Baroque
(1600-1700)
If it ain’t Baroque,
don’t fix it
Definition
www.artlex.com
 Baroque - The art style or
movement of the CounterReformation in the seventeenth
century. Although some features
appear in Dutch art, the Baroque
style was limited mainly to Catholic
countries. It is a style in which
painters, sculptors, and architects
sought emotion, movement, and
variety in their works.
Introduction Handout
 Summarize each paragraph
 PERSIA- write a letter for each
paragraph
 This will actually be graded under
classwork, because I have good TAs
now!
Key Ideas - Culture
 Counter-Reformation symbolized the
Catholic resurgence finds a voice in
Baroque art.
 Painting comes in different forms:
genre, landscape, still lives.
 Architecture associated with grand
royal courts of Europe.
 Begins in Rome, towards end
FRANCE becomes center for art.
The Low Down – Art
 Combined the accuracy of the
Renaissance with the emotions of
Mannerism
 Tenebrism was all the rage
 More individualistic style
 Artists see art as liberal vs. manual
 Compositional Elements
 Open compositions
 Diagonal lines
 Strong Contrasts
+
=
Italian Baroque (1590-1680)
 Baroque style began in Rome
 Religion
 Artist
 Caravaggio
 Tenebrism
 Sculptor
 Bernini
 Architect
 Borromini
Tenebrism
www.artlex.com
 tenebroso or tenebrism Tenebroso is an Italian word,
literally meaning dark and gloomy.
Both tenebroso and its English
equivalent, tenebrism, refer to a
style of painting characterized by
high contrast between light and
shade -- emphasis placed on
chiaroscuro to achieve dark,
dramatic effects.
Tenebrism cont.
Frequently the main subjects
of tenebrist pictures are
illuminated by a single source
of light, as if a spotlight shone
upon them, leaving other
areas in darkness. Such
pictures have been called
"night pictures" painted in the
"dark manner." The most
reknowned tenebrists have
been "Caravaggio"(Italian,
1571/73-1610), Georges De
La Tour (French, 1593-1652),
and Rembrandt van Rijn
(Dutch, 1606-1669).
Caravaggio
 Father of Tenebrism
(chiaroscuro)
 Befriended the lower-class
 Hot-headed
 Ran from the law often
 Painted with a new sense of
realism and dynamic force
 Painted as if the people were
bring observed close up
Entombments
Renaissance: Mannerism
Baroque: Tenebrism
Pontormo
Caravaggio
Caravaggio. The Calling
of St. Matthew. 15991600. Oil on canvas.
10’7-1/2” x 11’2”
Calling of Saint Matthew
video
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/baroque-italy/v/caravaggio-scalling-of-st-matthew-c-1599-1600
 6 min.
 class quiz
Bernini
 Man of many
trades
 Architect and
sculptor
 Son of a sculptor
 Served the church
under 8 popes
Bernini. David
1623.
Marble, 5’7”.
Roman Galleria
https://www.khanacadem
y.org/humanities/monarc
hyenlightenment/baroqueart1/baroqueitaly/v/bernini-david1623-24
4 min
Class Quiz
Donatello,
Early
Renaissance
Michelangelo,
High
Renaissance
Bernini, Baroque
Bernini. The
Ecstasy of St.
Theresa. 1645-52.
Cornaro Chapel,
Rome. Marble.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/baroque-italy/v/berniniecstasy-of-st-theresa
 7 min
 Class quiz
Beside me, on the left, appeared an
angel in bodily form.... He was not tall
but short, and very beautiful; and his
face was so aflame that he appeared to
be one of the highest rank of angels,
who seem to be all on fire.... In his
hands I saw a great golden spear, and
at the iron tip there appeared to be a
point of fire. This he plunged into my
heart several times so that it penetrated
to my entrails. When he pulled it out I
felt that he took them with it, and left
me utterly consumed by the great love
of God. The pain was so severe that it
made me utter several moans. The
sweetness caused by this intense pain
is so extreme that one cannot possibly
wish it to cease, nor is one's soul
content with anything but God. This is
not a physical but a spiritual pain,
though the body has some share in it—
even a considerable share.
San Carlo alle
Quattro
Fontane,
Rome.
 Turn to a partner and
discuss what you see
that looks different from
previous architecture we
have covered.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/baroque-italy/v/francescoborromini-san-carlo-1638-1646
 7 min.
Flemish, Dutch,
Spanish, and
French Baroque
Flemish Baroque (1600-40)
 Southern Netherlands
 Belgium
 Catholicism - Altarpieces
 Peter Paul Rubens
 Over 2,000 paintings
 Large female nudes
 Religion
 Van Dyck
 Portraiture
Peter Paul Rubens
 Worked in favor of
the CounterReformation
 Created large-scale
figures
 Used Carvaggio’s
tenebrism to
enhance his work
Peter Paul Rubens. The Raising of the
Cross. Belgium. 1610-11.
Oil on canvas. 15’2” x 11’2”
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/flanders-1/v/rubens-elevation
 9 min.
Handout




annotate
summarize each paragraph
highlight/ underline
blah blah blah
What do you think is
happening in this painting?
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/flanders-1/v/rubens-marie
 5 min.
Handout




annotate
summarize each paragraph
highlight/ underline
blah blah blah
Van Dyck.
Charles I at the Hunt.
1635.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/flanders-1/v/van-dyck-charlesi
 5 min.
 Reminder quiz on chapters
24 & 25 Friday.
 Open notes (no cell
phones)
Dutch Baroque (1630-70)
 Northern Netherlands
 Holland
 Protestant, few religious works
 Still lives
 Genre scenes
 Vermeer
 Portraits
 Rembrandt
Rembrandt
 Married into a family with
an art dealer and quickly
made connections
 The most important
painter working in
Amsterdam in the 17th
century.
 Loses much of his
earnings over the years
 Begins IMPASTO painting
– thickening of the paint
Rembrandt van Rijn self-portraits
Rembrandt, Self Portrait
with Saskia
Handout




