Week 2 Discussion History of Art from the Middle ages to Modern Times
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The Baroque Style in Europe
The word Baroque, which derives from the French and means “irregularly shaped,” refers to art, music, and literature produced in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As a style, Baroque art is typically dramatic, emotional, and dynamic. It is marked by sharp diagonals and strong contrasts in color and light.
The Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation, a direct response to the Protestant Reformation, de�ned much of the art and architecture produced in sixteenth-century Italy and Flanders. The Catholic Church commissioned large scale buildings, sculptures, and paintings meant to be a sort of propaganda, and to encourage piety in viewers. Elaborate sculptural installations such as Gianlorenzo Bernini’s Baldacchino (1624-33) and St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy (1645-52) are examples of Counter-Reformation sculpture. Caravaggio’s The Calling of St. Matthew (1599-1600) epitomizes Italian Baroque painting in its subject, which shows Christ singling out the Roman tax collector Matthew to join him in a spiritual life, and its composition, in which the artist employs tenebrism, or the dramatic contrast of dark and light. Also typical of the Italian Baroque approach, this Biblical subject matter is told through what seem to be ordinary �gures with bare, dirty feet. Indeed, the only visible manifestation of Christ’s holiness is a faint outline of a halo above his head.
Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens also produced Counter-Reformation works, such as his Raising of the Cross (1610-11). The dramatic diagonal that de�nes the composition of this triptych is typically Baroque, as are the muscular, emotional �gures, strong color, and gestural application of paint.
Dutch Baroque art showed the in�uence of Protestantism and the middle-class merchants and traders who served as patrons. Dutch Baroque artists created portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and genre scenes of domestic life. Generally, Dutch Baroque art tended to be naturalistic in style, and captured the transitory aspects of the everyday. Rembrandt van Rijn’s large group portraits and Jan Vermeer’s quiet interior studies are typical of this period style.
The European culture of the sixteenth century was completely altered by the profound in�uence of the Protestant Reformation. Beginning in the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation split Europe along religious and geographical lines. To halt the spread of this reform movement throughout all of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church began a Counter-Reformation after 1540. This resulted in deep and long lasting changes in church organization and administration. The Catholic Counter-Reformation was an effort for reform and renewal. In this effort, art became a major tool of popular persuasion.
During the seventeenth century, upheavals occurred not only in the religious world, but also in the political, economic, governmental, and scienti�c worlds—having a profound impact on artistic effort and production. Art became more and more something that was within reach of members of a growing middle class, and many types of art were speci�cally produced for their consumption and enjoyment.
The characteristics that “baroque” designates are generally open compositions that obtain strategically placed elements that move diagonally across a piece. The use of a dramatic light source and rich colors are key ingredients of most Baroque paintings. The artists of the seventeenth century were attempting to mimic life naturally. This added more responsibility onto the observer since the viewer was now expected to be emotionally involved with the work.
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Architecture
Although churches remained the dominant form of architectural achievements, public spaces were becoming a popular way to attempt to unify the citizens after the Reformation. Piazzas, open urban spaces, housed �ne sculptures, fountains, and statues by famous artists of the time. Rome’s famous Piazza Navona is a large public outdoor space that includes monumental fountains.
Sculpture
As in the High Renaissance, artists including sculptors were concerned with the individuality of each piece. Bernini was one of the most famous sculptors of the Baroque era. His ability to create the illusion of different textures in marble is what set him apart from the rest. In his piece Saint Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy, Bernini elicits such a feeling of movement and emotion, as the facial expressions seem to be a glimpse into a miracle. The work is overwhelmingly beautiful, as gild bronze rays of light are descending down onto the angel and a hidden window above illuminates Saint Teresa.
Another example of raw emotion caught within a solid piece of marble is Bernini’s David. Although many acclaimed sculptors tackled an image of David �ghting Goliath, Bernini’s David is very different. The determination on his face shows through as the image is composed of David rearing back to hurl a stone. His positioning of the �gure encroaches into the viewer’s space, making the onlooker feel as though he/she is paying witness to the act at hand. The diagonal composition carries the viewer’s eye completely around the piece and gives way to the sight of David’s abandoned armor on the ground at his feet.
Painting
The ceiling paintings of the Baroque era were utilizing the same ideas of that of the High Renaissance, just on a new level. Architectural elements were included in the images through the technique known as trompe l’oeil painting, a technique that made paintings appear to be textured and three- dimensional. Painting the elements as opposed to sculpting them allowed the artist to have the subjects of an image interact with the space itself.
Additional Materials
Key Artists of the Baroque (media/week2/SUO_HUM1002%20W2%20L4%20Key%20Artists%20of%20the%20Baroque.pdf? _&d2lSessionVal=pYHvJkic8VnMWDaIA53QXBUfs&ou=77276)
Rembrandt van Rijn (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rmbt/hd_rmbt.htm)
Johannes Vermeer (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/verm/hd_verm.htm)
