INT 231- Ruth Hernández

                             INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2025 Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 13 - English Late Renaissance Period- Neoclassical  The English Late Renaissance, which unfolded roughly between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, represents a transformative moment in England's cultural and architectural development. While England came late to the Renaissance compared to Italy and France, its own interpretation of Renaissance ideals began to materialize during this time, fusing classical inspiration with distinctly English traditions. Politically, this was an era shaped by the final years of Elizabeth I's reign and the rise of the Stuart monarchy-an environment in which artistic expression could hardly help intersecting with national identity, humanist learning, and the expanding global influence of the nation. The Late Renaissance in England is most often associated ar...

INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2025 Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 12- English Early Renaissance  This week, we learned about the English Early Renaissance, which developed more slowly and differently than those of Italy, France, and Spain. While the Italian Renaissance was well under way by the 1400s, England's Renaissance ideas were adopted later, influenced greatly by Henry VIII and the cultural changes brought on by the Reformation. For this reason, the English Renaissance is a combination of two major influences: late Gothic (Tudor style) and the more intellectual, humanist ideals of classical antiquity. One thing that makes the English Early Renaissance particularly unique is that England did not immediately take up with classical architecture the way Italy had. Instead, English designers integrated Renaissance motifs into their existing Gothic traditions. That's why many English Renaissance buildings retain Gothic elements like pointed arches, cluste...

INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2024 Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 11- French Neoclassical Period This week, I learned about the French Neoclassical period, a movement that unambiguously returned to the ideals of simplicity, order, and rationality. Following the opulent and playful Rococo style that dominated the early 18th century, France witnessed a cultural turn owing to Enlightenment thought and the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman art; the new style would be called Neoclassicism. It put great emphasis on restraint, symmetry, and moral clarity. In architecture, French Neoclassicism stressed harmony and proportion. Buildings started to display clean geometric forms, grand porticos, domes, and columns inspired by antiquity. The movement coincided with the reign of Louis XVI, who favored a more refined and cerebral aesthetic. That's one reason why the period is sometimes referred to as the Louis XVI style. Interiors became more formalized, and the decora...

  INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishing Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 10 - French Renaissance- Neoclassic This week, we studied the French Renaissance, a fascinating period when the Italian artistic ideals mixed with the French sense of elegance, refinement, and formality. The French Renaissance took place roughly between the late 15th and early 17th centuries, beginning with the reign of King Charles VIII and continuing through Francis I and Henry IV. What is particularly interesting in the French Renaissance is how it came into being through such cultural interchange. When French kings invaded Italy during the late 1400s, they were enchanted with Italian art and architecture. They brought artists, architects, and craftsmen who helped introduce the principles of classical order, symmetry, and proportion to France. But instead of copying the Italian Renaissance, the French adapted it-blending Italian design with their medieval traditions to create something uniquely their ow...

INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2025 Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 9- Spanish Renaissance This week we learned about the Spanish Renaissance, a vibrant period that married classical influences from Italy with Spain's unique cultural, religious, and political personality. The Spanish Renaissance took place roughly from the late 15th to early 17th centuries, during the rule of powerful monarchs like Ferdinand and Isabella and later Charles V and Philip II. While inspired by the Italian Renaissance, it developed its own character by combining humanist principles with deep religious devoutness and the conventions of the preceding Gothic and Moorish traditions.  One thing that interested me was how the Spanish Renaissance was not so much an imitation of Italy, but an interpreting of Renaissance ideals in Spanish terms. The style was preoccupied with symmetry, proportion, and classical order, but it also had strong associations with tradition and religion. Interiors ...