The Baroque Period
16th and 17th Centuries
What’s going on in the world
 Religious Conflict continues
 The Reformation was aimed at “reforming” the
corruption of the Catholic Church
 It spread throughout Europe but did not eradicate
Catholicism completely
 Catholics instituted some reforms of its own but also
sought to suppress its dissenters, like the Protestants.
 This led to what was known as the “CounterReformation”
Let’s Look at England
 Henry VIII- began England’s Reformation because of his desire to
annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
 Edward VI (ruled from 1547-1553) sympathized with the Protestant
movement and took it further than Henry had.
 Mary (ruled from 1553-1558) was raised in France and a devote
Catholic. Reversed what Edward had done and turned the country
back to Catholicism
 Elizabeth I (ruled from 1558-1603) Was aware of the damage of
warring religious doctrine and created a compromise between
Catholicism and Protestantism.
 James I (ruled from 1603-1625) A Protestant that felt he answered
directly to God. He did not understand or respect Parliament’s role
in the government.
 Charles I (ruled from 1625-1642) Also a Protestant – like his father
he did not respect Parliament which at this point had become mostly
Puritan. In 1642 rebellion broke out led by Puritan Leader Oliver
Cromwell. The Puritans defeated the Royal Forces and Charles I
was beheaded.
Ups and Downs of England
 Puritans remained in control until 1660
 In 1660 Charles II was restored to power and he
returned a balance to the English Monarchy. This is
referred to as the Restoration.
 Puritan control led to heavy rules and restrictions on the
citizens of England. This included the mandated closure
of ALL public theatres.
Elsewhere
 The Thirty Years war (1618-1648) was a German
Catholic Campaign to suppress the Protestant faith in
their country.
 King Louis XIV of France revoked the Protestants right to
worship in 1685, and expelled Protestants from France
Developments in Science
 Mathematics used to explain a variety of how things worked in
nature.
 Copernicus theorized that the Sun, and not the Earth, was the
center of our Universe.
 Galileo invented the telescope- study of the “heavens” was no
longer done with just the naked eye.
 Galileo also formulated ideas of motion and how different masses
affected each other.
 Francis Bacon called for a new approach to studying nature, and
developed the Empirical method which relies on observation and
experience as the roads to truth.
 Rene Descartes questioned the role and power of man and coined
the phrase “I think, therefore I am”
 Isaac Newton- Laws of Motion, Theory of Gravity
 William Harvey- the circulation of blood
 Anton Van Leewenhoek- developed the microscope
Developments in Philospohy
 Thomas Hobbes – philosophy based in the Scientific
Revolution. Man is “moved” by two basic emotions:
Desire and Aversion.
 John Locke- Believed that the mind was a blank slate
and all knowledge comes from sense perception. People
were products of their environment.
 Locke tried to establish laws of human nature by
inductive means as opposed to the deductive methods of
many scientists.
The Term Baroque
 Originally meant a logical process that was contorted or
twisted.
 In Portuguese “perola barroca” was a term used by
jewelers to designate a rough or irregularly shaped
pearl.
 The French by the 18th Century used the term to mean
“a painting in which the rules of proportion are not
observed and everything is represented according to the
artist’s whim”
 All of these meanings were originally pejorative or
derogatory.
The Term Baroque continued
 As the 17th century was revalued “baroque” came to
mean the opposite of “classical” (meaning works of
antiquity or the High Renaissance)
 In this sense the term suggested art that was
naturalistic rather than ideal and emotional rather than
rational.
 Focused on movement, vitality and brilliant color
 Subjects could be chosen from a wide spectrum
including daily life.
Artists of the Baroque Period
 Caravaggio (1573-1610)
 Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652/3)
 Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
 Rembrant (1606-1669)
 Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)
 Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Valaquez (1599-1660)
Caravaggio
 Came to Rome in his late teens
 Lived like a rebel, was very violent which caused him to
be accused of Murder
 “His anger suffused (or filled) his artistic style”
 His work was considered highly dramatic and sometimes
shocking
 Was known for his stark contrasting of light and
darkness with little intermediate value
The Conversion of St. Paul
 Painted by Caravaggio c. 1601
 St. Paul viciously persecuted the followers of Jesus (after
his death) until while on his way to Damascus Jesus
appeared to him and asked him why he was persecuting
his followers. Paul was so moved he became a follower
of Jesus himself.
