 1725. Many examples of Baroque architecture and town planning are found in other European towns, and in Latin America. Town planning of this period featured radiating avenues intersecting in squares, which took cues from Baroque garden plans. In Sicily, Baroque developed new shapes and themes as in Noto, Ragusa and Acireale "Basilica di San Sebastiano".
Another example of Baroque architecture is the Cathedral of Morelia Michoacan in Mexico. Built in the 17th century by Vincenzo Barrochio, it is one of the many Baroque cathedrals in Mexico. Baroque churches are also seen in the Philippines, which were built during the Spanish period.
Theatre
In theatre, the elaborate conceits, multiplicity of plot turns, and variety of situations characteristic of Mannerism (Shakespeare's tragedies, for instance) were superseded by opera, which drew together all the arts into a unified whole.
Theatre evolved in the Baroque era and became a multimedia experience, starting with the actual architectural space. In fact, much of the technology used in current Broadway or commercial plays was invented and developed during this era. The stage could change from a romantic garden to the interior of a palace in a matter of seconds. The entire space became a framed selected area that only allows the users to see a specific action, hiding all the machinery and technology – mostly ropes and pulleys.
This technology affected the content of the narrated or performed pieces, practicing at its best the Deus ex Machina solution. Gods were finally able to come down –literally –from the heavens and rescue the hero in the most extreme and dangerous, even absurd situations.
The term Theatrum Mundi – the world is a stage – was also created. The social and political realm in the real world is manipulated in exactly the same way the actor and the machines are presenting/limiting what is being presented on stage, hiding selectively all the machinery that makes the actions happen.
The films Vatel, Farinelli, and the staging of Monteverdi's Orpheus at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, give a good idea of the style of productions of the Baroque period. The American musician William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have performed extensive research on all the French Baroque Opera, performing pieces from Charpentier and Lully, among others that are extremely faithful to the original 17th century creations.
2.The Enlightenment period-- the neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque. In its purest form it is a style principally derived from the architecture of Classical Greece and Rome and the architecture of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro and maintains separate identities to each of its parts.
The Neoclassical period emerged as a response to the birth of a new nation. In 1783, the devastating American Revolution ends and the construction of a
new nation begins. The Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson looked towards inspiration that will define the liberated nation. They turned their heads towards ancient Rome. The creation of a national identity lasted about a century.Neoclassicism emerged after the discoveries of ancient Roman cities like Herculaneum in 1728 and Pompeii in 1748.So, before Neoclassicism reached America, it flourished in Europe. Due to the close ties with Britain and London (which had stimulated interest in neoclassical taste), Neoclassicism became a transatlantic phenomenon that spread across the ocean.Examples of Neoclassical architecture are in almost every major city in the United States.
Characteristics
Rinaldi. The White hall of the Gatchina palace. 1760s. An early example of the Italianate neoclassical interior design in Russian architecture
High neoclassicism was an international movement. Though neoclassical architecture employs the same classical vocabulary as Late Baroque architecture, it tends to emphasize its planar qualities, rather than sculptural volumes. Projections and recessions and their effects of light and shade are more flat; sculptural bas-reliefs are flatter and tend to be enframed in friezes, tablets or panels. Its clearly articulated individual features are isolated rather than interpenetrating, autonomous and complete in themselves. International neoclassical architecture was exemplified in Karl Friedrich Schinkel's buildings, especially the Old Museum in Berlin; Sir John Soane's Bank of England in London; and the newly built White House and Capitol in Washington, DC in the United States. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in St. Petersburg.
Italy clung to Rococo until the Napoleonic regimes brought the new archaeological classicism, which was embraced as a political statement by young, progressive, urban Italians with republican leanings.
Key Concepts
Neoclassicism: the revived interest in classical ideals and forms that influenced European and American society through thought, politics and fine arts during the 18th and 19th century.This term refers to the art forms created after but inspired by ancient time. This period derives from the Classicism movement.
Classicism: the period in which Greek and Roman principles and styles were reflected in society.
Nonetheless, do not mistake the two periods as interchangeable terms. Classicism refers to the art with produced in antiquity or inspired by it afterward while Neoclassicism always refers to the art inspired by ancient times, but created later.
Aesthetic
In Roman architecture, public works can be described by their simplicity of geometric forms and grandeur of scale along with dramatic use of columns
and common use of blank walls. Besides political inspiration, America wanted to build a country that was as visually appealing as ancient Rome.
American architects also wanted the buildings of the new republic to be breath-takingly beautiful while expressing a quiet, serene grandeur. The order, simplicity, clarity and reason of a free nation were beautifully reflected in society because the monuments expressed such characteristics in themselves too. Appreciation of beauty was also viewed as a vital component in the creation of the United States.
Intellectual
Ancient Romans believed in reason and order. Not only were American politics influenced but also their ideals as well. Consequently, those neoclassical ideals permeated American art and architecture. The neoclassical architecture suggested learning and moral virtue: other valuable and necessary components to the growth of America as a republic. Neoclassicism today
After a lull during the period of modern architectural dominance (roughly post-World War II until the mid-1980s), neoclassicism has seen somewhat of a resurgence. This rebirth can be traced to postmodern architecture's embrace of classical elements as ironic, especially in light of the dominance of Modernism. While some continued to work with classicism as ironic, some architects such as Thomas Gordon Smith, began to consider classicism seriously. While some schools had interest in classical architecture, such as the University of Virginia, no school was dedicated to classical architecture. In the early 1990s a program in classical architecture was started by Smith and Duncan Stroik at the University of Notre Dame. Programs at the University of Miami, Andrews University, and Judson University have trained a number of new classical architects during this resurgence. Today one can find numerous buildings such as the Schermerhorn Symphony Center again built in the neoclassical style today.
In Britain a number of architects are active in the neoclassical style. Two new university Libraries, Quinlan Terry's Maitland Robinson Library at Downing College and ADAM Architecture's Sackler Library illustrate that the approach taken can range from the traditional, in the former case, to the unconventional, in the latter case.
Conclusion
In summary, influence of the Enlightenment on Western architecture are the following aspects:
Before the Enlightenment movement,the Baroque style is mainly prevalent in religious buildings.The religious forces attacked in retaliation to the religious reforming,which promoted religious building construction,and it was also a reflection of the divine supremacy ideas. For example, the holy Cathedral is famous for its period, from the gorgeous appearance and internal modification ,we can see that the Christian Church was fairly luxurious.Until
there were various schools of the Enlightenment period,such as neoclassicism and others. The focus of architectural designing gradually transferred from the religious buildings to public buildings, such as bank and theatre.These gave full expression against oppression and the pursuit of freedom.It is affected by the natural rights of the Enlightenment and the ideas of freedom and equality,and it also was penetrated into the buildings.
Comparing with architecture at different times of the Enlightenment,we can realize that western architecture no matter the principles composition or aesthetic value or aesthetic standard has been permeated by the Enlightenment thought. In the principles composition ,it was both unified change and stability, and display the Enlightenment’s open and free, democratic thoughts; at the same time, the aesthetic value about the functional beauty, beauty about form, content, time, environment embody the characteristics of human rights, the new up, rational; aesthetic standard had reflected the principle of economic and technology, and it was also the embodiment of reason.
The Enlightenment Movement had profound influence on the West building, at that time and after,the influence has been infiltrated into the styles,sharp and artistic ideology of the construction.The Enlightenment Movement did not only chang people's points of views about architecture,but also changed people's way of thinking, which caused people to think about building the architecture and promote all-round social progress.。