INT 231- Ruth Hernández

  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 ...

     INT 231                     History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings                                       Ruth Hernande z Silva Week 8- Italian Renaissance to Neoclassic Design I discovered this past week that there was a shift from the Italian Renaissance to the Neoclassical style, two trends that transformed how people perceived art, architecture, and interior design. The Italian Renaissance began in the 15th century and was a renewed fascination with Greek and Roman classical principles. Harmony, proportion, perspective, and humanism were what artists and architects concentrated on during this period. Balance and symmetry were the focus of design since there was a belief that beauty is based on mathematical order and natural perfection. Famous Renaissance architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Al...

INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2024 Ruth Hernandez Silva Week 7- The Americas/ China and India  This week's focus elaborated on how the Americas, China, and India evolved to possess specific interior design styles derived from their geography, religion, and culture. In the Americas, indigenous materials such as stone, clay, and wood ruled design. Empires such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas built structures with focus on symmetry, geometry, and coordination with heavenly movement. Their interiors were utilitarian yet symbolic, and they tend to be embellished by patterns representing gods or nature. In China, order, balance, and harmony were the focal point of design, with Feng Shui principles as their guides. Interior design was all about symmetry, openness, and natural materials such as wood, bamboo, and silk. Beijing Forbidden City demonstrates directly how spirituality and design were merged, with buildings designed according to strict philosophical an...

  INT 231 History of Interiors, Art and Furnishings Spring 2024 Ruth Hernandez Silva week 6: Gothic This week we studied the Gothic era, which was at its height in Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries. What struck me right away is how different Gothic design was from the Romanesque era that came before it. Where the Romanesque was dark, heavy, and fortress-like, Gothic design was soaring, light-filled, and seemed to reach upwards to the heavens. Gothic architecture is typified by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and huge stained-glass windows. These permitted architects to build taller buildings with bigger windows, which filled interiors with light and color in ways never before possible. Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris – Famous for its rose windows and tall towers. Chartres Cathedral, France – Known for its incredible stained glass and perfectly balanced proportions Inside Gothic cathedrals, furniture and decoration came after the building. Choir stalls, pulp...