16

th
century

Throughout Europe = religious tension -
Protestants broke away from Roman Catholic
Church.

response to the Protestant Reformation, Catholic
Church initiated the Counter Reformation Program.

used art on a grand scale in attempt to reach the
largest possible audience.

Art was seen as a means to endorse the authority of
the church by making the scriptures a reality to the
people through emotional realism.


BAROQUE ART
Irregular Pear or Stone

The court Painter to the Monarchs
Artists were employed
by the Kings and Queens
of Europe
Painted portraits,
commemorative events
means of impressing
visitors and showing
power (palaces, courts
etc)

A Tribute to a Great King :
Versailles (France
The Artist on the Open Market -
Holland
Neither Catholic nor
ruled by a monarch
thus these two patrons
of the arts did not apply.
Artists painted for
ordinary people,
ordinary subjects, and
sold works through
dealers and on the open
market.
Subject matter:
portraits, still life,
genre painting
Woman Holding a Water Pitcher, Dutch Baroque
oil on canvas, 1664-5
by Vermeer
Baroque is not clearly defined, not all art
during this time considered Baroque

Classified as an artistic style rather than a
period in art.

The term Baroque
first used
disapprovingly



Characteristics

Dramatic composition
diagonal lines, circular to add
movement, energy and tension

Repoussoir figure pointing

Spirituality present in the work
(Europe), realistic approach

Observable reality (Dutch)

Infinite space no longer
contained

Use of Chiaroscuro


Chiaroscuro
chiaro = light
scuro = dark

A painting technique
developed in Italy by
Leonardo da Vinci, which is
used to produce dramatic
effects by modeling forms
with strong contrast in dark
and light.

The Death of the Virgin, 1608, 370x244cm
Subject Matter
Dramatic and grand visions

religious ecstasies and
conversions

death

Landscape and still-lifes.

A sense of spectacle

Opulent displays of
exuberance

A great theme was that of
rape

The Rape of the Daughters
of Leucippus
Composition
Adherence to linear
perspective that typified the
Renaissance was no longer
so stringently followed,
allowing asymmetry
On the walls & ceilings of
churches & palaces they
painted vast, busy scenes
which tend to produce upon
the spectator the
impression that the walls no
longer exist, or that they
open out in an exciting way.

Narcissus
Michelangelo Merisi
- da Caravaggio
Rejection of lengthy
traditional ideals of
mannerism focuses
on nature
works in oils directly
Chiaroscuro tension
Lines are clean
Solids making a form
seem more rounded
and three- dimensional
Often featured in his
own works
David and Goliath
The
Entombment
of Christ

Spotlight effect

Gestures bring
figures closer to
spectator
Judith Beheading Holofernes
Johannes Vermeer (1632 75)
little Dutch master

Pioneer for the taking on
Baroque style in Holland
Composed neat, quietly
opulent interiors of Dutch
middle class merchants
men, women and children
engaged in household tasks
actions totally common -
reflective of the values
Composed mainly single
figure

Universally recognized as one of Vermeer's absolute
masterworks
Not only one of the most beautiful in Holland, but
the most satisfying and exquisite product of brush
and color
During the time this work was being painted the
world was plagued with evolutions and tragedies. The
young girl in the painting shows no such stress from
the world - painted with such ease and concealment
of effort.
Though the paint evoked life rather than
counterfeited it.
The line of the right cheek is has been said to be the
sweetest line ever suggested.

Girl with the Pearl Earring
Massacre of the Innocents
Comprehension Question: Baroque

How did the Italian Baroque differ form the
Dutch Baroque. Refer to the subject matter in
your answer.

What does the word chiaroscuro mean and
how does it apply to the Baroque style?