HUM 102Chapter 21 – The Baroque in Italy: the Church and Its Appeal

LECTURE OBJECTIVES

Identify the placement of the Baroque Period on the Art History Timeline.

Define Baroque and the cultural meaning of the term.

Understand the Influence of the Period and its core artistic elements

Explore the art of the most influential Baroque Artists

Explore Baroque Music and Culture as well as it’s influences.

Before the Baroque:Mannerism Art

• A term used to describe a period of art from1527–1580 that predates The Baroque Period.

• Mannerism Art is artistic expression that breaks the rules.

• Mannerism emphasized artifice (cleverness or artful skill) over nature

What characterizes Mannerism Art?

• The political atmosphere in Italy changed with the takeover of Florence by the Medici

• The religious atmosphere of Europe changed with the onset of the Protestantism

• Art became disturbed and emotional

What does Baroque mean?• Pronunciation - Like the word broke with an a after the b - Ba-Roke

• Is a derivative of the Italian word barocco, which philosophers used to describe an obstacle in schematic logic.

• Most widely known as a derivative of the Portuguese word barroco (Spanish barrueco), used to describe an irregular or imperfectly shaped pearl, and this usage still survives in the jeweler’s term baroque pearl.

• Word was used to describe the new style of art because of how different it was. Eventually it came to denote any contorted idea or process of thought.

Understanding The Baroque

•The Baroque was a term used to describe art from the post Renaissance era (1590-1750).

•Comes from a Portuguese term meaning “rough” or “irregular”, originally a derisive (mocking, sarcastic, cynical) term.

•Heavily influenced by religious and political wars of the 17th century (French Civil War, Thirty Years War, War of Spanish Succession, etc.)

Understanding The Baroque

•Most artistic realism was accomplished by the Renaissance so differences in artistic style usually comes from the patron who requested the art

•Styles depended on the religion of the artists’ ruler, but was usually highly emotional and powerful

Elements of The Baroque Period

• Tension• Emotion • Expression• Surprise

• Use of detail and light to create a mood and send a message through a work of art.

• Use of expressive and dynamic portrayals of people in the paintings.

• Many works of art during the Baroque era dealt with moral and ethical issues.

Art with a MessageREFORMATION v. COUNTER-

REFORMATION

• Defining Reformation:The religious movement in the 16th century that had for its object the reform of the Roman Catholic Church, and that led to the establishment of the Protestant churches.

• Defining Counter-Reformation:The movement within the Roman Catholic Church that followed the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century counteracting or opposing the reformation.

Art with a MessageGoals of Art during the COUNTER-

REFORMATION

• To deliberately evoke intense emotional response from the viewer

• To create dramatically lit, often theatrical compositions

• To use diverse media such as bronze and marble within a single artwork

• To create work with spectacular technical virtuosity

• Bernini,

• Pozzo,

• Borromini,

• Caravaggio,

• Gentileschi

The BaroqueINFLUENTIAL ITALIAN

ARTISTS

Gianlorenzo BERNINIHis works include:

The colonnade of St. Peter’s Piazza

The baldacchino (canopy) on the St. Peter’s altar, which was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII to define the alter space

Gianlorenzo BERNINIHis works include:

Vibrant marble sculpture of David

Ecstasy of St. Theresa sculpture

- Bernini’s sculpture equates Saint Teresa’s religious visions to sexual orgasm and ecstatic dancing

Gianlorenzo BERNINIHis works include:

Fountain of the Four Rivers, representing the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges, and the Plata rivers, each carved by a different member of Bernini's workshop.

Bernini: Ecstacy of

Saint Theresa (1652)

Andrea Pozzo Best known for applying his

knowledge of perspectives to design artwork for the cupola, the apse, and the ceiling of the St. Ignatius Church in Rome

Created drama in his art with tenebrism and foreshortening

Pozzo: Apotheosis of

Saint Ignatius of

Loyola. 1691-94.

Approx.: 56' × 115’

Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio)

.•Caravaggio is considered an icon of the Baroque Period. Most famous for his use of light and dark.

•Commissioned to paint the Conversion of Saint Paul for the Cerasi Chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo.

• It illustrates the conversion of the Pharisee Saul to Christianity, when he became the disciple Paul.

Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio)

.•Caravaggio was commissioned to create The Calling of St. Matthew, which he completed from 1599-1600.

•He painted the scene using the attire of his time and not the attire of Jesus’s so his audience could identify with the portrayal.

•His use of tenebrism contrasts large areas of darkness with smaller illuminated areas.

The Baroque in Italy

Caravaggio: Conversion of St.

