The duality of stylistic expression of architects Bernini and Borromini during High Baroque – an example of the churches on a Quirinale hill

Još od antike, Quirinal je elitno, bogato područje, smješteno na najvišem rimskom vrhu. Ondje se nalazi Quirinalska palača, također izgrađena u baroknom stilu, koja uokviruje glavni trg. Brežuljak Quirinal, jedan od sedam rimskih brežuljaka, mjesto je predstavljanja papinske moći, a u sedamnaestom stoljeću ondje su stvarali arhitekti koji su djelovali na vrhuncu barokne umjetnosti: Francesco Borromini i Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Ta su dva arhitekta različitim umjetničkim jezikom, ali sa svojstvenim baroknim elementima, ovalnim tlocrtom, stvorili dva velebna djela sakralne arhitekture, a to su crkve San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane i Sant'Andrea al Qurinale. Osebujni arhitekti različitih karaktera u visokobaroknom stilu utjecali su na stvaranje nove slike prepoznatljivog brežuljka i Vječnog grada općenito. Ključnu razliku u njihovom stilskom izričaju čine Borrominijeva sklonost eksperimentiranju oblicima s primjesom srednjovjekovnog lombardijskog graditeljstva i Berninijeva reduciranost na elemente klasične arhitekture. Sličnosti su vidljive u odabiru ovalnog tlocrta, a oba su arhitekta djelovala po narudžbi crkvenih redova. Stvarajući u posttridentskom periodu, oba su arhitekta različito pristupala oblikovanju prostora što je rezultiralo dvjema inovativnim crkvama. Ever since the classical period, Quirinal has been an elite, rich area, situated on top of a Roman hill. There is the Quirinal Palace, also built in the Baroque style, which frames the main square. The Qurinal Hill, one of the seven Roman hills, is the spot of a representation of papal power, so in 17th century the great architects of High Baroque worked there: Francesco Borromini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. These two architects created two magnificent works of sacral architecture in different artistic languages, but with their own baroque elements, an oval layout plan. The names of the churches are Saint Charles at the Four Fountains and Saint Andrew at Quirinal. Distinctive architects of different characters in the High Baroque style influenced the creation of a new image of the recognizable hill and the Eternal city in general. A key difference in their stylistic expression is Borromini's propensity to experiment with forms with an admixture of medieval Lombard architecture and Bernini's reduction to elements of classical architecture. The similarities are visible in the choice of the oval floor plan and both architects acted on behalf of the church orders. After Council of Trent, both architects approached the design of the space differently resulting in two innovative churches.