Choir and Apse, St Nicholas Cathedral – Prague, Czech Republic.
Motherland Tour II/ Czech Republic
(click here to redirect to stop #1)
St Nicholas Choir and Apse, Prague, Czech Republic.
The Church of St Nicholas is a excellent example of High Baroque architecture. Built between 1704-1755, it is one of the most valuable Baroque buildings north of the Alps. Three generations of great Baroque architects – father, son and son-in-law – worked on the church: Kryštof Dientzenhofer, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer and Anselmo Lurago. The Baroque organs have over 4,000 pipes up to six metres in length and were played by Mozart in 1787. Mozart’s spectacular masterpiece, Mass in C, was first performed in the Church of Saint Nicholas shortly after his visit.
Baroque was a period of artistic style that was popular during the High and Late Middle Ages (15th- 17th centuries) and is characterized by drama, rich color, and dramatic contrast between light and shadow. It used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, theater, and music.
Baroque vs Gothic:
Compare this image to my last post, St Vitus Cathedral Choir and Apse, which is a Late Gothic Cathedral (started in 1344) . This style of architecture flourished during the High and Late medieval period (11th – 14th centuries), and incorporated soaring towers, spires, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses which enabled the use of thinner walls and larger windows than previously feasible during the Romanesque architecture of the early middle ages.
Which style do you prefer?
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