BAROQUE TEST REVIEW
The test will also include Renaissance Architecture, Mannerism, and a few rolling review
questions. It has 75 multiple choice and three short essays.
RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE
Key principles of Renaissance Architecture
 Classical influence; incorporates classical elements – domes, columns, pediments
 Roman Pantheon and Colloseum as well as triumphal arches were big influences
on Renaissance architects.
 Logical designs based on mathematical ratios (also like classical architecture)
 Balance, symmetry, and order
 Making Christian churches resemble classical temples
Brunelleschi
 Early Renaissance architect from Florence
 Discovered linear perspective while visiting Rome
 Designed and built the cupola (dome) for Florence’s San Giovanni Church (the
Duomo)
 Admired classical architecture; influenced his designs
 Used mathematical ratios in his designs
Alberti
 Contemporary of Brunelleschi
 Wrote books on painting, sculpture, and architecture
 Focused career on architecture
 Wrote the rules for linear perspective
 Incorporated classical elements into his designs
Sant Andrea in Mantua
 Designed by Alberti
 Commissioned by Gonzaga family, who also commissioned Mantegna to do
oculus in their palace in Mantua.
 Influenced by ancient Roman triumphal arches; façade resembles a triumphal arch
 Includes GIANT ORDER columns (columns that extend up multiple levels); first
time this was used; will influence Baroque
Bramante
 High Renaissance architect
 Promoted the CENTRAL PLAN for its perfect symmetry
 Designed the TEMPIETTO
 Commissioned to design New Saint Peter’s
The Tempietto
 Small domed martyrium in Rome that commemorates the execution of Saint Peter
 Designed by Bramante before he did Saint Peter’s
 Commissioned by Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain – devout Catholics
 Central plan based on a series of concentric circles
 Based on mathematical ratios
 Made Bramante famous
Palladio
 Renowned Venetian High Renaissance/Mannerist architect
 Famous for his villas
 Wrote four books on architecture that were highly popular
 Designs known for classical elements and symmetry
Villa Rotonda
 Famous villa on Venetian mainland designed by Palladio
 Once belonged to a Catholic cleric; now a historical site
 Domed with central plan
 Four porticoes, one for each cardinal direction, complete with pediments,
entablatures, and columns (meant to give four beautiful but different views of the
cleric’s estate)
MANNERISM (~1520s – 1600)
Characteristics of Mannerism
 Elongated body proportions
 Exaggerated, twisting poses – figura serpentinata (snake-like)
 Asymmetrical compositions that lack central focus; instead movement around
periphery (edges)
 Acidic colors
 Unusual lighting effects or multiple light sources
Why?
 Artists trying to be different than the High Renaissance masters – Raphael,
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Titian
 Religious influence – Reformation had begun and religious art was supposed to be
elegant; hence the long necks and hands – grace and beauty
Pontormo’s Descent from the Cross
 Taking Jesus down from the cross
 Painting lacks a central focus, energy swirling around periphery
 Elongated body proportions of Christ, Mary, and John
 Exaggerated figura serpentinata, contrived poses for emotional impact (lacks the
calm restraint of the Renaissance)
 Some acidic colors (ex. Red next to green)
Mannerist sculpture
 Figura serpentinata
 Swirling bodies and compositions meant to be viewed from multiple angles
 Can be emotionally charged (ex. Rape of the Sabine Women)
 Elongated body proportions
 Artists include Giovanni da Bologna, Cellini, and even Michelangelo in his later
years
Bologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women
 Based on story of how Rome obtained its first female residents (stealing them)
 Young warrior carries off screaming woman as older man crouches helplessly
between younger man’s legs
 Bologna based older man’s pose off Laocoon (very influential Hellenistic
sculpture for Renaissance, Mannerist, and even Baroque artists)
BAROQUE (1600s, 17th century)
Counter-Reformation a.k.a. Catholic Reformation
 Catholic Church responding to the threat of losing members to Protestant
Christianity
 Council of Trent – series of meetings to reform the Church including art
 Counter-Reformation Church hired artists to create must-see attractions
 Spread Catholic-style Christianity through missionaries – ex. Saint Ignatius
Loyola
 Used the Inquisition – sent out priest-lawyers (inquisitors) to investigate and
prosecute people in Catholic regions who were thought to be disloyal to the
teachings of the Church
Characteristics of Italian Baroque art
 SPECTACULAR, DRAMATIC, EPIC!
