Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo Architecture

Renaissance architecture is split into three periods: Early Renaissance (ca. 1400-1500), High Renaissance (ca. 1500-1525), and Late Renaissance (ca.1525-1600). Renaissance architects moved away from the intricacy and verticality of the Gothic architecture style in favor of the simplicity and balanced proportions of classicism. The classical orders were revived, including rounded arches and domes; this was done through observation of Roman ruins and study of the treatise Ten Books on Architecture, written by Roman architect Vitruvius. Renaissance architecture features planar classicism, in which the walls of a Renaissance building are adorned with columns, pilasters, pediments, and blind arches of a minor physical depth so as to not intrude on the two-dimensional appearance of the walls. Renaissance architecture also divides a wall into neat sections using columns, pilasters, and stringcourses. Indeed, a building done in the Renaissance style consists of many similar sections so as to not draw the eye to a particular part of the building. The major Renaissance building types were the church, palazzo, and villa. Renaissance architecture flourished primarily in Italy from 1400-1600, only spreading across the rest of Europe during the latter half of this period. Devotion to the Gothic style caused the transition to Renaissance architecture outside of Italy to slow, causing much non-Italian Renaissance architecture to be a mix of Gothic verticality and Renaissance simplicity. France was the leading region of Renaissance architecture in northern Europe, with the primary building type being the chateau; the influence of French Renaissance architecture then spread across much of northern Europe.
Two leading Early Renaissance architects were Brunelleschi and Alberti. Filippo Brunelleschi, the first great Renaissance architect, was primarily a designer of churches. His most famous work is the octagonal brick dome of Florence Basilica. Brunelleschi 's dome was the largest

Cited: http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/Historic-Styles/Rococo.htm http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/architecture/renaissance/ http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/architecture/baroque/