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Western Architecture: 1756 to 1768
Years: 1756 - 1767
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The Rise of Neoclassicism and the Flourishing of the Baroque Arts (17th–18th Century)
During the 17th and 18th centuries, European arts, literature, theater, music, and architecture were heavily influenced by Greco-Roman models, marking the emergence of Neoclassicism. However, in architecture and the visual arts, the period was still dominated by the Baroque style, characterized by grandeur, drama, and elaborate decoration.
In music, the Baroque period saw the development of complex polyphonic and contrapuntal techniques, as well as the birth of opera, oratorio, and cantata, laying the groundwork for later classical and Romantic music traditions.
Neoclassicism and the Baroque in Visual Arts and Architecture
- Neoclassicism emerged as a revival of Greco-Roman ideals, emphasizing harmony, symmetry, and simplicity.
- Despite this trend, architecture remained largely Baroque, featuring:
- Elaborate ornamentation and curvaceous forms.
- Dramatic contrasts of light and shadow.
- Monumental scale and theatrical effects.
- In painting and sculpture, artists such as Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini brought Baroque dynamism and emotion to religious and mythological subjects.
The Evolution of Baroque Music
The Baroque period (c. 1600–1750) was marked by the rise of:
- Opera – A dramatic, fully staged musical form combining singing, instrumental music, and theatrical performance.
- Oratorio – A large-scale musical work for choir, soloists, and orchestra, often based on biblical stories (e.g., Handel's Messiah).
- Cantata – A shorter vocal work, typically performed in churches or courts, featuring recitative and arias.
Instrumental music flourished, leading to:
- The development of fugue, concerto, sonata, and suite.
- Innovations by Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel, who explored contrapuntal (interweaving) techniques and harmonic progressions.
New Musical Instruments of the Era
The 17th and 18th centuries also saw the invention and refinement of several musical instruments, including:
- Clarinet (early 18th century) – A woodwind instrument with a rich, expressive tone.
- Pedal harp – An advancement that allowed greater versatility in key changes.
- Harmonica – A free-reed wind instrument, later popularized in folk and blues music.
- Accordion – A portable, bellows-driven instrument with both melody and harmony capabilities.
Conclusion: A Dynamic Era of Art and Music
The 17th and 18th centuries were a period of artistic evolution, where Baroque exuberance coexisted with Neoclassical ideals. While Neoclassicism would eventually dominate literature and architecture, the Baroque period revolutionized music, theater, and visual arts, leading to the creation of some of the most enduring works in European cultural history.
The origins of the War of Regulation stem from a dramatic population increase in North and South Carolina in the 1760s, following migration from the larger eastern cities to the rural west.
The inland section of the colonies had once been predominantly composed of planters with an agricultural economy.
Merchants and lawyers have begun to move west, upsetting the social and political structure.
They have been joined by new Scots-Irish immigrants, who populate the backcountry.
At the same time, the local inland agricultural community suffers from a deep economic depression because of severe droughts throughout the previous decade.
The loss of crops cost farmers not only their direct food source but also their primary means of an income, which lead many to rely on the goods being brought by newly arrived merchants.
As income is cut off, the local planters often fall into debt.
The merchants, in turn, rely on lawyers and the court to settle disputes.
Debts are common at the time, but from 1755 to 1765, the cases brought to the docket increase nearly sixteen-fold, from seven annually to one hundred and eleven in Orange County, North Carolina, alone.
Such court cases can often lead to planters losing their homes and property so they grow to resent the presence of the newcomers.
The shift in population and politics eventually leads to an imbalance within the colony's courthouses, and the new and well-educated lawyers use their superior knowledge of the law to their sometimes unjust advantage.
A small clique of wealthy officials forms and becomes an exclusive inner circle in charge of the legal affairs of the area.
In 1764, several thousand people from North Carolina, mainly from Orange, Anson, and Granville counties in the western region, had become extremely dissatisfied with the wealthy North Carolina officials, whom they considered cruel, arbitrary, tyrannical and corrupt.
Local sheriffs collect taxes, as supported by the courts; the sheriffs and courts haved sole control over their local regions.
With the arrival of Royal Governor William Tryon in 1765, volatile conditions in the Province of North Carolina increasingly worsen, and a violent uprising will eventually occur.
Many of the officers are very greedy and often band together with other local officials for their own personal gain. The entire system depends on the integrity of local officials, many of whom engage in extortion; taxes collected often enriched the tax collectors directly.
At times, sheriffs intentionally remove records of their tax collection to go back to residents to ask for more taxes.
The effort to eliminate the system of government becomes known as the Regulator uprising, War of the Regulation, or the Regulator War.
The most heavily affected areas are said to be those of Rowan, Anson, Orange, Granville, and Cumberland counties.
It is a struggle between mostly lower-class citizens, who make up the majority of the backcountry population of North and South Carolina, and the wealthy planter elite.
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The inland section of the colonies had once been predominantly composed of planters with an agricultural economy.
Merchants and lawyers have begun to move west, upsetting the social and political structure.
They have been joined by new Scots-Irish immigrants, who populate the backcountry.
At the same time, the local inland agricultural community suffers from a deep economic depression because of severe droughts throughout the previous decade.
The loss of crops cost farmers not only their direct food source but also their primary means of an income, which lead many to rely on the goods being brought by newly arrived merchants.
