HD3: Mansart & Le Vau & Light

I was so pleased to receive 99% (!!) for HD3. I worked hard on it, and found the Baroque era very interesting, although a little ostentatious for my taste! I decided to put my essay outlines to help people get started on what to write about. Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas...

Question 1: Mansart & Le Vau

1. Introduction to Baroque era and architects
2. Background on Mansart (date of birth, education, mentors etc)
3. Mansart's first designs - incl. details that became characteristic of his style
4. Further expansion on Mansart's designs - details on how style has developed
5. Mansart's most preeminent work/final masterpiece
6-9. (Repeated essentially the same structure for Le Vau)
10. Summary

Question 2: The use of light in the Baroque
1. General introduction to the philosophy of light in the Baroque era
2. Why light (or things that created light) were significant - centre of life, philosophy, status, interest in outdoors/gardens
3-4. How light was created in architecture (look at pierced vaulted ceilings, window designs)
5. Artifical lighting (candleabras, fireplaces etc)
6. Mirrors
7. Use of light with furniture (i.e. gilding, lacquering, silvering etc)
8. Summary


I don't know if these books are available where you are (but if they're all the way down in Australia, they should be elsewhere) but some books you might want to look up (apart from good old John Pile) include:

§ Lucie-Smith, E. (1979). Furniture: A Concise History. London: Thames and Hudson.

§ Riley, N & Bayer, P (Editor). (2003). The Elements of Design. New York: Free Press.

§ Wolfflin, H. (1975). Renaissance and the Baroque. New York: Cornell University Press.

§ Hersey, G. (2000). Architecture and Geometry in the age of the Baroque. London: The University of Chicago Press.

§ Blunt, A. (1999). Art & Architecture in France 1500-1700. Suffolk: Penguin Books.

§ Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971a). Baroque Architecture. New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc.

§ Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971b). History of World Architecture. New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc.

§ Watkin, D. (1986). The History of Western Architecture (3^rd ed.). London: Laurence King Publishing.

§ Blunt, A. (1999). Art & Architecture in France 1500-1700. Suffolk: Penguin Books.

§Watkin, D. (1986). The History of Western Architecture (3^rd ed.). London: Laurence King Publishing.