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
Rubens: “The Descent from the
Cross”
• 1612
• Worked everywhere,
bringing synthesis of
all styles
• Over 2,000 paintings
• This painting shows
“Baroque curves and
dramatic lighting.
“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 “postreformation”
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-bijDuurstede
• 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.