Baroque Art

17th Century Art in Europe

The term Baroque once had a negative meaning.

The name is derived from Spanish word relating to Baroque pearls - pearls with unusual, odd shapes

Compared to Renaissance art, it was considered to be “over-dramatic” and the architecture, “overly decorated”.

Baroque Pearl

Baroque style is Dramatic

Strong Contrast of Light and Dark

Dynamic Composition

Architecture is decorative / many details

Roman Catholic Church supported Baroque art style in response to the Protestant Reformation (movement to reform Catholic Church) – communication of religious themes with viewer's direct and emotional involvement

Aristocracy adopted Baroque style to impress visitors and to express triumphant power and control

Baroque Style spread throughout Europe, including Italy, Holland, France, and Spain.

Italian Baroque

Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods, 1597 – 1601, Ceiling Fresco

Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods

• Commissioned by Cardinal Farnese to celebrate the wedding of his brother

• Various Gods and Humans in love

• “quadro riportato” – looks like framed easel paintings

• Inspired by Italian Renaissance art (Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian)

Caravaggio, Conversion of St. Paul, 1601, Oil on Canvas

• Story of Pharisee Saul converting to Christianity

• Appears to be an accident in the horse stable (everyday life)

• Caravaggio used strong light and dark / shadowy style (greatly influenced European art)

• Perspective and Chiaroscuro (light and shadow) used to bring the viewer closer to the event Caravaggio

Conversion of St. Paul

1601, Oil on Canvas

Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, 1597 – 1601, Oil on Canvas

• Christ enters from the right to summon Levi (a Roman tax collector) to a “higher calling”

• Bland street scene (“normal, everyday life”)

• Caravaggio’s style of strong light and shadow

• Light as a symbol of God Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew

1597 – 1601, Oil on Canvas

Comparison

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, 1624 – 1633, Gilded Bronze

• Bronze “canopy” over the tomb of St. Peter

• Decorative, Grand Structure

• Sculpture / Architecture

• Focal point of church

• Made from Bronze of doors of the ancient Roman Pantheon (Pantheon was a temple for Pagan religion)

• Commissioned by the Barberini Family

30 Meters Tall

St. Peter’s, Vatican (Rome)

St. Peter's, Rome exterior – late Renaissance (Completed 1690) designed in part by Michelangelo

Largest interior of any Catholic Church in world – holds up to 60, 000 people

Ancient Roman Pantheon,

125 – 28 CE

Spanish Baroque

Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), 1656, Oil on Canvas

• Informal family portrait

• Theme “Mystery of the Visual World”

• Young Princess in middle “Infanta”

• Maids-in-waiting helping her

• Her favorite dwarfs and her dog

• Velasquez is working on large canvas (portrait of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana (reflections in mirror)

• Man framed in doorway

Diego Velazquez

Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor)

1656, Oil on Canvas

Diego Velazquez, Surrender of Breda, 1634 – 1635, Oil on Canvas

• Made for King Philip IV

• Spanish Victory over Dutch in 1625

• Spanish troops on right (organized - victory)

• Dutch troops on left (disorganized – defeat)

• Spanish General patting the back of Dutch General

Diego Velazquez

Surrender of Breda,

1634 – 1635, Oil on Canvas

Francisco de Zurbarán, Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb, Oil on Canvas, 1630-4

Francisco de Zurbarán Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb Oil on Canvas, 1630-4

• Dramatic light and shadows

• Large figure filling the space

• St. Francis of Assisi, a friar who lived in Italy in the late 11th / early 12th Centuries. St. Francis was born rich, but at the age of 21 he had an epiphany and realized he should live simply. He eventually gave away all his money and attracted many followers.

• Story of when Pope Nicholas V was visiting the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi and saw a vision of the Saint 200 years after his death.

• Holding a skull to remind us of his death.

• Stigmata on his feet that he received (same as the ones on Christ’s body when he was on the cross).

Dutch Baroque

Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait in a Cap, Etching, 1630

• etching technique (printmaking)

• Created when he was a student

• Exercise in lighting, expression

• Rembrandt created at least 70 self-portraits during his lifetime (oil paintings and etchings)

Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait in a Cap, Etching, 1630

Rembrandt Self-Portraits

Anthony van Dyck, Charles I Dismounted,

1635, Oil on Canvas

• Van Dyck – portrait artist (full body portraits)

• Elegant portrait of King of England

• King as a nobleman riding a horse in park

• King coming down off of his horse to a closer level to “the people”, but he is still higher up

• Landscape in background

Anthony van Dyck

Charles I Dismounted

1635, Oil on Canvas

Jan Vermeer, The Art of Painting, Oil on Canvas, 1662

Johannes Vermeer The Art of Painting Oil on Canvas, 1662

• Vermeer painted less than 40 paintings in his lifetime, but 8 of them are considered to be masterpieces.

• Art about the creation of art - “the artist’s process”

• Vermeer known for his interior domestic scenes.

• The woman is an allegorical figure (symbolic)

• Realism

• Dramatic use of lighting

Comparison

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Oil Painting, 1665

Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring, Oil Painting, 1665

• Tradition of Portrait Painting in Northern Europe

• Symbolism of the turban headdress and the pearl

• Involvement of the viewer: The viewer believes they have caught her attention and caused her to turn her head

• Dramatic light and shadow

• Vermeer’s signature color: ultramarine blue

Pieter Claez, Still Life with Silverware and Lobster, 1641, Oil on Canvas

Pieter Claez Still Life with Silverware and Lobster 1641, Oil on Canvas

• Claez was one of the masters of Dutch Baroque still life painting.

• Vanitas Painting - Still Life as a metaphor related to the passing of time / ephemerality / inevitability of death

• Symbolism

• Realism and emphasis on textures / reflective surfaces

• Celebration of Dutch life / pleasure of dining / wealth.

French Baroque

Hyancinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, Oil on

Canvas

• King Louis XIV - France’s longest reigning Monarch

• “Louis Couture” - the birth of haute couture fashion (high fashion - seasonal, corporate, media driven)

• King Louis XIV helped to make France a fashion capital (previously Madrid, Spain)

• Wore high heels to make him taller (5’4”) - set the trend for high heels

• Absolute Monarchy

Hyancinthe Rigaud

Louis XIV,

Oil on Canvas

1701

Jules Hardouin-Mansart / Charles Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles)

1680, interior architecture

• Hall of Mirrors in King Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles

• Mirror – Baroque source of illusion

• 100’s of rooms in palace

• Rich decoration / details

Hardouin-Mansart / Le Brun

Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles)

1680, interior architecture

Palace of Versailles, France