English Period: Middle Renaissance: English Restoration | Reviews

Becca: I really liked Becca's informative furniture descriptions. She had a great layout and paragraph formation that explained the details perfectly. She listed features as well as provided images that backed up her descriptions. I now understand this period more because of it.

Erin: The focus was primarily on furniture just like Becca's. I enjoyed her information in list form because it didn't add fluff to what she wanted to say. She listed descriptions and characteristics that were very important during this period.

English Period: Middle Renaissance: English Restoration

The Middle Renaissance, otherwise known as the English Restoration period, started in 1660 and ended in 1750. During this period, there were several important people that made design thrive. Charles II and James II helped aid the Restoration, Stuart, or Carolean Period. William and Mary sparked the age of the walnut. Queen Anne set out for furniture, and George I and the portion of George II's reign started the Early Georgian or Early Chippendale period.

Sir Christopher Wren was an important figure during this time. Due to the Great fire of 1666,  it had burned a large section of London. Sir Christopher Wren, because of that, set new standards of design. This was called the Baroque urban design. It was greatly influenced by the French. He developed a new standard for housing. This included wall thickness, floor heights, and materials. This also started the zoning and construction regulations that have carried on to today. He was also the most renowned English architect of all time. His masterpiece is the St. Paul's Cathedral. This included 52 churches that have influenced other church designs as well. Their main focus of worship leaned towards Protestant rather than Catholic.

William and Mary was the age of the walnut. Their furniture consisted of straight turned legs or cup turned legs. The bottom included a low horizontal X-stretcher that was common in a lot of their furniture. Veneers were perfected, and there was also marquetry and lacquer work. Some of their furniture includes the William and Mary highboy and lowboy. They also created the settee. Some of the fabrics that they used within their design was velvet, brocade, chintz, leather, and needlepoint.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m71G-PjdIpQ
Secret rooms of St. Paul's Cathedral

Neoclassical Style | Reviews

Amanda: It was interesting to read more of an insight within the English Period. She provided great examples, such as listing off the important people of this time. I also enjoyed her images, both present and past. They represent the periods greatly.

Lisa: I liked how she went into more of an explanation with directoire. Her current application images really helped me understand the period more in depth.

Neoclassical Style

During 1760 through 1789, the Neoclassical Style came about during the French period. Because the previous period was led by women, the Rococo period ended by the women. This was very different from the past because the king and court did not rule this ending. King Louis XV's favorite women of the time turned the Rococo style into the classicism. These women included Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry. Madame de Pompadour developed art and architecture in France, sponsored work of Sevres, and lead the movement toward Eastern products. Madame de Pompadour also suggested the Petite Trianon. Madame du Barry received the Petite Trianon from the aging Louis XV, but Marie Antoinette was closely associated with it. The Petite Trianon represented the Roman forms. It had strict architectural schemes for the buildings. This included hospitals, government offices, and railroad stations. Their favorite capital of the time from the Roman forms was Doric.

The architecture was not the main focus of this period. The walls were painted to look like marble instead of actually using the material. Dark greens and reds were used to represent Pompeii. Ancient Egyptian ornamentation and decorative details resembled military symbols of the Roman armies. Like stated earlier, architecture was not as distinctive during this era; furniture stood out more than anything.

The interiors did not bring over the curves of the Rococo period. If curves did exist, it was semicircular and not free-flowing. Lines and proportions were more slender, and walls were paneled and painted with raised outer moldings. This was decorated with classical ornamentation such as the egg and dart. The panel corners often had square rosettes. The colors were pale and white/off-white with a touch of gold. The ornamentation and motifs were influenced by the Roman and Greek architecture.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Elfq5qlUY

French Baroque | Reviews

1) Kiera: I like how she went into detail about the architecture and the furniture. She provided great examples for each, such as the Palais de Versailles and the Louis XIV chair.

2) Savannah: Her images, both past and current, were beautiful. The demonstrated the exuberant fabrics and colors of this time. They also captured the subtlety that was also provided through the design elements.

