What are the characteristics of the architectural styles of the 19th century?

By the mid-19th century, after romanticism became the mainstream of Western art, the pursuit of this sentiment turned into a more complete theory of Gothic revival. In countries such as England and Germany, the Gothic Revival also received a major boost from the anti-Napoleonic struggles, much like the Greek Revival in the late Neoclassical period there. It turns out that Britain and Germany were the main anti-Napoleonic forces. In the fields of literature, art and architecture, in response to Napoleon's imperial style of pursuing ancient Rome, they took out ancient Greece from their classical treasure trove to fight against ancient Rome, and at the same time endowed Gothic with The special style connected the national style with the propaganda that the anti-Napoleonic war was a national war, so that the national significance of the Gothic style was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which made people feel more friendly than the Greek revival.

It is along the development of this ideological mood that the spirit of Gothic is not only religious, but also secular and political to a large extent. Therefore, when the Houses of Parliament in London, England needed to be rebuilt after being destroyed by fire, the chosen plan was ultimately determined to be Gothic. The result was the existing Gothic style building designed by Charles Barry (1795-1860). The British Parliament Building has a classical and rigorous appearance. The British Parliament Building, the Palace of Westminster, is located on the west bank of the Thames River. Looking across the river, it looks majestic and majestic, making an unforgettable impression.

In fact, in order to meet the needs of various agencies of the Congress with an increasing number of personnel, the scale of this building is very large, with staggered courtyards and numerous halls. Barry adopted a neat and uniform layout of more than 300 meters along the river. The building shows the unity of layout and the majesty of style, and the stylistic processing of architectural details and carvings by Augustus Pugin (1812-1852), an expert in Gothic craftsmanship, makes its Gothic charm more accurate. In addition, it is very characteristic of the times. Among this long group of buildings, several Gothic towers of different sizes rise abruptly and asymmetrically, including the famous Big Ben tower. With its majestic, beautiful and well-proportioned layout Shows the free and romantic spirit.

With the British Parliament Building as an example, government buildings, courts, auditoriums, train stations and hotels in cities in the UK, Europe and the United States all adopted this Gothic style, which became popular for a while. At the same time, the theoretical research on Gothic Revival has made in-depth progress, and we have a relatively thorough understanding of the detailed decoration, structural system and overall spirit of Gothic architecture. Therefore, at this time, we can not only design a quite authentic and typical Gothic church, but also renovate it and build a castle with a strong medieval style and romantic atmosphere and as beautiful as a fairy tale wonderland. The advantages of romantic architecture can be said to be fully exerted. .

In the development of Western architecture in the first half of the 19th century, we saw the restoration of ancient Greek and Roman styles by neoclassicism, and the restoration of medieval or Gothic styles by romanticism, and various styles There are many things happening, each leading the way. It is a grand occasion of a hundred flowers blooming, but also a dazzling chaos. From the perspective of construction activities themselves, the 19th century was the period with the most and most active construction projects in history, because it was just after the industrial revolution. Cities began to develop greatly, industrial buildings sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, residential areas expanded exponentially, and municipal administration Facilities were also replanned and constructed, and new means of transportation such as railways and ships brought about great changes, allowing buildings such as hotels and stations to reach unprecedented scale.

However, with the unprecedented increase in construction projects and the proliferation of new buildings, no buildings from the 19th century can be found. The architectural scene is filled with various revival styles, from ancient Greece and Rome to Gothic revival, as well as various revival styles called neo-Renaissance, neo-Baroque and neo-Rococo, but there is no It is called the 19th century style and represents the architectural features of this era. The art world calls this phenomenon historicism, selectionism, or style wars. But from today's perspective, it is actually a necessary detour on the way to a new modern architecture. Only after this torment can people feel painfully that various revivals have indeed lost their inherent historical significance.

The reason why I say this is because by the 19th century, the engineering technology of architecture had become a relatively complete science. All types of buildings can consider the relevant materials, structure and construction according to scientific methods. Problems, even if they are difficult, can be solved from a technical perspective. As a result, the two aspects of architecture, technology and art, began to separate. The technology has been greatly improved, while the artistry only involves secondary aspects such as exterior decoration and interior decoration. It is even generally believed that architectural art mainly plays a decorative role, and the aesthetic issues of design become purely decorative issues. In this case, after the same building (such as a hotel) was designed according to the technical standards of the time, it could adopt any revival style according to the owner's choice and the architect's preference, or even popular fashion.

However, aspiring architects will wonder: Where are the contemporary buildings that truly represent the 19th century? This kind of worry had already appeared in the intersection of neoclassical and romantic architecture in the early 19th century. By the middle and second half of the 19th century, it had even become an intensifying and stubborn disease that was difficult to get rid of.

Under the style war, as long as the owners are willing to invest and the architects are enthusiastic, various era styles, regional styles and even weird styles will appear, turning an emerging neighborhood or even a city into a museum of architectural styles.

Of course, the theoretical circles will also propose their own scope of application based on the inherent characteristics of various styles. For example, Gothic style is suitable for churches and courts, classical style is suitable for institutions and schools, and theaters and casinos are suitable. Baroque, etc., but this theory pales in the face of the chaotic battle of styles. Therefore, some people say that in the face of the great opportunity for the architectural boom in the 19th century, the efforts to create its own style in the 19th century failed miserably. This may be one of the earliest symptoms of the many crises that modern art (and postmodern art) will face.

However, when we look back on the history of Western architecture in the 19th century a hundred years later, we will still feel that there are many achievements worthy of recognition in its trend of "borrowing the past to celebrate the present". First of all, from an academic point of view, people at that time had a much deeper and more accurate understanding of various historical styles and architectural history of various eras than before. Archeology, history, scientific surveying and photography, etc., provided people with a better understanding of the past. Providing abundant and practical materials, coupled with the improvement of technical level, architects' revival of the past revealed unprecedented precision and sincerity, which can also be said to be a major feature of various revival styles in the 19th century.

Secondly, although they are called revivals, or the exterior decoration adopts the historical styles of past eras, their engineering technology, structure and functions adapted to the social needs of the 19th century and reflected the contemporary level. Therefore, there are still many innovations in architectural design, and even in terms of decoration, many of them still achieve good decorative effects. Therefore, we can still see some impressive 19th-century buildings in major cities in Europe and the United States today. They have reached a certain level in terms of solidity, practicality and beauty, and they can combine the above-mentioned academic precision with the vigorous development of industrialization. combined with the spirit of international prosperity.

Therefore, the revival style in the mid-to-late 19th century also has certain characteristics. In the history of architecture, it is often called Victoria style and Second Empire style (referring to Napoleon) after the reigning monarchs of Britain and France at that time. The Second Empire of III) Unfortunately, due to space limitations, we cannot comment more on them here. However, there is one masterpiece that cannot be omitted, and that is the Paris Opera House (Palais Garnier) designed by French architect Charles Garnier (1825-1898). This palace of music and art located in the heart of Paris has always enjoyed the honor of being the world's largest opera house. Its architectural design can be said to have given full play to the baroque magnificence and luxury. It has a usable area of ??11,000 square meters, with up to 2,000 audience seats, and a stage large enough for 450 actors to perform on stage at the same time.