Paul (1601)

The saint-to-be appears amid his conversion, flat on his back with his arms thrown up. In the background, an old hostler seems preoccupied with caring for the horse. At first inspection, little here suggests the momentous significance of the spiritual event taking place.

The Baroque in ItalyCaravaggio: The Calling of Saint Matthew

The most dramatic element of The Calling of Saint Matthew is light. The revelatory power of light is analogous to the transformative power of faith. Caravaggio’s use of light brought him to the forefront of Baroque Art. He is often called the Master of Light and Dark and is credited with the most influential use of tenebrism.

Artemisia Gentileschi.

•She painted her earliest signed and dated work, "Susanna and the Elders," around 1610, and later created such works as "Madonna and Child, "Judith Slaying Holofernes" and "Cleopatra.".

•She developed her artistic skills with the help of her father, Orazio Gentileschi, an accomplished painter in his own right. Orazio was greatly influenced by Caravaggio. For this reason she is considered a Caravaggisti Woman.

Artemisia Gentileschi.

•She was most popular for her many versions of "Judith Slaying Holofernes.“ She painted five versions to express her anger and feelings towards men after being raped by one of her father's colleagues, Agostino Tassi .

•When Tassi refused to marry her, her father pursued a legal case against him. The trial took several months. The court exiled Tassi from Rome, but the order was never enforced.

The Baroque in Italy |Gentileschi: Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

Around 1611, Gentileschi completed "Judith Slaying Holofernes," which depicts Judith in the act of saving the Jewish people by killing Assyrian general Holofernes; the painting shows a close-up of this brutal scene—Judith slicing Holofernes's throat while her handmaiden helps to hold him down.

The Baroque in Italy |Gentileschi: Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes

The story of Judith appeared a number of times in her art. Soon after finishing “Judith Slaying Holofernes” (around 1613), Gentileschi painted "Judith and her Maidservant," which shows the pair after Holofernes's death, with the maid holding a basket containing his severed head.

MUSICThe Baroque Period

Music in the Baroque Period

Giovanni Gabrieli and the Drama of Harmony —

Venice earned its place at the center of the musical world largely through the efforts of Gabrieli.

He was among the first to write religious music intended specifically for wind ensemble.

Music in the Baroque Period

Giovanni Gabrieli and the Drama of Harmony —

The distinctive sound of his music derived in part from his association with St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice and his use of the single note in compositions.

This method —the tonic note is used to heighten the sense of harmonic drama.

Music in the Baroque Period

Giovanni Gabrieli and the Drama of Harmony —

St. Mark’s Cathedral's unusual layout hadtwo choir lofts each with its own organ.

This led to the development of what has been called the Venetian style of composition -- a colorful and dramatic involving multiple choirs and instrumental ensembles; many of Gabrieli's works are written for two or four choirs with a dozen or more parts.

Music in the Baroque PeriodClaudio Monteverdi and the Birth of Opera —

Monteverdi was the musical director at Saint Mark’s in Venice where he mastered a new, text-based musical form; the opera.

The inspiration for his first opera, Orfeo, was the musical drama of ancient Greek theater.

Music in the Baroque PeriodClaudio Monteverdi and the Birth of Opera —

Monteverdi was the musical director at Saint Mark’s in Venice where he mastered a new, text-based musical form; the opera.

The inspiration for his first opera, Orfeo, was the musical drama of ancient Greek theater based on Orpheus and Eurydice.

Music in the Baroque PeriodClaudio Monteverdi and the Birth of Opera —

Active Listening Guide: Monteverdi: "Tu se' morta" from Orfeo

Music in the Baroque Period

Antonio Vivaldi and the Concerto

Considered Venice’s most important Baroque composer

Many of his works were written specifically for performance by girl choirs and instrumental ensembles.

Vivaldi specialized in composing concertos, a three-movement secular form of instrumental music.

Music in the Baroque Period

Antonio Vivaldi and the Concerto

Many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi had been employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740 as maestro di violino.

Female ensembles were most popular because girls required musical skill to secure a good marriage.

Orphanage directors hoped the ensembles brought in donations

Music in the Baroque Period

Antonio Vivaldi and the ConcertoActive Listening Guide: Vivaldi: Spring, I from The Four Seasons

LECTURE REVIEW The Baroque Period appears in the Counter-Reformation

Era on the Art History Timeline after The Mannerism Period.

Baroque comes from the Portugues word barraco which means misshapen pearl. The cultural meaning of the term began as derogatory and became respected.

The Baroque Period birthed tenebrism and the use of emotion and tension in art.

Most influential Baroque artists include Bernini, Carravagio, Gentileschi and Vivaldi

Baroque music gave us the tonic tone, opera, and vibrant rich music