French Baroque

          In 1643, Louis XIII ended up dying off. With that, Louis XIV was proclaimed King at the young age of five years old. Throughout Louis XIV's reign, he created a national style of art. The Jean Baptiste Colbert was a French statesman. This included Venetian glassmakers and Flemish weavers. French workmen could not emigrate at this time, and they enforced textile regulations. With that being said, the Academy of Painting and Sculpture was organized tor the new style of art. This was a school that was established for 60 children under the King's protection. They were said to become "Masters" of their craft throughout their schooling.

          Another important figure during this time was Nicolas Fouquet. He was the superintendent of finances in 1655-1661. He was the owner of the Vaux-leVictomte. Within this large structure was 105 lavish rooms, 170 acres of gardens, Persian carpets, crystal chandeliers, gold clocks, and silver vases. The structure entertained roughly 6,000 guests due to its massive area. Due to the Vaux-leVicomte being so rich in materials and structure, Nicolas Fouquet was imprisoned for life. The King was essentially envious of what he had owned, so he took care of it by making sure he wouldn't enjoy it for the rest of his life. On another note, Louis Le Vau was the architect, Andre Le Notre was the garden designer, Charles LeBrun was the painter for the interiors, decorator, and architect, and Puget was the sculptor.

          Palais de Versailles was another structure that had great meaning. It was originally a hunting lodge for Louis XIII. It started in 1668 and continued for almost a century. It was 12 miles southwest of Paris and housed 10,000 people; much larger than Vaux-leVictomte. Le Vau designed the central block around the original Louis XIII building. Louis Le Vau was the architect, Andre Le Notre was the garden designer, Charles LeBrun was the painter for the interiors, Puget was the sculptor, and Jean Berain was in charge of the decorative engravings. These names are repeated several times in several other structures; just like the Vaux-leVictomte as stated earlier.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsQK6F7hmJk

French Renaissance #1 | Reviews

Katie: I enjoyed the grand windows in her current application images. In the first current image, the drapery really shows off the design of this period. It is dramatic yet elegant all at the same time.

Claire: She did a good job providing examples of how this period took its time on their exteriors.The chateau examples were great to include to back up her findings. Her second image is nice because it shows the large drapery on the canopy bed.

French Renaissance #1

          The French Style was determined by religious and political history of the eras and led by their leaders. It was a time where a ruler's influence was the most pervasive in Renaissance France. The Royal "taste" determined the design styles used at this time. With that being said, France was central to Romanesque and Gothic style. Gothic was a period that gave birth to many masterpieces than any other country before. Between the Gothic and French Renaissance, they suffered difficult times. The Black Death hit hard in France in the middle of the 14th Century. Also at this time was the Hundred Year's War. This led to almost destroying France's feudal nobility in 1337 to 1453 AD.

          The decorator became prevalent during this period. Before this came about, designing a luxurious room that provided consistency and harmony was a very complex job. In order to accomplish these tasks, a new type of profession had to come about. This sparked the ornamaniste or decorator profession. The decorator's position required conceiving a great interior as well as explaining the design to a client. Part of their job was to supervise the artisans to produce the highest quality of design.

          The architecture in France was very different than Italy. There was no need for a new religious structure because they built palaces and chateaux. Exteriors became important, and there were sprawling plans on the chateaux. Their climate required that the roofs be steep. They also had many chimneys and large windows. Roofs often had two slopes with dormer windows. A roof of this time was the mansard roof. This was created by Francois Mansart, a French Baroque architect. A lot of the times the interiors did not reflect the exterior style; this is very different than today's design.

          An example of a chateau that was built during this period was the Chateau de Chambord. It was partly designed by Leonard Da Vinci. The building had magnificent chimneys, dormer windows, a double staircase, and used the fleur-de-lis. The double staircase started at opposite sides and would never meet. Fleur-de-lis was a design motif that is still used in design today.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mViV9N-1Doo

Spanish Period | Reviews

Madelyn: I really liked how she broke down the furniture and interiors during this time. She provided great examples as well. Her first current application image is very intricate.

Krista: She provided a lot of great current applications. I really loved how they showed off the pools and courtyards that were evident during this period. Good job overall.

