Western Architecture: 1792 to 1804
1792 CE to 1804 CE
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The Rise of Neoclassicism and the Flourishing of the Baroque Arts (17th–18th Century)
During the 17th and 18th centuries, European arts, literature, theater, music, and architecture were heavily influenced by Greco-Roman models, marking the emergence of Neoclassicism. However, in architecture and the visual arts, the period was still dominated by the Baroque style, characterized by grandeur, drama, and elaborate decoration.
In music, the Baroque period saw the development of complex polyphonic and contrapuntal techniques, as well as the birth of opera, oratorio, and cantata, laying the groundwork for later classical and Romantic music traditions.
Neoclassicism and the Baroque in Visual Arts and Architecture
- Neoclassicism emerged as a revival of Greco-Roman ideals, emphasizing harmony, symmetry, and simplicity.
- Despite this trend, architecture remained largely Baroque, featuring:
- Elaborate ornamentation and curvaceous forms.
- Dramatic contrasts of light and shadow.
- Monumental scale and theatrical effects.
- In painting and sculpture, artists such as Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini brought Baroque dynamism and emotion to religious and mythological subjects.
The Evolution of Baroque Music
The Baroque period (c. 1600–1750) was marked by the rise of:
- Opera – A dramatic, fully staged musical form combining singing, instrumental music, and theatrical performance.
- Oratorio – A large-scale musical work for choir, soloists, and orchestra, often based on biblical stories (e.g., Handel's Messiah).
- Cantata – A shorter vocal work, typically performed in churches or courts, featuring recitative and arias.
Instrumental music flourished, leading to:
- The development of fugue, concerto, sonata, and suite.
- Innovations by Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel, who explored contrapuntal (interweaving) techniques and harmonic progressions.
New Musical Instruments of the Era
The 17th and 18th centuries also saw the invention and refinement of several musical instruments, including:
- Clarinet (early 18th century) – A woodwind instrument with a rich, expressive tone.
- Pedal harp – An advancement that allowed greater versatility in key changes.
- Harmonica – A free-reed wind instrument, later popularized in folk and blues music.
- Accordion – A portable, bellows-driven instrument with both melody and harmony capabilities.
Conclusion: A Dynamic Era of Art and Music
The 17th and 18th centuries were a period of artistic evolution, where Baroque exuberance coexisted with Neoclassical ideals. While Neoclassicism would eventually dominate literature and architecture, the Baroque period revolutionized music, theater, and visual arts, leading to the creation of some of the most enduring works in European cultural history.
The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House after 1818) is laid on October 13, 1792, considered the foundation of Washington, D.C.
Washington had dismissed Pierre L’Enfant from the capital project earlier in the year because of the architect’s insistence on complete control of the project
President Washington admired James Hoban's work on his Southern Tour, may have met with him in Charleston in May 1791, and had summoned the architect to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the temporary national capital) in June 1792.
In July, Hoban had been named winner of the design competition for the White House.
His initial design seems to have had a three-story facade, nine bays across (like the Charleston courthouse).
Under Washington's influence, Hoban amends this to a two-story facade, eleven bays across, and, at Washington's insistence, the whole presidential mansion is faced with stone.
It is unclear whether any of Hoban's surviving drawings are actually from the competition.
Hoban is also one of the supervising architects who serves on the Capitol, carrying out the design of Dr. William Thornton.
Raised on an estate belonging to the Earl of Desart in Cuffesgrange, near Callan in Co. Kilkenny, Hoban han had worked there as a wheelwright and carpenter until his early twenties, when in 1780 he had received an 'advanced student' place in the Dublin Society's Drawing School on Lower Grafton Street, where he excelled in his studies and received the prestigious Duke of Leinster's medal for drawings of "Brackets, Stairs, and Roofs."
Hoban had later found a position as an apprentice to the headmaster of the Dublin Society School the Cork-born architect Thomas Ivory from 1759 to 1785.
Following the American Revolutionary War, Hoban had immigrated to the United States, and established himself as an architect in Philadelphia in 1785.
Hoban was in South Carolina by April 1787, where he has designed numerous buildings including the Charleston County Courthouse (1790–92), built on the ruins of the former South Carolina Statehouse (1753, burned 1788).
The Country Builder’s Assistant, written by Massachusetts architect Asher Benjamin and published in 1797, is the first book on architecture published in America.
He is succeeded by his son, Frederick William III, who had resented his father's lifestyle and acts swiftly to deal with what he considers the immoral state of the court.
Frederick William II is buried in the Berliner Dom.
Frederick William's first marriage, to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick (his first cousin) had ended after four years during which both spouses had been unfaithful.
Their uncle, Frederick II, had granted a divorce reluctantly, as he was more fond of Elisabeth than of Frederick William.
His second marriage lasts until his death, but he continues his relationship with Wilhelmine Enke.
In 1794–1797 he has a castle built for her on the Pfaueninsel.
Moreover, he has beeninvolved in two more (bigamist) morganatic marriages: with Elisabeth Amalie, Gräfin von Voß, Gräfin von Ingenheim in 1787 and (after her death in 1789) with Sophie Juliane Gräfin von Dönhoff.
He has had another seven children with those two women, which explains why his people also call him der Vielgeliebte ("the much loved") and der dicke Lüderjahn ("the fat scallywag").
His favorite son—with Wilhelmine Enke—is Graf Alexander von der Mark.
Other buildings constructed under his reign are the Marmorpalais in Potsdam and the world-famous Brandenburger Tor in Berlin.
Neoclassicism in architecture gives way to Greek Revival in America and Classical Revival on the Continent.
Congress passes a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for Washington’s body, supported by Martha.
In December 1800, the United States House passes an appropriations bill for two hundred thousand dollars to build the mausoleum, which is to be a pyramid that has a base one hundred feet (thirty meters) square.
Southern opposition to the plan defeats the measure because they feel it is best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.