Architectural Analysis: Il Gesù and Sant'Andrea in Mantua

Il Gesù and Sant'Andrea in Mantua: Differences and Similarities

The churches of Il Gesù in Rome and Sant'Andrea in Mantua share some architectural features, such as the use of double pilasters and arched chapels. However, they also exhibit key differences. In Sant'Andrea, there is no rostrum or pulpit, and the cornice is supported by a barrel vault decorated with moldings. Another difference is the Baroque dome, which is always a barrel vault with arches. Between the arch and the wall, openings illuminate the arches, featuring a window and a small vault or crescent lunette, also curved. This is a quintessential Baroque feature known as a barrel vault with lunettes.

From the base, the use of light is evident, with a rosette or window. The small chapels that open the pillars feature domes on scallops, similar to Sant'Andrea in Mantua. The pulpit is made of colored marbles and features the emblem of the Jesuits in the center. The sides are covered with domes, a sequence seen in Sant'Andrea and replicated in Il Gesù.

Mannerism and its Influence

• "Architecture within architecture," such as a pediment within a pediment.
• The giant order joins the ground floor and the second floor, all separated due to the search for horizontality (Giulio Romano from 1520).
• Replacement of capitals in the jambs of windows and doors with two brackets.
• Posters as a decorative motif, centered by a molding with the symbol of the Jesuits, with a side fringe featuring Renaissance putti and swags/flower garlands as a symbol of triumph, and a skirt with a plastic fruit motif.
• Façades function as altarpieces, with Jesuit saints. The specific saints depicted depend on the order that commissioned the building.
• Brackets with ornamentation also bring decoration to severe architecture. Saints placed in the niches always have the same face; they are stepping on allegorical figures representing the heresy of Lutheranism (supporting the Counter-Reformation).

Influence of Il Gesù

Main Façade of the Escorial

Designed by Juan de Herrera, the treaty of the five rules of Vignola arrived in Spain in 1560 and is evident in this construction. It closely resembles Vignola's design. Its composition consists of a rectangular lower body, a second floor narrower than the first, and a transition to the third floor made through buttresses. Sculptures are replaced by pyramids (a quintessential Herrera decoration). The ensemble is topped with a triangular pediment, and the tympanum features a circle with curved triangles, a plate decoration also common in Herrera's work.

Collegiate Church of St. Louis

Located in Villagarcía de Campos, Valladolid, this church was built in 1575 by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and later completed around 1583 by Pedro de Tolosa and Juan de Nates, from the workshop of Juan de Herrera. It is contemporary with the Cathedral of Valladolid, commissioned by Philip II, as the style of the Escorial was spreading to Valladolid. When Hontañón died, his team continued his work in Valladolid, giving rise to the early Spanish Baroque.

The second point of influence is Madrid, where the court was established. The church was closed, and the monastery now serves as a home for elderly Jesuits. It features a severe front modeled after Vignola's design: a rectangular lower body, a tall square upper body, and concave slats. The nave leads to a rectangular shape, emphasizing the forward body and placing the side body to the rear. The fascia has a line marking the height between the chapels and the nave. The Mannerist triangular pediment is not closed and has a higher oculus window above, further marking the vertical axis of the most important part of the church.