Spanish Renaissance

This period is the period Emily and I presented on. It was very interesting to research all of the Spanish history and design elements. The Spanish Renaissance was influenced by the Moorish, Medieval and the Italian Renaissance. They had very successful navigators during their time that discovered the Americas and led to them finding gold and silver that was later incorporated into their buildings. The 16th century was the most important era in Spanish history. They converted the Moors to Christianity, those who didn't convert were expelled. The Alhambra was the last of the Spanish buildings created before the expulsion.

The Alhambra is a beautiful Spanish palace that has courtyards, gardens and pools. It was a great achievement of Moorish architecture.

There were two phases during the Spanish Renaissance, the Plateresco and the Desornamentado phase. The Plateresco was a Gothic influence and very delicate in its look. It resembled the look of a silversmith.                      

The plateresco phase is on the left, it is more ornamented and delicate. The desornamentado is pictured on the right and it is more plain and simple in appearance. It is usually used on the outside of court and public buildings.

The Escorial is a royal place for monarchy and was completed by Juan de Herrera. It is a highly moral building and very simple in its completion. The overall look of it is breathtaking and pleasing to the eye.

The residential design of this time period used colored tiles and iron grilles to accent the homes. The homes were generally very plain on the exterior so those helped to balance it out. The iron grilles were very popular during this time and can be found on many of their buildings.

This is an iron grille that is usually found on the exterior of windows. It adds depth and design to it that you normally don't see.

The Spanish furniture was usually heavy in proportion and very rectangular. Silver was used for ornamentation and the walnut wood was commonly used for the tables.

Above is a picture of a vargueno, it is Spain's most distinctive cabinetwork. It is commonly known for being used as a desk, but could be used for storage as well.

These are some modern applications of Spanish Renaissance. The detail and ornamentation of these rooms is remarkable.

I looked at Justine's blog and I like how she talked about the architecture and the castles during this time period. They are all just so detailed and a lot of work went into planning and constructing them. She also talked about the Plateresco and Desornamentado phases. She distinguished the two very well and talked about their different qualities. Her current applications were also very cool to look at.

I also viewed Lindsey's blog and I mostly liked how she talked about the current applications. The Spanish design is very bright and detailed. Her interior pictures were very relatable to Spanish design.

Here is a video we presented in class for our Day in the Life presentation. It takes you through Pedraza, Spain and their typical community life.

Italian Renaissance

Renaissance, meaning rebirth, takes old styles and adapts them to generate new ideas. They reformed churches, invented the printing press and moved their focus from religious architecture and building to more residential. Everyone in Italy during this time was interested in art no matter what their social status was.

The Italian Renaissance Palace, also known as the Palazzo was one of the proudest achievements of the Italian Renaissance. It has three divisions, compound windows and a heavy project cornice. It is simple yet very intriguing and pleasing to the eye.

The Palazzo Davanzati located in Florence, Italy was a transition from the Gothic period to the Italian Renaissance. Inside it contained frescoes on the walls, tapestries and fireplaces. All of which were centered around a courtyard. It stands tall at 4 floors and has a kitchen and salon on the upper levels.

Interior spaces during this time had decorative moldings, painted wall and ceiling decorations, elaborate fireplace mantels and lots of pilasters. The floors were usually made of brick or marble and the furniture was portable and if you had the finest furniture it was probably made of walnut.

The Sedia chair has straight rectangular legs attached to floor stretchers. The seat was upholstered in velvet, tapestry or ornament leather.

The Sgabello is a dining and all-purpose style stool with a back. It is very basic, the seat is a rectangle or octagon supported by three legs.

Current Applications:

I reviewed Katie's blog and I like how she focused a lot on Michaelangelo and what he went through to get to where he did. She talked about his life and the projects he worked on and how he was viewed during that time. She also did a good job at describing the interior design part of the era and what that was like. The current applications she provided were so astonishing and breathtaking. I also looked at Flor's blog and I specifically liked how she broke it up and talked about the walls, floors and ceiling separately and really focused on each. She talked about the detail that went into each and how they changed during this time which I found very interesting.

Here is a video summarizing the Italian Renaissance. It is very long but very useful!

The Americas

In the Americas, civilization was divided up between the nobles and the commoners. The elites lived in nicely decorated homes and wore the most elegant clothes while the commoners lived in so-called homes made of sticks and mud. Religion during this time was found through carvings and figurines. People thought bloodletting brought them closer to the Gods. The term polytheistic means the belief of multiple deities, supernatural immoral beings.

The Teotihuacan civilization dating from 250 B.C-900 A.D was remarkable. It was abruptly deserted and we don't know why. The ceremonial center was huge it marked a whole 2 miles in length. The central part of it was known as the "road of the dead". Below is a picture of the layout of the center and the surrounding areas. It is breathtaking to look at and shocking that it was just deserted.

The art in the Teotihuacan civilization was also very impressive, the motifs that were included in these pieces consisted of birds, butterflies and flowers. The simple shape of these pieces is somehow intriguing and makes you want to learn more about the process that went into it.

Another ceremonial site that is very overwhelming to think about how much went into it is the Chichen Itza created by the Mayans. It means the "mouth of the well of the Itza". The four sided pyramid within this site is called the Castillo standing 75 feet high.

Here are some modern designs that reflect the Incan style. Stone walls are very popular in modern homes today.