 Caravaggio chooses to depict the moment that Paul,
blinded by the light of Jesus, has fallen off his horse.
The Calling of St. Matthew
 Painted by Caravaggio c. 1598
 Depicts a moment in Jesus’s life when he first
encountered St. Matthew. Seeing him in a tax
collector’s office Jesus said “Follow me” and Matthew got
up and follow him.
 Again Caravaggio chooses to depict the moment with the
most tension.
Atemisia Gentileschi
 One of many women artists who emerged when master
painters began to recognize that women might be as
talented as men.
 Trained by her artist father.
 Was influenced by Caravaggio, but as she matured she
developed her own style.
 Among her favorite subjects was the biblical heroine
Judith.
Judith and Maidservant with the
Head of Holofernes
 Painted by Gentileschi c. 1625
 Judith enters the tent of Holofernes, her people’s would
be conqueror, while he is in a drunken stupor and
beheads him saving her people.
 Again we see the dramatic use of light, tension is
created by some unseen moment. Is someone entering
the tent? Did they hear a sound? But they seem
strangely calm for having just cut off someone’s head.
Peter Paul Rubens
 Raised as a Protestant and fled the Netherlands after it
came under the control of Catholics, converted to
Catholicism after his father’s death when his family
returned to Antwerp.
 Studied the works of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael
and Caravaggio.
 From these sources he created his own distinctive,
optimistic and visually rich view of the world.
The Raising of the Cross
 Painted by Peter Paul Rubens, center of a triptych (a
three part altarpiece) 1609-1610
 Pretty self explanatory …
 Can you see the influence of Da Vinci and Michelangelo
in regards to Christ’s physique? Caravaggio’s influence
in the use of light?
Arrival of Marie de Medici at
Marseilles
 Painted by Rubens as 1 in a series of 22 works
commissioned by Medici in 1621-22
 Linked myth, fact, history and allegory to celebrate the
real life Marie.
 She is greeted by France, attended by Fame and
Neptune whose court rises out of the water boat side.
 What does this say about Marie de Medici? Do we see
the influences we mentioned earlier in this work as well?
Garden of Love
 Painted by Ruebens in 1638
 Influenced by his second marriage
 An example of his work that did not feature religious
figures or members of nobility.
 Where can we see the influences in this piece?
Rembrandt
 Grew up in Protestant Holland
 The churches were not great patrons of the arts, but the
country was filled with a growing class of prosperous
Calvinists and Lutherans who wanted and acquired art to
adorn their homes.
 For the first time artists were making their living in the
free market.
 Rembrandt was moved by the “internal” life with all the
emotions that went with it.
 He painted many self portraits that explore the changes
life leaves on the body and soul.
What changes do you see? Are
they deeper than just the change
in age?
The Syndics of the Drapers
 Painted by Rembrandt in 1662
 Syndics means representative or delegate
 Do you feel engaged in this painting? Why? What is
happening? What were these man talking about?
Jan Vermeer
 Dutch painter
 Specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class
life
 Works frequently feature subject situated next to a
window.
Woman Holding a Balance
 Painted by Vermeer
 Domestic situation- no “story” to reveal
The Kitchenmaid
 Painted by Vermeer c. 1658
 Similar composition- subject close to a window
Girl with a Pearl Earring
 Painted by Vermeer, but not dated
 Was not meant to be a full portrait, but more likely a
study of the face.
 This painting is often called “The Mona Lisa of the North”
or “The Dutch Mona Lisa”
Diego Rodriquez de Silva y
Velasquez
 Court painter of Philip IV in Spain
 Was most well known for his portraits
 Painted 40 portraits of Philip as well as various members
of his court.
Las Meninas (The Ladies-inWaiting)
 Painted by Velazquez in 1656
 Considered to be his masterpiece
 A lot things visible in this image
 5 year old princess at the paintings center
 Velazquez himself to the left, in the midst of painting
 Ladies-in-waiting attend the princess, including two
dwarves on the right
 A court official enters a lighted doorway in the back
 The king and queen are visible in the mirror at the back of
the painting
Baroque Visual Art
 The Baroque period stretched across Europe, and Artists
influences were numerous- including location.
 Strongest Characteristics:
 Strong contrasts in use of light
 Emotional and Dramatic