Baroque Art
1600-1775
Characteristics
• “Baroque” (from the Portuguese barroco, “a
pearl of irregular form”) first used with
negative connotations to describe art
overladen with ornament—considered vulgar
or debased Renaissance style
• Style was full of vigor, strong emotions,
symbolism, and subtleties
Influences
• As church and government authority was weakened in the Renaissance, a
need to establish new systems emerged. Leaders in religion, politics,
economics, and science were interested in establishing order.
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Bacon-scientific method
Descartes and Pascal-mathematics
Newton-physics
Colbert-mercantile system
• Religious Activity
– Spread of Protestantism in northern Europe
– Catholic Counter-Reformation (Jesuits)
– Both sought to create a more profound and personal religious experience
• Art reflected a personalized expression of religious subjects depicting the
pathos and joy of human struggle and victory over the inner self
Painting
• Line was diffused—one form melts into
another
• Color—often monochromatic with variations
in the saturation and value of one color
• Favored open form—action implied beyond
the visible limits of the canvas
Tintoretto
• 1518-1594
• Venetian
• Last Supper (colorplate 33)
– Dramatic use of light and movement
– Figures melt into each other
– Little contrast of color
– Compare to Leonardo da Vinci’s….
Rembrandt
• 1606-1669
• Dutch
• Known for portraits—commissioned by many wealthy
patrons in Amsterdam
• Utilized chiaroscuro—a treatment of light and shade in
which creates strong contrast
• Strove to systematically make himself a master of reality by
sketching and painting hundreds of works (often selfportraits).
• While his early works were created to satisfy the demands
of his patrons, his later works revealed the personalities of
his subjects. As a result, he lost favor with many of his
clients.
Works of Rembrandt
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Dr. Tulp’s Anatomy Lesson (CP 34)
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The Night Watch (CP35)
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Depicts a well-known doctor demonstrating the technique of surgery
A record of a dramatic event and a group portrait—careful attention to the individual characteristics of the
figures, famous citizens of Amsterdam
Focused, bright light on their faces highlight their individual characteristcs
Depicts members of the Koveniers—a militia group in Amsterdam. Eighteen of the figures paid to have their
portrait included
Captain Frans Cocq—in the center (red sash) sporting typical attire of upper class
Wilhem van Ruytenburgh—to the left of the captain—listening as Cocq gives directions. Second in
command—shown by his position slightly behind the captain and shorter stature. Still dressed in upper class
attire.
Girl on the left—allegorical figure representing glory. The chicken that hangs from her clothing was the
symbol of the Kloveniers
Combined portraiture with action, light and darkness, important citizens and fantasy characters
Attention to balance of all the figures and placement of vertical objects
Supper at Emmaus (p 179)
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Depicts the disciples’ meal at Emmaus
Two disciples come together speaking of Jesus who is no longer dwelling among them
“Where two ore three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”
Peter Paul Rubens
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1577-1640
Flemish (Flanders—parts of present day Belgium, Netherlands, France)
Roman Catholic
Studied in Italy, painted for the Spanish court, and settled in Antwerp
Very popular and successful
Organized a commercial art studio operated on the assembly-line method
– Rubens would create preliminary sketches
– Assistants prepared canvas, including background and figures
– Rubens completed the painting
• Commissioned to create a number of paintings for Jesuit church in
Antwerp
• Style utilizes vivid color, vigorous movement, robust figures
Works of Rubens
• Rape of the Dughters of Leucippus (CP 37)
– Depicts Greek myth of the abduction of the daughters of Leucippus
(Phoebe and Hilaeira) by Castor and Pollux to take as their wives.