 Meant to draw people into Catholic churches and teach them about the Bible and
the lives of the famous saints (ex. The Glorification of Saint Ignatius fresco)
 Inspire them to have a spiritual experience and believe that Catholicism is the true
form of Christianity
Italian Baroque painting
 Developed by CARAVAGGIO, who influenced many other artists
 Using EVERYDAY PEOPLE as the models for religious scenes
 Picking the MOST DRAMATIC moment of a story to depict (ex. The sword
going through the neck of Holofernes in Judith Beheading Holofernes)
 Spotlight effect contrasted with TENEBRISM – really dark shadows, exaggerated
chiaroscuro
Italian Baroque church interiors vs. Dutch Baroque church interiors – Why do they look
different? What role did religion play in the differences?
Carracci’s Loves of the Gods
 Fresco cycle on the ceiling of a room in the Villa Farnese in Rome
 Depicts mythological subject matter
 A major commission for Carracci, considered a hallmark of Italian Baroque art
 Major illusionistic devices (amazing sense of depth and perspective, use of
grisaille)
 Dynamic compositions (diagonal arrangements, movement of figures)
 Exaggerated muscular proportions – shows that Carracci was influenced by
figures from Michelangelo’s Sistine ceiling
 Shows how Baroque artists sought to arouse human emotion
Caravaggio
 Unintentionally invented the Baroque style of painting, which would influence
other painters in Italy (aka the CARAVAGGISTI) as well as Spanish painters
(Velazquez), Flemish painters (Rubens), and Dutch painters (Rembrandt)
 Painted dramatic religious scenes for the church – oil on large canvases
 Used everyday people as models (Caravaggio felt comfortable hanging out with
miscreants from the street and behaved like a miscreant himself – had these
people pose for him)
 Dramatic spotlight effect contrasted with tenebrism
 Depicted the most dramatic moment of stories (ex. When Paul is knocked off his
horse by the blinding light of Jesus in his Conversion of Saint Paul painting)
Artemesia Gentileschi
 Distinguished painter famous for scenes of heroic females
 Taught by her father originally (later would be raped by another teacher and
tortured by the authorities to see if she was telling the truth)
 Famous for her Judith and Holofernes scenes
 Also did a famous self-portrait in the act of painting called Allegory of Painting
Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes
 Story taken from the Apocrypha
 Judith saves Israel by beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes after getting
him drunk in his tent
 Caravaggio-esque elements – realistic, everyday people, self-portrait as Judith,
most dramatic moment – sword midway through Holofernes’s neck, tenebrism
and spotlight on the action
Bernini
 Most famous sculptor of the Baroque
 Worked extensively for Catholic clergy and the Church
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Sculptures are realistic and filled with energy, dramatic, spectacular
The Michelangelo of the 1600s
Bernini’s David
 Shows the moment when David is about to hurl the stone from his slingshot at the
giant Goliath
 Interacts with space around it – you almost expect to see a statue of Goliath
nearby
 Contrasts with Michelangelo’s David, who looks across the battlefield but stands
in contrapposto
 David’s trademark harp (he composed many psalms in the Bible) is on the ground
by his feet as is King Saul’s armor (David was so young that King Saul’s armor
was too big for him)
 Created for Cardinal Borghese in Rome to decorate his villa
 Done before Bernini worked extensively for the Church
Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina
 Another Borghese commission for his villa
 Depicts the myth of how Pluto (aka Hades in Greek) opens up the ground and
abducts Proserpina (aka Persephone) to make her is wife
 Filled with drama, emotion, and movement
 Extremely realistic – it looks like Pluto is squeezing his hands into the flesh of a
real person as he holds Proserpina against her will
 Cerberus – Pluto’s three-headed dog barks at his feet as he takes Proserpina
Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
 Commissioned to decorate a chapel in a church in Rome
 Depicts famous story of a pious, Catholic nun who had a spiritual experience
 In a dreamlike trance, she was visited by an angel, who stabbed her repeatedly
with an arrow that symbolized God’s divine love; it hurt her but also made her
feel great joy
 Story told in her journal and published for readers during Counter-Reformation,
which inspired Catholics that if they could be as holy as Saint Teresa, they too
would have supernatural experiences
 MULTIMEDIA spectacular – Bernini carved the angel and Saint Teresa in
marble, used different marble for background, gilded bronze beams to represent
God’s light, and a hidden window to allow in light
Bernini’s work for Saint Peter’s (What were his main projects?)
