Baroque Art--the 17th and 18th Centuries (1600 to 1800)
Begin with Baroque Videos (Baroque Intro--)
Review basic ERAS and DATES of European History [we need help on this!]
Antiquity--Greece and Rome, before Christ, 500 BC to 300 AD
The Christian Era--officially begins with the conversion of Emperor Constantine, 313 AD
The Middle Ages ("Dark Ages")--c. 400-800, or, if you like, until the year 1200 or later
Early Middle Ages--400-800
Age of Charlemagne--800
Romanesque art--1000-1200
Gothic art--1200 to 1400 (or later in northern Europe)
The Renaissance--1400-1600
The Age of the Baroque--1600-1750 (that is--the 17th and 18th centuries)
The Enlightenment (Rococo and Neoclassical styles)--1700-1900
The Modern World--1789 to the present [Why 1789?]
History:
By 1600, Europe was now more prosperous, because of international commerce and the New World
There were now large, vibrant cities: Amsterdam, Paris, London, Rome, and Fargo
The great monarchies of Europe had now emerged, and they employed art to glorify their dynasties-and legitimize their despotic absolute power. (What was "The Divine Right of Kings"?)
See map of the Hapsburg possessions and the Holy Roman Empire, page 382
Religion:
Religion was the chief obsession of the age, and religious "tolerance" was still not an option.
"Heretics" were either Protestant or Catholic, depending on your point of view.
(What does the word "catholic" mean?)
"Infidel" were Muslims or Christians, depending on your point of view.
The Reformation of 1517 had inspired, in turn, the Catholic Counter-Reformation Tour new St. Peters
Islam and the Ottoman Empire were a threat to Christendom. (See map of the rise of Islam)
New saints like St. Teresa and Ignatius of Loyola were "canonized" by the Roman Church
The Council of Trent (1545-63) had affirmed the valued of art
The word "Propaganda" was invented in Rome (to "propagate" the Faith)
Art was a key element in the battle for souls.
European culture and art were more pluralistic, and different nations and cultures had different art styles-The Netherlands, became free from Spain in 1609; it was Protestant, middle class, and tolerant of Jews
France: had 19 million people, Europe's largest country; absolute monarch was Louis XIV (The "Sun King")
TheDecline of Spain (Golden Age?), conservative, rigid, Catholic
Rome (urbis et orbis: "city and world"); a resurgent papacy; new energy; Jesuit order
Rome became a glorious rebuilt Baroque city in the 17th century
Class Video: Understanding Cities, Rome
Germany: devastated by the 30 Years War (to 1648); not much new art until 1700
England: Henry XIII formed the Church of England; turmoil and revolution; Charles I overthrown 1648
Intellectual and cultural activity:
The Enlightenment began in Northern Europe in the late 17th century
More literacy, more interest in "secular" things.
Intellectual giants: Shakespeare, Bacon, Galileo, Newton, Harvey, Kepler, Locke, Descartes, Pascal (text p.
413)
New philosophy of "universal doubt" and science (Rene Descartes); not very important for Roman Baroque art!
Copernicus and the heliocentric universe [The moon's size? How big is your head in the mirror?]
Academies of science, poetry, art, drama
Opera is born in 1605, Monteverdi's
Orfeo
Three Styles of 17th century Art
1) The "Baroque Style" (also "Baroque Illusionism," "Roman Baroque," or "Catholic Baroque")
"Baroque" was originally a derogatory term invented by later "Neoclassical" critics; now it is a neutral term
--like "Gothic" or "Impressionism"
Baroque began in Rome and spread north to Germany and Austria)
The Baroque style was especially suited to goals of autocratic rulers of the Church and Counter-Reformation
Baroque has these qualities: grand scale, rhetorical, asymmetrical composition, powerful movement, strong
lighting,
and dramatic interpretations of subject matter
In sculpture: rich materials, surprising lighting sources
Baroque art is dynamic and energetic
Catholic Baroque religious art glorifies the lives of Christ and the Saints
History painting also much used in countries with strong courts
2) "Baroque Classicism" is like the High Renaissance, but grander:
It was usually for mythological subjects: example, Caracci's Farnese Gallery ceiling , 1600
3) Dutch Baroque:
Featured realism and naturalism, also on a smaller scale
Showed everyday subject matter; no royal patrons; the decline of mythological subjects
Market Capitalism was major factor in 17th century art world: there were now an "art market" and "collectors"
Some typical Baroque artworks:
Gianlorenzo Bernini, Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, 1645. Read St. Teresa's description of her vision.
Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of King Louis XIV of France, 1701
Frans Hals, The Merry Drinker, 1628; and Hals. Male Babe
Annibale Carracci, Ceiling, Farnese Gallery, 1600
Compare Michelangelo, Sistine ceiling
Exemplifies "academic" painting, Carracci had a huge studio
The Seventeenth Century Artist: a prodigious genius
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish), Self-portrait with Isabela Brandt, 1609;
Rubens had a huge workshop; international reputation
Women artists: there are many more women painters now because of market capital system in north
Judith Leyster (Dutch), Self-portrait, 1635; typical Dutch familiarity.
Artemisia Gentilleschi (Italian), Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 1625
Self-portrait as Allegory of Painting, 1630
Women in Art, excellent site, with the life and art of Artemesia Gentileschi
[What is an "allegory"? What is a "personification"? See Caravaggio's Amor Vincit Omnes!
Baroque Art in Rome
Map of Europe in 1648 :
The Treaty of Westphalia ended The 30 Years War
The papacy in 17th century; The Counter-Reformation
Pope Sixtus V (1585-90) and the resurgent papacy
Video: Sixtus' Plan for the City of Rome
Jacopo Vignola, Church of Gesu (Jesuit order), Facade, 1577 ("Devotion of forty hours;" temporary
decorations)
Sixtus rebuilt Rome as a giant reliquary! (What is a reliquary?) Sixtus' street reorganization
Rome became a center of art and religion [still is: American Academy]
Rome still has no real industry except politics and religion!
Sixtus' character; he tried to reform corrupt church practices like simony, nepotism, greed, etc.
Before Sixtus you did not even have to be a priest before being named a Cardinal, just pay for the office
Raphael, Leo X and His "Nephews" (What is a "nephew" in Italian?)
Pope Paul III (Farnese) had four sons (and if you saw his mistress you would understand why).
The continuing building history of St Peters' Basilica:
Dazzle "Vatican Shoes of the Fisherman conclave 3" and "Vatican San Pietrini"
Bramante, Michelangelo, and Carlo Maderno: plans for St. Peters The main church completed in 1590.
St. Peters today; dome; side; temporary canopies facade; colonnade; roof statues; interior; statue of St. Peter
Gianlorenzo Bernini, Colonnade, St. Peters, 1656
G. B. Bernini, Baldachino (canopy) over High Altar, 1624f; "What the Barbarians Couldn't Do, the Barberini
Did"
Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680):
David, marble sculpture, 1623
Compare Donatello's and Michelangelo's Davids (Video: "Bernini 3 Davids")
Portrait Bust of Scipione Borghese, 1633:
Compare Hals' Merry Drinker, 1628-30 (The "speaking likeness")
Drawing of Cardinal Borghese
Portrait Bust of Costanza Bonarelli (a "ritratto d'amore')
Pluto and Persephone, 1622
Damned soul, 1619
ST TERESA, Cornaro chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria
New Baroque Illusionism Compare Rubens, St. Theresa interceding in Purgatory.
