Italian Baroque

By: Angelie Bream

History:
Italian history and art saw a style transition from the late 16th to the early
18th century known as the Italian Baroque, or Barocco. When Renaissance
painters blended the dramatic mood of Mannerism with the exquisite
painting techniques of the Renaissance, Italy became the leader of the
Baroque era. For more than 200 years, Italy served as the epicenter of
European art, and the Baroque era was no exception.

Themes:
Magnificence, sensual richness, drama, vigor, movement, tension, emotional
exuberance, and a propensity to dissolve boundaries across the many arts are
some of the characteristics most commonly linked with the Baroque. It is
distinguished by its opulence, eye-manipulation, and ornateness. The Baroque
movement had amazing themes presented as colossal spectacles, including
intense light, expansive visions, ecstasies and death, martyrs, religious
conversions, and a dedication to religious observance. Several features
distinguish Italian Baroque architecture, such as curved shapes and walls that
give the impression of undulating or moving in waves. Structures' surfaces
frequently have massings of statues, columns, and volutes—or aesthetically
pleasing spiral designs.

NARCISSUS (CARAVAGGIO)
A prime example of Caravaggio's
tenebrism—the striking contrast
between extremely brilliant and
extremely dark areas in a painting
is Narcissus. This is how
Caravaggio completely hides the
backdrop. All that is depicted in
this artwork is Narcissus and his
mirror, emphasizing the young
person's fixation.

APOLLO AND DAPHNE (BERNINI)

Apollo develops a passionate love for
Daphne, a woman who has vowed to stay
virgin. Daphne is being pursued by Apollo,
but she declines his advances. She
transforms into a laurel tree just as he is
about to seize her, a moment that is
immortalized in Bernini's sculpture of Apollo
and Daphne. Whatever the sculptor's
intentions, his opus reads as a potent,
unsettling illustration of unwelcome pursuit
and predation. The stone is transformed into
roots, leaves, and windswept hair by the
artist using his extraordinary technical
abilities.

THE DISEMBARKATION AT MARSEILLES

(RUBENS)
Sir Peter Paul Rubens painted The Arrival of
Marie de Medici at Marseilles during the
Baroque era. Marie de' Medici of France
commissioned it to honor her and her
husband, Henry IV of France, on their lives.
One of the twenty-four paintings in Rubens'
Marie de' Medici cycle was this one. Marie
de'Medici is seen disembarking at Marseilles,
France, after leaving her home city of
Florence. The majesty and splendor of her
arrival are emphasized by Rubens' use of the
Baroque style.