Spanish Period

The Spanish Period was influenced greatly by the Moorish, Early Christian, Medieval, and the Italian Renaissance. The 16th century was known as the most brilliant era in Spanish history. The reasoning for this was due to the voyages of Columbus. This reigned the time where he acquired title to the New World. Successful navigators and traders resulted in fabulous amounts of gold and silver bullion. The century was ended abruptly due to bankruptcy.

This was a time where more castles were in Spain rather than any other European country. They were built of concrete walls faced with brick. Castles were typically built by noble Christian families. An example of this would be the La Mota Castle. Another example of a castle inspired building is the Granada Cathedral. This consisted of the traditional five-aisle building. The columns were Gothic in proportion and classical in its detail. It also provided Gothic vaulting within the interior.

The interiors of this time had the most artistic features. The features included superb iron grilles on windows, openings, and wrought-iron handrails. They provided colored tiles, and ceilings were pine-paneled, painted, and carved. Plasterwork was utilized as white decorative border or frame around doors and windows. The tile pictures resembled wall tapestries. Floors were covered in tile, stone, brick, or wood on the upper floors. During this time, Spain was the leading center in fine leather work. An example of this kind of work is the Cordoba leather.

Furniture was also an important feature throughout the Spanish period. The furniture provided simplicity and boldness. Heavy proportions were greatly expressed. Crude carvings and rectangular shapes were preferred. Panels were used repetitively to create a pattern. Walnut wood was the most commonly used feature; such as mahogany. Silver was also used extensively for ornamentation. Some examples of furniture include: Sillon de Frailero, wooden bench, walnut vargueno puente stand, and taquillion.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zHkAowMKrU
Video clip on Alhambra - Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Italian Renaissance | Reviews

Rachael: She did a great job providing a sufficient amount of information. Her current applications were awesome. They were very rich and detailed; showing off the time period perfectly.

Emma: I liked how she focused on one specific item: the Palazzo Davanzati. It shows that she was interested in this particular building. I also enjoyed the images she provided after her statements.

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began throughout 1400 and ended around 1600. During this time, many great artists, inventions, and the like came about such as the printing press. The Renaissance was known for the "rebirth" that began in Florence, Italy. There was a shift from a religious to a secular emphasis that was based on humanity. The Roman Catholic Church had also become very powerful; this demonstrated corruption and misconduct. Martin Luther was a great figure at the time. He created reforms within the church to rebel against what was happening with the misconduct and corruption.

Throughout this era, Residential design became extremely popular. Comfort, convenience, and beauty became very important. This differed from the past when everybody was primarily focused on safety, strength, and protection. The furniture and interiors had elaborate turnings for structural support and ornamentation. Fresco's demonstrated an expansion of space. Paneling was used along furniture and surfaces as well. The interiors showed off their decorative moldings on doors and door frames. They had elaborate coffered ceilings; this included painted walls and ceiling decorations. They also had elaborate fireplace mantels as well as pilasters that were flat decorated columns. The floors were brick, terra-cotta tile, or marble in geometric patterns. Furniture was portable and sparse. It had inlays of ivory, lapis, marble, onyx, and other stones such as marquetry. Walnut was only utilized for the finest furniture. An example of a chair is the Sedia. The Sedia is a straight box-like armchair. It has straight rectangular legs attached to the floor stretchers. It also has a turned baluster or vase-like forms that support the front of the arms. Another example of a chair is the sgabello. The sgabello is a stool with a back. It has a small octagonal or rectangular seat supported by three legs. It is used for dining or all-purpose chair styles. 

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The Printing Press

Sgabello Chair

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Extra Credit | Short clip of a modern printing press.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN_KhB9SjVs

The Americas & China and India | Reviews

The Americas
1) Haley: She did a really good job explaining each of the four regions during this time. She provided great distinctions between them as well. I enjoyed her current day applications because they were very different from images on the power point presentation.

2) Emma: She did a wonderful job on breaking down the time period. She also provided excellent images that really represented the time period. I like how she broke down a paragraph and they provided images to explain that specific paragraph. It really helped follow what actually happened.