 Bernini became the golden boy of the Catholic church – young, brilliant and
talented, rich and famous
 Designed the BALDACCHINO – a giant (95’ tall) bronze canopy located
beneath the dome of Saint Peter’s, which is at the crossing of nave and transept
 Restored the Scala Regia, which is the pope’s special staircase from the Apostolic
Palace to Saint Peter’s
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COLONNADES of Saint Peter’s – 300 Tuscan-style columns with Ionic frieze –
symbolize the “arms of the Mother Church” welcoming the faithful – remember
the COUNTER-REFORMATION is going on. Bernini’s COLONNADES
surround what is called SAINT PETER’S SQUARE – So, Bernini also designed
Saint Peter’s Square, which is NOT square but a trapezoid connected to an oval
Designed statues on top of Saint Peter’s façade and colonnades – 96 in total
Carved statues of Constantine, Pope Alexander VI for his tomb, and Saint
Longinus, the soldier who pierced Christ’s side while he was on the cross
Characteristics of Baroque sculpture
 Dramatic moments
 Realistic
 Going in different directions, swirling and dramatic – more dramatic than
Mannerism – BAROQUE IS OVER THE TOP!
Characteristics of Baroque architecture
 Gigantic, epic, spectacular
 Uses classical elements – columns, domes, pediments but exaggerates them
 Likes ovals and trapezoids – unusual and interesting shapes
 GIANT order columns (first used by Alberti for Sant Andrea in Mantua during
Early Renaissance) – ex. Façade of Saint Peter’s for dramatic effect
 Undulating – moving in an out, convex and concave – gives a rippling effect and
adds to the drama
 Rome today has much evidence of Baroque architecture, a testament to the efforts
of the Counter-Reformation Church
Saint Peter’s Largest, most important project of the Baroque
 Begun by Pope Julius II during High Renaissance in early 1500s but not finished
until 1620s
 Many popes and architects in between including Raphael and Michelangelo
 CARLO MADERNO – important architect who completed Saint Peter’s – added
two more bays to create a Latin-style cross (went away from Bramante’s central
plan) and finished the façade
 Saint Peter’s is a combination of Renaissance and Baroque elements
 Large clocks on corners of façade with swirling sculptures and large sculpted
figures on top (Bernini) as well as giant order columns give the Baroque feel
 Bernini designed the colonnades that make Saint Peter’s Square
SPANISH BAROQUE (What were the main topic? What did art revolve around?)