– Movement created through short curved lines of arms, legs and torsos
– Larger movements crated diagonally across canvas through the
twisted positions of the figures
– Form melts into form through diffused lines
• The Assumption of the Virgin (CP 38)
– Portrays the ascent of the Virgin to heaven surrounded by cherubs
– Each person blends into the other either by motion or by light and
shade
– Each figure has its own identity while the fusion of figures creates one
movement
– Heavenly and earthly figures are distinguished by their placement in
the painting
Velasquez
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1599-1660
Spanish
Master of light and shade, space and realism
Las Meninas (Maids of Honor) CP39
– Infanta Margarita with her attendants
– King and queen reflected in mirror
– Study of contrasts—color of Infanta’s dress with
her attendant’s, delicate features of Infanta with
dwarfed features of figure on right
El Greco
• 1541-1614
• Real name Domenicos Theotocopoulos
• Lived in Spain; known as “El Greco” because of his Greek
origins
• Jesuit
• Utilized techniques to convey a profound intensity of
emotional expression
• Laocoon (CP 32)
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Elongation of human form
Diagonal movement of line
Upward movement of light
Color of bodies provides drama
Sculpture
• More action, expressiveness, and individuality than Renaissance sculpture
• Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)
– Italian
– Jesuit
• Works reflect a devout and intense personal religious expressiveness
– David
• Tension expressed in face and body
• Sense of movement about to take place
• Open form—David looks intently at Goliath, who exists beyond the sculpture
– Ecstasy of St Theresa
• Depicts St Theresa’s dream, in which an angel pierces her heart with a dart, symbolice of
divine life
• Expresses an ecsatsy of pain—Theresa has been pierced by the dart and is about to be
pierced again
• The feeling of infinite space is created by the cloud on which the action takes place
• The poised dart, angelic face, and flowing drapery combine to create dynamic motion
Architecture
• Utilized classic formal design
• Added profuse ornamentation
• Movement, light, and shade were all manipulated
to create a dramatic spectacle to the eye
• While Renaissance architecture creates a feeling
of serenity and order through uncluttered lines,
balance and symmetry, Baroque architecture
creates exuberance and excitement through
ornament and embellishment
Significant Structures
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Stairway at Schloss Augustusburg-Bruhl, Germany (p. 187
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Il Gesu-Rome, Italy (p. 188)
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Designed by Giacomo della Porta
Mix of Renaissance and Baroque styles, utilizing simple forms with ornamentation
A more reserved example of Baroque architecture, but was a model for other Baroque churches
Sant Agnese-Rome, Italy (p. 189)
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Compare to Michelangelo’s stairway of the Laurentian Library
Designed by Francesco Borromini
Utilizes classical columns and a large done
Not all elements are functional; some are purely for decoration (pairs of columns, for example)
Depth is created by the towers set forward from the façade
Repeated ornamental carvings give a sense of undulating motion
Monestary Church of Melk-Melk, Austria (p. 190)
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Followed same basic plan of Il Gesu
Decorative and ornamental interior comproses a complex series of variations on the curves of the round
arch
Dynamic motion from floor to ceiling
Dramatic use of light in the vaulted dome
St Peter’s-Rome
• Bernini made major contributions to the interior and
exterior of St Peter’s Basilica
• Baldacchino
– Marks the tomb of St. Peter
– A bronze representation of a cloth canopy traditionally carried
over the head of the Pope on high holy days
– 4 spiral pillars are 60 feet high
– Adorned with bees—symbol of the family of Pope Urban VIII,
who commissioned the structure
– Sprigs of olive and bay, as well as acanthus leaves create more
decoration, as do cherubs and a dove, representing the holy
spirit
– Tassels dangle from the top of the canopy
– Much of the ornamentation is gilded
St Peter’s
• Cathedra Petri (Throne of Peter)
– Bernini envisioned a glorious work at the end of the
Cathedral to enhance the experience of looking down
the nave past the Baldacchino
– Holds the relic of St Peter’s throne
– A symbolic chair that houses the relic, surrounded by
large sculptures of the 4 doctors of the church and a
cloud of bronze angels
– Contains a large stained glass window of a white dove,
representing peace (about 6 feet wide)
– Beams of light made of bronze strips
St Peter’s
• Monument to Alexander VII
– Built when Bernini was 80 years old
– 4 figures representing Justice, Truth, Prudence and
Charity
• Positioning of figures is significant—Truth rests her foot on a
globe, specifically on England, where the rise of the Anglican
church was a thorn in the side of Pope Alexander
– Death represented as a bronze skeleton in the door
• Holds an hourglass—a reminder that our time on earth is
limited
– An excellent study of contrast—the Pope and 4 figures
are white marble, contrasted with the bronze skeleton
and the colored shroud
St Peter’s
• Piazza San Pietro
– Bernini designed the huge open space to enhance the
grandness of St Peters
– The curved colonnade resembles two arms embracing
the people who come to the Cathedral
– Obelisk in the center was brought to Rome in ancient
times and stood at Nero’s Circus, a chariot racing track
that stood where St Peter’s currently does
– Along the top of the cathedral are hundreds of statues
of biblical figures and saints created by Bernini