China and India
1) Amanda: I enjoyed her images, both past and present. They were all very intriguing, and they fit well into the era! Good job overall.

2) Savannah: Her images of the present applications were really cool. I particularly liked the ceiling elements in her current applications. They still had the Chinese motif, which really tied together the whole room.

China and India

China and India reigned throughout 1600 BC to 1912 AD. Although they are different regions, they have great similarities as well as differences.

China had the  use of red and gold for a color palette. They used layers in their construction. Instead of using nails, they used joinery techniques for their structures. Their buildings were very intricate and solid due to this; especially since they were made out of wood. The structures have lasted 900 plus years and are still standing today. The buildings created today may not withstand that long of time. Another unique fact with their buildings is that they would have rituals before they placed the wood on their structures. They would light firecrackers and the like to scare off any demons or bad vibes. It was more so focusing on their religion and beliefs in order to create harmony and peace.

China and India both had a stupa. A stupa is a mound of dirt, such as a burial ground, where a more permanent structure is built over the mound. This prototype was birthed in India. The stupa came to China as Buddhism spread to that region. There were great limitations with the stupa due to it not having enough space for visitors. Due to this, Chinese invented the Pagoda; a combination of the Stupa and Chinese tower building. An example of this is the Liuhe Pagoda that was created in 1165 AD. An Indian stupa example is the Great Stupa of Sanchi.

A great architectural element during this time was the Great Wall of China. It was built of stone, brick, wood, mud, and earth. It is located along the Northern border of China. It is said to be 5,500 to 13,000 miles long. The structures included watch towers so they could watch over their land for intruders.

Some of their furniture includes the folding chair and the yoke back chair. Their overall structure of their furniture includes weightlessness, beautiful, and stability. Both regions had a lack of furniture. People mostly sat on the floors or even slept on the floors.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7BF0HiaP2s

Here's a short clip of more modern Chinese interiors.

The Americas

The Americas came about during 2000 B.C. to 1521 A.D. This time was known for its culture of nobles and commoners, hereditary leadership, divine right, farming, and sporting events. Each event made them distinctively different from the previous time periods. They had four dominating cultures: Olmecs, Mayans-Toltecs, Aztecs, and the Incas. The Olmecs were the first dominant culture in Southern Mexico, the Mayans-Toltecs thrived in Central America, the Incas were settled in Peru, and the Aztecs were within Mexico. The geography of the four cultures were within the low lands of the humid tropical region. The mountains created extreme climate shifts. This could have been why this time period came to an abrupt halt.

Their religion was based off of human sacrifice. If they were to conquer a tribe, they would kill them off and give them up for sacrifice for their Gods. They believed in many Gods, creating a polytheistic religion. Ceremonial centers were the nuclei of the Mesoamerican settlement. Temples provided spatial orientation for the town. Pyramids were meant to stand out and represent the Gods and powers of the region.

Although there were three other thriving cultures during this time, I would like to focus on the first culture that started it all. The Olmecs thrived in 2000 B.C. to 200 B.C. They were the first major civilization in Mexico. Their culture came to a sudden, violent end. The reasoning for the halt is unknown to this day. During this time, rubber was developed and the first calendar in western hemisphere was created. They started to develop their hieroglyphic writing which sparked more realistic art work. The temple was also their focus on city type. They were popular for their Mesoamerican ballgame which ended by one team dying off. An example of a sculpture during this time is the Olmec stone head; weighting approximately 40-50 tons. Their art work consisted of delicate carvings of jade, rock crystal, and less valuable stone. Ax heads, masks, and decorative objects were also considered very considerate and appealing art. Mural paintings and pottery were also prevalent. In today's world, we can still see some of their art from that exact period. A lot of things that were made out of wood did not survive due to it being a very tropical area.

Their social ways of living consisted of highly decorated homes for the Elites. They also wore elegant jewelry and clothing. Commoners lived in homes that were primarily made out of sticks and mud. This was almost as if they lived like the Prehistoric time. Their food sources were reliable for the commoners which created a very diverse diet.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVhGSSrO5mw

Gothic Design | Reviews

Erin: I like how Erin started off her explanation of the period by explaining that Gothic doesn't mean dark and demented. I also thought that her descriptions of the vaults and arches were great as well.