 Absolute monarchy led by King Philip IV
 Philip IV used great artists to enhance his image and portray him as firmly in
control of a powerful nation
 Spain was also a devout Catholic nation committed to the Counter-Reformation
DIEGO VELAZQUEZ
 One of greatest painters who ever lived
 Amazing realism – understanding of human proportions, creating complicated
illusions of depth and space, textures – skin, fabrics, hair, metal, expressive
brushwork – from a distance looks photographic but up close you can see
evidence of his painterly style
 Rose to the status of Painter to the King, became Philip IV’s personal friend and
lived at the palace with his own wife and children (they had their own suite)
 Philip IV trusted Velazquez enough to send him on an all-expense paid trip to
Italy to buy artwork for the royal Spanish collection; Velazquez got the attention
of all artists in Rome and was commissioned to do a portrait of Pope Innocent X
 Influenced by the work of Caravaggio and the Caravaggisti
 Worked primarily for Philip IV doing portraits of him, his family, historical
paintings – Surrender of Breda (The Lances), portraits of the royal court (nobles,
jesters, dwarfs, and everyone else)
 Portraits have a sense of dignity and give viewers insight into the personality of
the subjects
Water Seller of Seville
 Important early Velazquez painting
 Shows influence of Caravaggio – tenebrism, an everyday person – a waterseller –
selling water to two customers
 Amazing realism – proportions, light and shading contrasts, sense of depth, water
droplets
 A GENRE painting – painting of everyday life
 Brought Velazquez to the attention of nobles, who brought him to the attention of
King Philip IV
Las Meninas
 Most famous Velazquez painting
 Young Princess Margarita in the center attended by two young ladies – Las
Meninas (The Maids in Waiting)
 Servants and dwarfs depicted along with the royal dog
 Outstanding realism in the proportions, costuming and textures
 Tenebrism with a dramatic spotlight
 Self-portrait of Velazquez looking out at you the viewer from behind his canvas;
he holds a paint brush and palette in his hands
 Mirror in the center of the painting on the other side of the room with reflection of
King Philip IV and Queen Dona Mariana – you are standing where they are – The
painting that Velazquez is working on in Las Meninas that you can’t see may be a
portrait of them
 Las Meninas has great SPATIAL COMPLEXITY – illusion of a deep room in the
palace (his studio), opens up to a stairway in the background where Velazquez’s
brother Joseph, a chamberlain, has opened a door
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Rubens paintings hang on the wall – Rubens was a guest of King Philip IV and
Velazquez and he became friends
Regarded by some art historians as the BEST PAINTING OF ALL TIME
Dutch Baroque (Why was Dutch Baroque different than Italian and Spanish? What were
the main topics of Dutch Baroque?)
 Dutch were Protestant – not following the pope and the Catholic Church
 Republic – no kings
 Prosperous, middle-class interested in investing and overseas trade
 Protestant work ethic – believed that they needed to work hard to honor God and
make the most of their lives; yet, they had to walk humbly and not become
consumed by the VANITIES of life
 Loved to collect art for their homes
 Portraits – wanted to be remembered as they were – realistic, personality, devout
and pious
 Group portraits – demonstrates the democratic atmosphere of seventeenth century
Holland
 VANITAS painting – still-life painting with religious meaning
 Landscapes – realistic depictions of Holland, very proud that they had won their
independence from Spain
Vanitas still-life painting
 Depicts the TRANSIENCE OF LIFE – how short life is – Dutch were Protestants
concerned about the immortal souls – want to go to heaven; skulls, timepieces,
empty shells, and half-empty glasses
 Filled with objects collected by the Dutch, who were prosperous members of the
bourgeoisie, flowers (the Dutch love flowers), glass drinking vessels (luxuries
from Venice), shell-fish (luxury food and showing their trading empire),
timepieces and watches (sign of wealth and responsibility), lamps, books, samurai
swords, and more
 But…VANITAS paintings remind the Dutch to beware of the vanities of life;
these objects are nice to own but life is short and they cannot bring these into the
afterlife
Genre scenes
 Scenes of everyday life
 The Dutch did not paint portraits of monarchs and nobles, because they had a