annotate
summarize each paragraph
highlight/ underline
blah blah blah
Video on Etching Process
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
JHxF6puMpts
 10 min.
Rembrandt, The Jewish
Bride
Interpretation of
The Jewish Bride
 Completed during his last years.
 Exemplifies the artist's genius for
expressing human emotion on canvas
 The painting acquired its current name
during the early 19th century, when a
Dutch art dealer described the subject as
that of a Jewish father giving a necklace
to his daughter on her wedding day.
 Today, while the identities of the two
people remain obscure, most art
historians believe them to be Isaac and
his wife Rebecca from the Old Testament.
 Whether or not he intended it as a
straightforward piece of Biblical art, there is
no doubt however, that Rembrandt was
depicting an intimate relationship between
his two subjects. The man places his hand
on the woman's bosom, while she moves
instinctively to protect her modesty. Yet both
show every sign of tenderness towards each
other, so this is hardly a typical seduction
scene.
 Despite the romance and love, however, this
is not an entirely happy picture. Perhaps
because Rembrandt himself was
experiencing a certain physical strain in his
work and life. Isaac has quite modest
expectations in his eyes, as if he is uncertain
what the future holds, while Rebecca
appears thoughtful, almost distracted. In
short, this is a masterclass in psychological
portraiture, and is yet another reminder why
Rembrandt is considered by many to rank
among the best portrait artists, and is
probably one of the best artists of all time.
Leyster,
Self-Portrait
1635.
Oil on
canvas.
 Name means “guide star,” but the
artist was a star in her hometown.
 She was only 19 when her artwork started
to be noticed
 In Holland, as in the rest of Europe,
professional women painters were indeed
uncommon. Leyster was one of only two
women accepted as a master in Haarlem’s
painters’ guild during the entire 17th
century.
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/holland/v/leyster-self
 5 min.
Jan Vermeer.
Woman Holding a
Balance. C. 1664.
Oil on canvas.
15” x 14”
 On Monday Schultz will be absent,
you will watch Tim’s Vermeer.
Which is an awesome movie about
the theory that painters like
Vermeer, Carravagio, and
Rembrandt used optical illusions/
mirrors to paint.
More Vermeer…
Rachel Ruysch, Fruit and
Insects
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/holland/v/ruysch-flowersinsects
 4 min.
Spanish Baroque (1625-60)
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Economic turmoil
Spanish Golden Age
Velázquez
Court Portraiture
Velazquez, Las Meninas. 1656. Oil on
canvas. 10’5” x 9’1/2”
Queen Mariana
King Phillip
Princess
Margret Teresa
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/spain/v/vel-zquez-las-meninasc-1656
 6 min.
Angel with Arquebus, Asiel
Timor Dei
Handout
 Do things to each paragraph…
Screen with the Siege of
Belgrade and Hunting Scene
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/ColonialAmericas/v/brooklyn-biombo
 7 min.
The Virgin of Guadalupe
His work is
signed by Miguel
González, who
along with his
brother Juan
González is
considered the
foremost painter
of enconchados.
 Invented in Mexico, the enconchado
technique consisted of placing tiny
fragments of mother-of-pearl onto a
wooden support or a canvas, and
then covering them with a yellowish
tint and thin glazes of paint. The
technique, which is inspired on
Asian decorative arts, imparts a
brilliant luminosity to the works due
to the iridescence of the shell
fragments.
 This work depicts the famous Virgin of
Guadalupe placed atop an eagle
perched on a cactus, Mexico City's
legendary coat of arms.
 This is a significant detail that points to
the rapid creation of the cult of the
Virgin of Guadalupe in the second half
of the seventeenth century, and her
increasing association with a local
sense of identity.
French Baroque (1670-1715)
 Becoming economic and artistic
power
 Poussin
 La Tour
 Versailles
 https://www.khanacademy.org/hum
anities/monarchyenlightenment/baroqueart1/france/v/poussin-et-in-arcadia
 3 min.
Versailles
Handout… do things
Documentary
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
i3a72XmInag
 1 hr
 Movie notes- write 10 facts
Versailles Facts
Designed by Louis Le-Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart
1168-85
Under the Royal Academy of Architecture
•Math = beauty
•Baroque opulence
•Patron Louis XIV to show off his luxury and the
splendor of France
•Includes crystal chandeliers, silver furniture, marble
walls, velvet and gold hangings,
•498 people were required to bring the king his meals –
“not private people”
•Visual impact > comfort
•240 ft hall of mirrors
•Gardens designed by Andre le Notre on math and
symmetry
•“Symmetry always symmetry”
Vocabulary
 Baldacchino: a canopy placed over
an altar or shrine
 Genre painting: painting in which
scenes of every day life are depicted.
 Tenebroso: a dramatic dark and light
contrast in a painting
 Vanitas: a theme in still life painting
that stresses the brevity of life and
the folly of human vanity.
Summary
 Grand, majestic, colorful European
art.
 Illusion
 Floating figures
 Trompe l’oeil
 Tenebristic lighting
 Interaction with the viewer
 Naturalistic painters with dramatic
contrasts
Short Essay
 The Counter Reformation Baroque style focuses
on astonishing and overpowering its audience.
Art of this time was also enlisted in serving the
purposes of the church militant.
 The Aristocratic Baroque style focuses on
glorifying the state and asserting national power
and prestige.
 The Bourgeois Baroque was marked by the
concentration on down-to-earth common people
of the middle class.
Choose and identify a work for one of the types of
baroque art above. Identify the work and explain
how it exemplifies the style you chose.