Art in FocusChapter 19: Baroque ArtLesson Summaries-EnglishIn the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Catholic Church regained its power in Italy and began its own reform movement. This led to a more relaxed and confident attitude that helped artists create works of stunning originality. Lesson 1 The Catholic Church’s reform movement was known as the Counter-Reformation. A new style of art was developed in Rome to restore religious spirit and encourage people to return to the Church. This was known as Baroque art, a style characterized by movement, vivid contrast, and emotional intensity. Buildings were given a sculptural, elastic quality by the architect Francesco Borromini. In sculpture, artists expressed drama and excitement. In Gianlorenzo Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Theresa, the figures are bathed in golden light and seem to move freely in space. Painters such as Michelangelo da Caravaggio also used light and shadow, or chiaroscuro, for dramatic effect. Caravaggio portrayed religious characters as ordinary people, often causing controversy. Artemisia Gentileschi was the first woman artist to have an impact on the art of her time. She followed the example of Caravaggio, depicting dramatic moments in sharp chiaroscuro. More than any other artist in the seventeenth century, the Flemish Peter Paul Rubens captured the dynamic spirit of the Baroque style. He was influenced by the rich colors and powerful figures of the Italian Renaissance artists and by Caravaggio’s use of light. To this he added the realistic detail favored by northern artists to create emotional, energetic artworks. Lesson 2 In 1648, Holland, which was largely Protestant, gained its independence from Spain. Since the Baroque style was limited mainly to Catholic countries, it had little impact in Holland. Art there shifted away from religious themes, and artists began to paint the world around them. Some created genre paintings, scenes from everyday life. Others painted portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. Frans Hals specialized in natural portraits and fresh scenes of groups of people. Rembrandt van Rijn, perhaps the greatest Dutch painter of his era, studied light, shadow, and atmosphere to paint all types of subjects. His famous painting The Night Watch is a soothing visual symphony. Jan Steen was a Dutch painter who specialized in genre paintings. His lively works tell simple stories involving common people. Jan Vermeer is considered to be the most famous Dutch genre painter. Almost all of his paintings depict serene, coolly lit moments taking place in one room. The painter Judith Leyster was influenced by Frans Hals and Caravaggio but developed her own careful, elegant style. Lesson 3 Artists in Spain continued to paint religious subjects more than any other. In the seventeenth century, their paintings became more realistic, however. The artist Jusepe de Ribera was one of the first Spanish painters to adopt realism. He used the dramatic lighting of Caravaggio to depict simple, human scenes. Born to a noble family, Diego Velázquez became court painter to Philip IV. He painted military scenes and many portraits of the royal family. His most famous royal portrait is Las Meninas. In this work Velázquez depicted the interior space masterfully and included a self-portrait. Questions about what is exactly happening in the painting make it even more fascinating. Another artist, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, painted tender religious scenes such as The Return of the Prodigal Son. In this work, where a loving father welcomes the return of his recklessly wasteful son, the attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Protestant reformers is suggested. However, much of Europe was to remain Protestant, and the Church ceased to be the universal patron of the arts. Artists working for new patrons were given the freedom to go beyond religious subjects. |  |
