Architecture

Art and architecture share many similarities. They've influenced one another throughout history. However, trying to liken these two disciplines will inevitably lead to certain contractions.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that Art, in its broadest sense, is defined as a creation meant to trigger an emotional response which is generally related to aesthetic pleasure. It doesn't satisfy any of life's basic needs, but it leads to thoughts, reflections, and often taps into our subconscious and our memory. On the other hand, architecture's primary purpose is to shelter individuals and ensure their safety. Architecture is meant to serve a utilitarian purpose.

Today, architecture has gone far beyond this initial function. Architects have strived to combine engineering and aesthetic research to create buildings that are so out of the ordinary we wonder how they were designed. They want their creations to stand out and favour originality and creativity. Just like in arts, architecture is influenced by the historical, social, and political context of the time and each movement has its own characteristics, from baroque to futurism to Bauhaus. Modern architecture marked a turn in the history of architecture. Architects revolutionised the social scope of their discipline and took an industrialist approach to society and nature — avant-garde architects rubbed shoulders with artists such as Georges Braque, Piet Mondrian, and members of the De Stijl group. Le Corbusier is a pioneer in collective housing, and also took part in ambitious projects which aimed to rebuild entire cities, such as Chandigarh in India. Decorative arts also developed by taking inspiration from the conventions that governed modernist architecture.

Contemporary architecture might not be a specific movement per se, but buildings that fall into this category share certain attributes. Contemporary architecture is characterised by curvy lines and various volumes in a single structure, as seen with the Sydney Opera House. The architect Jørn Utzon explained that he didn't seek to create a building for this project, but an actual sculpture. The building continually renews itself with new meanings and experiences for each passerby. Architectural works often require periods of deep reflection and a long though process in order for the architect to envisage how to give their building a sense of character and soul.

Whether architecture is an art or not is a never ending debate, but it is undeniable that there are strong links between the two disciplines. There are many examples of collaborations between contemporary artists and architects, and today the works of the greatest architects are exhibited in museums along with their fellow artists.

Discover our selections of artworks inspired by art and architecture!

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Architecture

Blue Room with Fig

Piazza di Spagna

Royal Red

View of the Village in the Nature

Untitled

Manhattan IV, Digital on Paper

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais

Arrieta

Church

Pop nights

The classroom

Venice

Les ruines du Château du Marquis de Sade

Circular Staircase Puerto Rico

Double Doors

Landscape

Bomba Blanca 4 -Wall Ceramic Sculpture with Gold and Copper Intervention

The Ponte Vecchio

Tour Eiffel 2 - Série vue de Paris

Untitled

La Tragédie Antique, étude pour le décor mural du vestibule du Théâtre de Chaillot, 1936

View

Trellick Tower

Spiral Staircase

La Fenice

Guggenheim Museum

Le pont Charles à Prague

Vassilis with farm equipment

Grand central station

Church D

Engrenages

Landscape

Untitled

Istanbul I

Production Still (Oak Street 02)

Sous Sol de París. 1977-1999

St Mark's Square, Venice

Gondoles sur le grand canal à Venise

Place de l'hôtel de ville à Paris

Speicherstadt #2, Hamburg

Cheese bell

Axone no.2

Lyric theatre

Usine

Façades

Folie 12

New York Les Patineurs

Cimetière de Monmartre

Power intention

Les glycines

Southwold Pier, Suffolk

Le musée amusant

Vallée d'Aoste

Call Me Too Love Me

Untitled

Untitled

Hall

Advance of the aerosol assassins

In the evening- Venice painting

Central Park

Mechanical Room. Kesennuma, Japan

Last stop

Faubourg Saint Germain

Plateforme Environnementale

Untitled

Logic and emotion: Evening primrose