Point: Alternatives

The Sistine Chapel- Renaissance

Amalienburg- Baroque

The definition of an alternative is something existing or functioning outside the cultural norm, and being different from the usual. This is the perfect explanation of what occurred during the Baroque and Renaissance eras. When designers decided to step out of the “comfort zone”, revolutions were created that changed all that was known. People were now able to express their personal style.
After the Gothic era, when the Renaissance emerged, all classical language was reborn. The aspects of direct proportion of the colonnades on the exterior with complete building height was revamped as well as symmetry, the arch and classical ornamentation. Roundels become more apparent in buildings. The triangle above entrance-ways also reappears.
Everything in the room was designed again for a purpose. Furniture, textiles, and other ornamentation streamed from one another. They seem to all be designed to fit together and coexist so that a balance of color and texture is achieved.
However many of the “standards” of architecture were challenged and broken too. The manipulation of perspective was created. It is apparent in paintings but more importantly it is important in the interiors of buildings. For instance, the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is a flat roof, but Michelangelo modified the ceiling to appear as it was a vaulted ceiling.
Streaming from Michelangelo’s movement with perspective, in the Baroque era, walls and ceilings seem as if they melt together. The manipulation of the walls along with the use of light and mirrors created a design that was known to most as “over-the-top”.  An extreme use of high ornamentation and filagree created a chaotic atmosphere that was sometimes overwhelming. Contrarily though, the Baroque era had far less furniture in terms of mobile furniture, i.e chairs and tables.
Like all extreme things, the Baroque era eventually fizzled out, while the Renaissance kept moving and is still thought by many to exist today. Classic ornamentation never goes away. It is the standards that hold all together. Most eras are fads. The reason all eras besides the ones that derive solely from the Egyptians and Greeks fail is because they try to hard to break the rules. Just like anything, straying away from the norms of everyday is something most can't adapt to, not only in architecture but in anything. It may be fun for a while, but eventually everything always reverts back to the original principles.