Rachael: I enjoyed how she bullet-pointed her explanations. It really broke down what exactly happened during this time period. She also provided great cathedral images from the era.

Gothic Design

This Gothic Design period reigned throughout 1140 to 1500, During this time, a lot of historic epidemics took place. In 1163, construction began on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. In 1180 to 1192, the third crusade took place. During 1280, eyeglasses were invented in Italy. The One Hundred Years War took place between 1337 to 1453 against the French and English. Last but not least, the Black Plague began in Europe during 1347. This ended up killing off 75 million people; nearly a third of the population.

The society had many similarities as well as differences from the Romanesques' way of life. Paris was the center of the Gothic world. Like Romanesque, churches were the center of city life. New rivals began to come about between city states and nations. Competition and unity came about within the construction of the cathedrals. Their religious expression was the heart of design. The popes had immense power on all religious aspects. The design demonstrated represented wealth and power within the church. Because there were a large number of worshipers, it required large worship spaces to accommodate the occupancy.

Just like Romanesque, the Gothic period reigned in architecture. They created and improved three great features of architecture: pointed arch, ribbed vault, and the flying buttress. Because of these new architectural features, cathedrals had an appearance of weightlessness. The interior was stemmed with tall walls with stained glass to show off their many windows. It created a transcend earthly experience when you entered the building. One of the great features in almost every cathedral of this time was the rose window. An example of the first Gothic cathedral is St. Denis. This came about in France in 1130. Within this great architectural monument, you can see the stained glass windows, the pointed arches, the rose window and many many more elements from this time.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz5YdZdqE44

Gothic Architecture in 2 minutes --

Romanesque and Islamic | Reviews

Romanesque
1) Erin K: I enjoyed her focus on the architectural elements of this period. She focused on the new masonry being used and how this supported the churches. Erin also went into detail about the furniture and interiors of the homes which really provided an insight of how they lived.

2) Claire: I liked how she went into a broad examination of the period for her first paragraph. She then transferred into a more detailed summary; focusing in on a specific church. Claire also explained a modern example of this period which really helps connect the dots from the past to present.

Islamic
1) Angie: Angie did a good job providing several examples of mosques. She explained why each mosque was different, and she provided great facts about each of them. She explain the horseshoe arches and the mosaic design that were used extensively during this time.

2) Katie: Her current application images were really great. I enjoyed how they were very modern yet showed the historical elements that came about during the Islamic time period. My favorite is the last image she provided. It shows off the use of the fountain with columns that supported the horseshoe arches.

Islamic Design

During this time, Mohammed was the head figure of the Islamic religion. He lived from 570 to 632 C.E. It is said that Islamic religion was the foundation of the Islamic design. They were heavily influenced by religion because it was an important aspect of almost everybody's life. Instead of focusing their worship through a church, their central facility for prayer and worship was a mosque. The first mosque that was utilized was Mohammad's farm. It was the first prototype for many mosques to come. Some features of the mosque were: perimeter wall, covered hall of columns, and a courtyard. The main purpose was so that the people of Islamic religion could have a place to worship and pray to God by kneeling on a carpet and facing Mecca. An example of a mosque is the Prayer Hall of the Great Mosque of Kairouan. It came about in 820-836 C.E. The architectural elements of the mosque included classic capitols with Islamic arches. A new architectural element was also shown within the interior as well; the horseshoe arch. The horseshoe arch was used extensively to show off the great details within the interior. There were a lot of columns and supports, as well, due to the heavy structure of the overall mosque.

Islamic Design was known for their mosaics. They used glass, tiles, and stones for the designs. Their mosaics were demonstrated in geometric shapes and patterns. This took part in a lot of their design elements. They also used carpet extensively; on the floors and even walls. Carpet was popular throughout this time because the people would kneel for prayer in the mosques. It provided comfort while they worshiped.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdGaQ3IiIyw

Taj Mahal video clip.