As income is cut off, the local planters often fall into debt.
The merchants, in turn, rely on lawyers and the court to settle disputes.
Debts are common at the time, but from 1755 to 1765, the cases brought to the docket increase nearly sixteen-fold, from seven annually to one hundred and eleven in Orange County, North Carolina, alone.
Such court cases can often lead to planters losing their homes and property so they grow to resent the presence of the newcomers.
The shift in population and politics eventually leads to an imbalance within the colony's courthouses, and the new and well-educated lawyers use their superior knowledge of the law to their sometimes unjust advantage.
A small clique of wealthy officials forms and becomes an exclusive inner circle in charge of the legal affairs of the area.
In 1764, several thousand people from North Carolina, mainly from Orange, Anson, and Granville counties in the western region, had become extremely dissatisfied with the wealthy North Carolina officials, whom they considered cruel, arbitrary, tyrannical and corrupt.
Local sheriffs collect taxes, as supported by the courts; the sheriffs and courts haved sole control over their local regions.
With the arrival of Royal Governor William Tryon in 1765, volatile conditions in the Province of North Carolina increasingly worsen, and a violent uprising will eventually occur.
Many of the officers are very greedy and often band together with other local officials for their own personal gain. The entire system depends on the integrity of local officials, many of whom engage in extortion; taxes collected often enriched the tax collectors directly.
At times, sheriffs intentionally remove records of their tax collection to go back to residents to ask for more taxes.
The effort to eliminate the system of government becomes known as the Regulator uprising, War of the Regulation, or the Regulator War.
The most heavily affected areas are said to be those of Rowan, Anson, Orange, Granville, and Cumberland counties.
It is a struggle between mostly lower-class citizens, who make up the majority of the backcountry population of North and South Carolina, and the wealthy planter elite.
The Petit Trianon is built on the site of a botanical garden developed about a decade earlier by Louis XV, within the grounds of the Grand Trianon, Louis XIV's retreat from the Palace of Versailles to the southeast.
It is designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel by the order of Louis XV for his long-term mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and is constructed between 1762 and 1768.
Madame de Pompadour dies four years before its completion, and the Petit Trianon will subsequently be occupied by her successor, Madame du Barry.
The château of the Petit Trianon is a celebrated example of the transition from the Rococo style of the earlier part of the eighteenth century, to the more sober and refined Neoclassical style of the 1760s and onward.
Essentially an exercise on a cube, the Petit Trianon attracts interest by virtue of its four facades, each thoughtfully designed according to that part of the estate it would face.
The Corinthian order predominates, with two detached and two semi-detached pillars on the side of the formal French garden, and pilasters facing both the courtyard and the area once occupied by Louis XV's greenhouses.
Overlooking the former botanical garden of the king, the remaining facade is left bare.
The subtle use of steps compensates for the differences in level of the château's inclined location.
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It is designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel by the order of Louis XV for his long-term mistress, Madame de Pompadour, and is constructed between 1762 and 1768.
Madame de Pompadour dies four years before its completion, and the Petit Trianon will subsequently be occupied by her successor, Madame du Barry.
The château of the Petit Trianon is a celebrated example of the transition from the Rococo style of the earlier part of the eighteenth century, to the more sober and refined Neoclassical style of the 1760s and onward.
Essentially an exercise on a cube, the Petit Trianon attracts interest by virtue of its four facades, each thoughtfully designed according to that part of the estate it would face.
The Corinthian order predominates, with two detached and two semi-detached pillars on the side of the formal French garden, and pilasters facing both the courtyard and the area once occupied by Louis XV's greenhouses.
Overlooking the former botanical garden of the king, the remaining facade is left bare.
The subtle use of steps compensates for the differences in level of the château's inclined location.
William Tryon, governor of the Royal Colony of North Carolina, signs a contract with architect John Hawks to build Tryon Palace, a lavish Georgian style governor's mansion on the New Bern waterfront.
Tryon had seen the need for a centrally-located Government House while lieutenant governor.
After assuming office in 1765, William Tryon had worked with architect John Hawks to draw up plans for a government house similar to other British colonial structures of the time.
In December 1766, the North Carolina legislature had authorized £5,000 for the building of an "Edifice."
Tryon had told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for the plans he and Hawk had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than £10,000 without including the outbuildings he envisioned.
Hawks agrees to supervise the construction for three years and goes to Philadelphia at Tryon's behest to hire workers; Tryon said native North Carolina workers will not know how to construct such a building.
Tryon is able to convince the legislature to increase taxes for the house.
This stirs resentment among some North Carolinians and helps prolong the War of the Regulation.
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Tryon had seen the need for a centrally-located Government House while lieutenant governor.
After assuming office in 1765, William Tryon had worked with architect John Hawks to draw up plans for a government house similar to other British colonial structures of the time.
In December 1766, the North Carolina legislature had authorized £5,000 for the building of an "Edifice."
Tryon had told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for the plans he and Hawk had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than £10,000 without including the outbuildings he envisioned.
Hawks agrees to supervise the construction for three years and goes to Philadelphia at Tryon's behest to hire workers; Tryon said native North Carolina workers will not know how to construct such a building.
Tryon is able to convince the legislature to increase taxes for the house.
This stirs resentment among some North Carolinians and helps prolong the War of the Regulation.
"History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends."
― Mark Twain, The Gilded Age (1874)