baroque art fountain at versailles. baroque: the ornate age 1600-1750 advanced the techniques and...
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Baroque Art
Fountain at Versailles
Baroque: The Ornate Age
• 1600-1750• Advanced the techniques and grand scale of the
Renaissance were married to the emotion, intensity and drama of Mannerism
• Styles ranged from Italian realism to French flamboyance
• Common thread was a sensitivity to and absolute mastery of light to achieve maximum emotional impact.
• It began around 1600, with the Catholic Popes financing to advertise their triumphs after the Counter Reformation.
• Attraction to new worshippers with “must see” architecture
• Spread to France where rulers spent sums similar to the Egyptian Pharaohs to glorify themselves.
• Themes ranged from classical to religious in the Catholic countries to still lifes and landscape paintings in Protestant countries where religious paintings were forbidden.
Carravagio: “The Conversion of St. Paul”
• 1601• Italian Baroque• Took realism to new
lengths.• Criticized for depicting
holy figures as common people.
• Use of light brought focus to particular details.
St. Paul, thrown from horse, showing an “explicit rear-end view”
Italian Baroque
• Differed from Renaissance in its emphasis on emotion rather than rationality,
dynamism rather than stasis.
• “It was as if Baroque artists took Renaissance figures and set them
spinning like tops.”
“The Calling of St. Matthew”
• He advocated direct paintings from nature—often directly from the seamy slums.
• Apostle to be as a tax collector, in a tavern, surrounded by dandies, when the light comes on him and the call from Jesus.
Bernini: “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa”
• 1645-1652• Sculptor• His work showed
dynamic, explosive energy
• This work fuses sculpture and architecture.
St. Peters Cathedral
• The essence of Baroque style: mixture of dazzling colors, forms and materials—provide an overwhelming theatrical effect.
Borromini: “San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane”
• 1665-1667• Serpentine nature
makes the walls seem to be in motion
• Used never before linked shapes
• Alternating convex and concave walls give rippling effects.
Flemish Baroque
• Flanders (S. Netherlands—now Belgium)
• Remained Catholic after the Reformation, which gave artists ample incentive to produce religious paintings.
• Key artist was Sir Peter Paul Rubens
• 1612• Worked everywhere,
bringing synthesis of all styles
• Over 2,000 paintings• This painting shows
“Baroque curves and dramatic lighting.
Rubens: “The Descent from the Cross”
“Marie Arrives at Marseilles
• 1622-1625• Famous for his
paintings of full figured nudes
• The arrival of the French Queen depicted as a “sensory extravaganza spilling over with color and opulence”
Van Dyke: “Charles I at the Hunt”
• 1635• Flemish painter; hired
by English King, Charles I
• Painted officials in “action poses”
• Popular for flattering adjustments given to subjects of his work.
Dutch Baroque
Heda: “Still Life”• 1636• Dutch• Still life paintings
began in “post-reformation” Netherlands.
• Extraordinary realism in portraying domestic scenes.
Hals: “The Jolly Toper”
• 1627• Dutch• Used sweeping brush
strokes to freeze the passing moment (here, he looks just about to talk)
• Known for enlivening his subjects
Ruisdael: “Windmill at Wijk-bij-Duurstede
• 1665• Dutch• Most versatile
landscape artist• Emphasized great
stretches of sky water and fields, with contrasting colors to add somber mood to his paintings
Rembrandt: “The Nightwatch”
• 1642; Dutch• Perhaps most famous
painter of Western World.• Early in career did many
commissioned works• “Nightwatch” was a
turning point between early and later in his career.
• Later works moved from Baroque style to darker, moodier themes
Vermeer: “The Kitchenmaid”
• 1658• Dutch • Master of using light
and shapes and texture to bring out features in paintings.
English Baroque
Hogarth: “Breakfast Scene”
• 1745• England• Very satirical artist• Influenced by his
father’s imprisonment for debt.
• Targeted idle aristocracy, drunken urban workers and corrupt politicians
Wren: “St. Paul’s Cathedral”
• 1675-1712• Dome: diameter 112
feet and height 365 feet.• Lantern and cross at the
top weighed 64,000 tons.
Velazquez: “Las Meninas”
• 1656• Spanish • Created forms
through color and light rather than through lines. . .
• “preferred understatement to ostentation and realism to idealism.”
La Tour: “The Penitent Magdalen”
• 1638-1643• Use of light ala
Carravagio.• Use of geometrical
shapes/less life like• Human features “hidden”
Poussin: “Burial of Phocion”
• 1648• Most famous French
painter of 17th c.• Took classical
rationalism seriously• Battles, heroic
actions, and religious themes were the only thing worth painting according to Poussin.
La Brun & Hardouin-Mansart: “Hall of Mirror” (Versailles)
• 1680• 240-foot-long gallery,
lined with massive silver furniture
• 17 floor to ceiling windows and mirrors reflect the sun.
Le Notre: “The Grounds at Versailles”
• 1669-1685• Water added to
appease the complaints of Louis XIV’s mistresses complaints about the symmetry.