Francesco Borromini

Francesco Borromini (actually Francesco Castelli, born September 25, 1599 Bissone, Switzerland, † August 2, 1667 in Rome ) was an Italian architect from active afterwards the Canton Ticino ( Switzerland ).

Life

At a young age Francesco Castelli way to Milan and received in the local cathedral workshop training as a stonemason. After his apprenticeship years he settled in Rome. There he took the additional name Borromini, possibly from veneration of Saint Charles Borromeo, at. From 1619 Borromini worked in the building works at St. Peter's Basilica, which was led by his uncle Carlo Maderno. During this time he studied intensively the ancient world and especially the works of his great idol Michelangelo. With his mentor and teacher Maderno he worked at the Palazzo Barberini, until it died. Gian Lorenzo Bernini took over the site management and, in addition, the Board received the architect of St. Peter. Borromini worked under him as an assistant. After a few years it came to battle and break between the two, and it began a lifelong rivalry.

Pope Innocent X ( 1644-55 ) granted Borromini his confidence, so he could oust his arch rival Bernini from the position of the leading Roman architect in the following years. But even under the next pope, Alexander VII ( 1655-67 ), Borromini lost this position and was only sparsely entrusted with new orders. Bernini's star shone the other hand, again in all its glory. So Borromini dedicated to the expansion and completion of already started building, such as the interiors of the churches of Sant ' Ivo alla Sapienza, Sant'Andrea delle Fratte and San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. He also finished the basement of the facade of his first work, the small church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane on the Quirinal in Rome.

In the summer of 1667 befell him depression, which eventually led to that he on August 2, took his own life. He was buried in the grave of Carlo Maderno in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini.

Work

While Bernini's design language follows the classical canon and can largely be attributed to the model of Michelangelo to Borromini tried about helping to novel expressive content by an individual interpretation of the classic architectural forms of architecture. He worked with plastic, yes organically shaped, usually held completely in white interiors and concave curved facades. His idiosyncratic inventions earned him the reputation as the flamboyant, " bizarre " and " gothic " to build. An example of this is the " perspective" in the courtyard of the Palazzo Spada in Rome: The back -smaller columns suggest a spatial depth extension that is not present in reality, and let the figure at the end appear much larger than it actually is.

In its immediate aftermath, he initially remained behind Bernini. Only in Guarino Guarini he found a successor. In the 18th century, the age of the late Baroque, imitated his style of decorating one, which was disseminated through engravings, in many places by, for instance in -built in 1735 by Giuseppe Sardi Roman church of Santa Maria Maddalena.

The largest part of Borromini zeichnerischem oeuvre is now in Vienna Albertina Graphic Collection.

As a born today in Switzerland artist Borromini was shown on the 100 Swiss Francs banknote of the 1980s. On the occasion of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Borromini's a 33 -meter-high wooden model was built under the direction of Mario Botta in Lugano, which is the section of the church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane shows in the original scale.

Structures

  • Oratory of the Filipinos in addition to the Chiesa Nuova
  • Santi Apostoli (Naples): Filomarino Altar
  • San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
  • Santa Lucia in Selci ( restoration)
  • Sant ' Ivo alla Sapienza
  • Sant ' Agnese in Agnone
  • Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano ( Baroque style of the nave )
  • Sant'Andrea delle Fratte ( dome and bell tower )
  • Santa Maria dei Sette dolori
  • San Giovanni in Oleo ( restoration)
  • Cappella Spada, San Girolamo della Carita ( with Virgilio Spada )
  • Palazzo Barberini
  • Palazzo Spada ( Perspective Colonnade )
  • Palazzo Pamphili ( ballroom and gallery)
  • Palazzo Giustiniani ( remodeling )
  • Palazzo Falconieri ( remodeling and decorating )
  • Palazzo di Propaganda Fide
Italy Classical antiquity Pope Alexander VII Major depressive disorder Aesthetic canon Santa Maria in Vallicella Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, Rome Paolo Portoghesi Anthony Blunt Integrated Authority File
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