Filippo Juvarra.
Filippo Juvarra, Juvarra also spelled
Juvara (born March 7, 1678, Messina, Sicily—died Jan. 31, 1736, Madrid,
Spain), architect and stage designer who attained fame throughout Europe
during the early part of the 18th century.
Juvarra studied in Rome (1703–14) under
the architect Carlo Fontana and was commissioned to design scenes for
Cardinal Ottoboni’s theatre in the Cancelleria Palace. He was also asked
to do stage designs for the queen of Poland, Maria Casimira, in her
theatre in the Zuccari Palace in Rome, and by the emperor Joseph I of
Austria for the opera Giunio Bruto.
In 1714 Juvarra was appointed architect
to the king of Sicily and moved to Turin, the Savoy capital. There he
took charge of the third rebuilding and enlargement of the city of
Turin. He also designed his two greatest masterpieces there, the royal
hunting lodge at Stupinigi (begun 1729) and the Church of the Carmine in
Turin (1732). Although his major works were in Italy, he also designed
the palace at Mafra for John V of Portugal (1719–20).
In his early buildings in Turin,
Juvarra favoured static, sharply defined spaces (San Filippo Neri, 1715;
Superga, 1717; Madama Palace, 1718) designed in the traditional manner.
Late in life his work was influenced by his stage design, and he learned
to treat a building as a unified whole. His later work is noted for its
concept of space—light and airy spaces producing a fluid, elegant
effect. These late works rank among the finest examples of the early
Rococo style in Italy.