republic and were middle-class; they did not paint pictures of the pope, priests, or
saints, because as Protestants, they did not regard the pope as the final authority
on God, they had ministers, and believed that they didn’t need to pray to saints to
intervene with God on their behalf
 What to paint then? Vanitas still-life, everyday scenes, landscapes of their nation,
and portraits to remember how they were
Landscapes
 Jacob Van Ruisdael was the most famous Dutch landscape painter
 Low horizon lines emphasizes the flatness of Holland, which is regarded as one of
the Lowland Countries (below sea level)
 Atmospheric effects – swirling white clouds moving across the sky
 Hallmark features of the Netherlands – windmills, church steeples, and people
working on their land
Franz Hals
 Famous portrait painter
 Great realism but also psychological insight into the sitter
 Shadowy backgrounds – influence of Italian Baroque – with spotlight on the
subject
 Group portraits – ex. The Archers of Saint Hadrian, The Regents of the Old
Man’s Almshouse, The Regentesses of the Old Man’s Almshouse
 Portraits – The Jolly Topper, The Laughing Cavalier
Judith Leyster
 Famous portrait painter
 May have learned from her husband as well as Franz Hals, but eventually became
a rival of Hals
 Contemporary of Artemesia Gentileschi, the Italian Baroque painter
 Famous self-portrait by her canvas looking out at you the viewer with her palette
and brushes and smiling – female artists often painted themselves as artists and
sometimes with students by them
Hals’s Archers of Saint Hadrian
 Group portrait of a militia company
 The militias helped the Dutch in the war for independence against Spain
 They loved to have raucous military reunions where they would party and relive
old times
 Great realism, Hals captures the different personalities of the militia, most of
these are middle-class men with regular jobs; they have dressed in their old
uniforms for the reunion
Jacob Van Ruisdael
 Famous landscape painter
 View of Haarlem and the Bleaching Grounds
 Windmills
 Low horizon line with atmospheric effects
 Great sense of depth and realism
Rembrandt
 Most famous and accomplished Dutch Baroque painter; regarded as one of the
Old Masters
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Tumultuous career – very famous, most in-demand painter, rich, in love and
married; three children died before they reached six months old, mother died and
wife died shortly after birth of fourth child, bankruptcy, lost house, his students
began taking his commissions – painted like Rembrandt but for less
Early Rembrandt – Caravaggio-esque – tenebrism, great realism, everyday people
in religious scenes or portraits and group portraits and genre scenes, interest in
textures and realistic details, highly finished, photographic realism
Late Rembrandt – Not as detailed, more painterly and expressive, darker palette
and darker mood, more introspective and has deeper meaning
Many SELF-PORTRAITS at different stages of his life in all different poses,
costumes, etc. – it was free to do his own portrait whereas he would have to pay
models unless they were related to him; Rembrandt is the artist whom art
historians recognize as having the MOST SELF-PORTRAITS compared to any
other known artists
ETCHING – a print-making method where acid burns the artist’s design into a
metal plate, which is then washed clean, dried, inked, and printed onto paper
The Night Watch
 Famous group portrait/genre scene of a militia company getting ready for a parade
– the queen of France visiting the Netherlands
 The formal name of the painting – The Militia Company of Franz Banning Cocq
 Symbol of Holland
 Displayed in a public hall
 Varnish over the oil paint has darkened over the centuries prompting people to
call it the Night Watch
Vermeer (What do his paintings look like? What are they key characteristics? How did he
use light? What instrument do art historians think he used?)
 The Sphinx of Delft – mysterious painter who did not complete many paintings –
about 35
 Quiet domestic scenes of young women, sometimes young men, often indoors
possibly his studio set up to look like a room in a home – genre scenes/portraits
 Amazing realism in his painting – may have used a CAMERA OBSCURA – a
predecessor of the camera that uses light to project an image onto another surface
 Vermeer is also regarded as one of the Old Masters
 Not as exaggerated with tenebrism although some have it (The Girl with the Pearl
Earring, The Love Letter)
 Diagonal, raking spotlight similar to Caravaggio