Zprávy památkové péče 2017, 77(1-2):99-114

Bohemia, a country of ovals - five stops on the oval path through Baroque Bohemia

Jakub Bachtík

NPÚ, GnŘ

The article takes several chapters to deal with the theme of oval layout in sacral architecture in 17th and 18th century Bohemia, its basis, and methods of use. The introduction deals with the question of whether the issue needs to distinguish the concept of oval and ellipse - it concludes that these are fundamentally different geometric formations, and that in most cases the oval was used in practice.
The first part of the article, on the basis of data collected by Jarmila Krčálová, summarizes the basic overview of the development of the central compositions of the 16th century, with an emphasis on the introduction of the oval layout in the tracts of Sebastian Serlio and the first realizations of Jacopo Vignola. It draws attention to the importance that the oval shape had has a type of longitudinal center in the search for the ideal disposition of a sacred space following the Council of Trent.
The second part is devoted to the construction of Vlašská Chapel from the late 16th century as the first oval center outside Italy. It concludes that this building was the first example of the use of the oval in the entire mass of the building, including the exterior. It also points out, however, that this was a unique project, the implementation of which was allowed by exceptional historical circumstances, namely the status of Rudolf's Prague as the center of the Habsburg monarchy. The Vlašská Chapel therefore did not establish an integrated series of projects but was responded to in the following decades by only a few projects.
The third part of the article moves into the second half of the 17th century. It notes the arrival of architect Jean Baptiste Mathey who brought stimuli from Rome and France to Bohemia - including the use of an oval layout, most notably demonstrated in the Prague church of St. Francis Seraph. The oval in Mathey's creation is introduced only as one of many possible motives for building foundations, thanks to which, however, this motif can be captured in our environment. In Mathey's circle, this gave rise to a number of structures working with the oval layout, which became the basis for the use of this element in the next decades.
The fourth part is dedicated to the work of Christoph Dientzenhofer. This author made the oval the starting point for the vast majority of his projects which have the form of simple central and extremely complex compositions. The most important of these are buildings belonging to the "Bohemian dynamic group". Projects related to the experiments of G. Guarini are, in Dientzenhofer's works, composed of interpenetrating crossing ovals. This creates longitudinally-based churches which are basically a transformation of the domestic type of single-nave construction with side chapels. Of Dientzenhofer's variations on the oval motif, the church of the type in Úterý played a significant role, where the front tower is attached to the oval unit of the nave. This resulted in a variation characteristic of the type of the tower rural church which found many followers in the 18th century.
The fifth part focuses on a work of Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. In his work, the motif of an oval plan did not play a decisive role, but a set of several of his realizations, led by the church in Karlovy Vary, based the type which later appears in the works of a number of regional builders. His principle is the central oval unit with "annexes" at both ends. K. I. Dientzenhofer of course also has realizations of simple, pure ovals (e.g. Velenka). Due to his crucial influence on contemporary architecture, this creator may be described as a personality who significantly contributed to maintaining the popularity of the oval until the late 18th century.
The last part of the article asks the question of whether it is possible, in the outlines, to monitor a specific development and line. The article concludes that it is not. Until the mid-17th century, this motif was used only sporadically and later as one of many possible elements that were available to architects. The oval outline is therefore to be understood as one of many motives, which, along with other centers - polygons or circles - was part of a wealthy shape registry of architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Keywords: Baroque architecture, oval plan, Christoph Dientzenhofer, Jarmila Krčálová

Published: March 1, 2017  Show citation