Read the description in Stokstad, p. 306--a good summary of Baroque style
Gesu Church ceiling, Bernini and G. B. Gaulli, Triumph of the Name of Jesus, 1676-79
Compare Fra Pozzo, ceiling and done of S. Ignatius, 1700
G. B. Bernini, Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza Navona, Rome, 1650
Roman piazze (or plazas--city squares):
Piazza del Popolo, "scenographic" vistas
Francesco de Sanctis, Spanish Steps, 1725
Trevi Fountain, 1720's
Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navonna
Arcitecture: Francesco Borromini (1599-1667)
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, 1665
Sant'Ivo della Sapienza, 1640
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573-1610): The Bad Boy of Roman Baroque
A Documentary history of Caravaggio's brief, tragic life
An Essay on light in Caravaggio Two essays by Alfred Moir on the Calling and St. John
Self-portrait. Caravaggio was a complex man, a criminal, and great innovator
Boy with Fruit Basket, c. 1595
Bacchus with Wine Glass, c. 1595
David's Hockney's theories: did some painters use "optical aids"?
"60 Minutes" Dazzle film clip on Hockney
"Amor Vincit Omnes," c. 1595
The Musicians, c. 1600 (Compare Vermeer's painting of similar subject)
St. John the Baptist (a "quotation" from Michelangelo?)
Scenes from the Life of St. Mathew, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, 1600
St. Mathew Writing the Gospel, two versions (Compare them! Why was the first rejected?)
The Calling of St. Mathew, 1600 (a great masterpiece)
A new way of showing light: tenebroso, or tenebrism
Question: do you have to be religious to be a great religious painter? or an actor?
Entombment of Christ, 1603-4
Death of the Virgin, c. 1605. "She looks like a prostitute who has been pulled out of the Tiber River."
Christ with the Doubting St. Thomas, c. 1602; literal and physical
Conversion of Paul and Crucifixion of St. Peter, 1601
The Influence of Caravaggio was immense throughout Europe, even on Rembrandt in far away Holland
Artemisia Gentilleschi (Italian), Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 1625
Women in Art, with the life and art of Artemesia Gentileschi
Gerrit van Honthorst (Dutch), The Prodigal Son, 1620
Judith Leyster (Dutch), Gay Cavaliers, 1628
Baroque "Genre Painting" (also influenced by Caravaggio):
Trompe l'oiel painting exhibition at the National Gallery of Art
Diego Velazquez (Spanish), Water Carrier of Seville. c. 1619
Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas ("The Maids of Honor"), 1656
A key work, but what genre is it? Portrait? Genre? History?
What is happening in the picture? Note the brilliant and fluid paint handling.
Jan Vermeer (Dutch), 1660, woman holding a balance, c. 1664
Jan Vermeer, Maidservant Pouring Milk, c. 1660: very small, intimate, quiet; (a knockout!)
Louis le Nain (French), Peasant family, 1640
Counter Reformation Spain:
Bartolome Esteban Murillo, The Immaculate Conception, c. 1645 (very accessible)
Sebastian Salcedo, Our Lady of Guadalupe, 1779 (Catholic art in the New World)
More Websites on Baroque Art:
Tours of Rome:
Forum Romanum: virtual tour, dictionary of mythology. Four stars!
Vedute di Roma: wonderful Baroque views and modern pictures
Vasi's map of Baroque Rome with modern pictures
Rome: City and History: models, tours, plans, etc. From Finland
Roman Museums:
Capitoline Museum (very good site, good scans, text in Italian)
Borghese Museum (also Barberini, Corsini, Spada: Practice your Italian!
Galleria Doria Pamphili (link to collection)
Vatican Museums (wretched scans, but lots of pics and links)
Museums especially relevant to Baroque Art
Metropolitain Museum New York
National Gallery Washington
Rijksmuseum Amdsterdam (beautiful web design)
Mauritshuis The Hague (several masterpieces)
Prado Madrid
National Gallery London
The Louvre virtual tour and collections; the official site
Uffizi Florence: ugly site but fair scans
The Hermitage St. Petersberg (HotMedia: best virtual tour yet!)
Royal Museum Brussels
Royal Museum Antwerp
Architecture:
St. Peters: http://www.christusrex.org/www1/citta/0-Citta.html
The Palace at Versailles: http://www.chateauversailles.fr/EN/110.asp