Blog 5

Modern Baroque Interior Design

While Renaissance design appealed to the intelligence,Baroque style plays to emotions.

Note the wildly adorned churches and glitzy devotional art such as Baldacchino by Bernini in St. Peter’s. It’s dripping in gold, putti and tassels.

Furniture in the Baroque style is quite large so it is not really practical for the typical home. It is all about opulence, strong colors like red, gold and purple, extensive carving and ornamentation. Chinoiserie is popular (Chinese lacquer, fans and porcelain) Everything is massive and richly decorated. Gold is the color of Baroque and is used in fabrics, ornaments and walls. For lighting, wall sconces of silver or brass with metal or mirror backs are appropriate. Floors, typically, have complex patterns using black and white diamond patterns. Large chandeliers are used extensively. Grand bed hangings and heavy window treatments define the style, too.

Modern Baroque Interiors use baroque patterns, gold and silver ornaments, chandeliers and baroque furniture mixed with modern elements of contemporary interior design. While Baroque comes very close to being pure theater, modernism is functional, clean and unpretentious. Here are some interesting ways that Baroque and Modernism are brought together:

Modern Baroque design with golden wallpaper and heavy curtains

Black and white dining room with Baroque patterns and chandelier

One modern designer who has reinterpreted Louis XIV Baroque is Philippe Starck with his Louis Ghost chair made of polycarbonate. This chair is one of his best known designs and now comes in a size for children. I’m not sure how this chair could possibly be comfortable since it’s all plastic. Starck also has a Marie Antoinette chair.

Blog 4

What Humanism Means Today

In researching what exactly Humanism is, I came across many philosophies about it. Renaissance humanism existed between faith and reason. There wasn’t a system of scientific principles at the time to believe in so a feeling of security in ones’ life still remained with the belief that God created the universe and designed everything and Man was a part of that design. The beauty seen in the paintings of Raphael and others represented inner virtue and were a path towards God.

Today, humanism is about civil rights, and the power of humanity. Current humanism outlines philosophies that are not religious. Like the humanism of Florence and the classical world, questioning plays a big role. Humanism is still all about human reason, ethics, logic, observation, and thought. Modern humanism supports scientific methods and believes faith as an unacceptable approach.