0134484592 ch23

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Art History
Sixth Edition
Chapter 23
Seventeenth-Century Art in
Europe

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
23.a Identify the visual hallmarks of seventeenth-century European art
for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
23.b Interpret the meaning of works of seventeenth-century European art
based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
23.c Relate seventeenth-century European art and artists to their
cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
23.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to seventeenth-century
European art, artists, and art history.
23.e Interpret a work of seventeenth-century European art using the art
historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
23.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an
argument or an interpretation of a work of seventeenth-century European
art.

Gianlorenzo Bernini ST. TERESA OF ÁVILA IN ECSTASY
Cornaro Chapel, church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. 1645–1652.
Marble, height of the group 11'6" (3.5 m).
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/Fondo Edifici di Culto – Min. dell'Interno. [Fig. 23-01]

"Baroque" (1 of 2)
• As rulers' economic strength slipped away, artists found patrons in the
Church and prosperous middle class.
• Baroque art was meant to evoke intense emotional responses from
viewers.
• Many artists sought lifelike depiction in their portraiture, genre
paintings, still life, and religious scenes.

"Baroque" (2 of 2)
• The role of viewer changed in the time of the seventeenth century.
– Masters sought to engage viewers as participants in the artwork,
reaching beyond the frame.

SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE
Protestantism still dominated northern Europe, while in the south Roman Catholicism
remained strong after the Counter-Reformation. The Habsburg empire was now divided
into two parts, under separate rulers. [Map 23-01]

Italy
• Seventeenth-century Italy remained divided.
• Art was used to inspire the revitalization of the Roman Catholic
Church.
– Guidelines set by the Council of Trent went against the lascivious
trends exploited by Mannerism.

Maderno and Bernini at St. Peter's
(1 of 3)
• The Counter-Reformation sought to embellish the church and its
settings properly.
• Pope Sixtus ordered open spaces to be cleared in front of major
churches in Rome.
• Building programs nearly bankrupted the Church.

(2 of 3)
• Bernini supervised the design and building of a colonnade to enclose
the double piazza in front of the church, which already contained an
Egyptian obelisk and a fountain.
– He characterized the design as the "motherly arms of the church."

Carlo Maderno and Gianlorenzo Bernini ST. PETER'S BASILICA AND PIAZZA,
VATICAN, ROME
Maderno, façade, 1607–1626; Bernini, piazza design, c. 1656–1657.
© Alinari Archives/Corbis. [Fig. 23-02]

(3 of 3)
• Pope Urban VIII gave Bernini the task of designing the bronze
baldacchino (canopy) over the altar of St. Peter's.
• He chose a form of winding grapevines to encircle copies of columns
from Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
• Emblems of honeybees, suns, and laurel leaves—signifying the
Barbarini family—are also prominent in the design.

Gianlorenzo Bernini BALDACCHINO
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, Rome. 1624–1633.
Gilt bronze, height approx. 100' (30.48 m). Chair of Peter shrine, 1657–1666; gilt bronze,
marble, stucco, and glass. Pier decorations, 1627–1641; gilt bronze and marble. © akg-
images/Bildarchiv Monheim. [Fig. 23-03]

Bernini as Sculptor (1 of 2)
• Bernini's statue of David introduced a new type of three-dimensional
composition that interacts with the space around the viewer.

Gianlorenzo Bernini DAVID
1623. Marble, height 5'7" (1.7 m).
Galleria Borghese, Rome. © Per concessione del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività
Culturali/Archivi Alinari, Firenze. [Fig. 23-04]

Bernini as Sculptor (2 of 2)
• Bernini was later commissioned to create the sculptural tableau St.
Teresa of Ávila in Ecstasy for the funeral chapel of cardinal Federigo
Cornaro.
• The complex, theatrical interplay dissolves into the painting above.

Gianlorenzo Bernini CORNARO CHAPEL, CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLA
VITTORIA, ROME
1642–1652.
© Vincenzo Pirozzi, Rome. [Fig. 23-05]

Borromini (1 of 2)
• Church of San Carlo
– Francesco Borromini (1599–1667) designed the Church of San
Carlo alle Quattro Fontane on an irregular plot at an intersection.
– The interior space is marked with an oval dome, a honeycomb of
crosses and polygons, and a geometric approach instead of a
traditional one.

Borromini (2 of 2)
• Church of San Carlo
– The façade of the church is filled with sculpture, including a
forward-leaning cartouche held up by high-relief angels.

Francesco Borromini FAÇADE OF THE CHURCH OF SAN CARLO ALLE QUATTRO
FONTANE
Rome. 1638–1667.
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-06a]

Francesco Borromini PLAN OF THE CHURCH OF SAN CARLO ALLE QUATTRO
FONTANE
Rome. 1638–1667. [Fig. 23-06b]

Francesco Borromini VIEW INTO THE DOME OF THE CHURCH OF SAN CARLO ALLE
QUATTRO FONTANE
Rome. 1638–1667.
© View Pictures Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo. [Fig. 23-07]

Painting (1 of 9)
• The ordered Classicism of the Caracci rejected the artifice of the
Mannerist style and focused on line, compositional structure, and
figural solidity.
• The dramatic naturalism of Caravaggio, in contrast, developed
powerful realism with subjects as gritty as the lowlife of Rome.

Painting (2 of 9)
• The Carracci
– Brothers Agostino and Annibale with their cousin Ludovico re-
evaluated High Renaissance masters.
– Annibale was hired to decorate principal rooms in Cardinal
Odoardo Farnese's palace.
 Complex figural scenes are based on Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Annibale Carracci CEILING OF GALLERY, PALAZZO FARNESE
Rome. 1597–1601.
Fresco, approx. 68' × 21' (20.7 × 6.4 m).
Canali Photobank, Milan, Italy. [Fig. 23-08]

Painting (3 of 9)
• Caravaggio
– The subjects of Caravaggio (1571–1610) in the 1590s include still
lifes and scenes of young men dressed as mythological figures.
– Bacchus may represent an erotic invitation or an actor in the role
of the god of wine, an ambiguity made more striking by the
juxtaposition with rotting fruit.

Caravaggio BACCHUS
1595–1596. Oil on canvas, 37 × 33-1/2" (94 × 85.1 cm).
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. © Quattrone, Florence. [Fig. 23-09]

Painting (4 of 9)
• Caravaggio
– The technique created by Caravaggio known as tenebrism
involved figures emerging from a dark background into a strong
light that falls from a single source, like a theatrical spotlight.

Painting (5 of 9)
• Caravaggio
– Caravaggio's commissions after 1600 were for religious art.
 In the Contarelli Chapel, three large oil paintings on the subject
of St. Matthew were produced in a studio instead of directly
applied to the wall in fresco.
 The Calling of St. Matthew features particularly stark contrast
between the dark interior and the spotlight on the surprised
saint.

CONTARELLI CHAPEL, SAN LUIGI DEI FRANCESI
Rome. Paintings by Caravaggio 1599–1600.
© 2016. Photo Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-10]

Caravaggio THE CALLING OF ST. MATTHEW
Contarelli Chapel, church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. 1599–1600.
Oil on canvas, 10'7-1/2" × 11'2" (3.24 × 3.4 m).
© Quattrone, Florence. [Fig. 23-11]

Painting (6 of 9)
• Caravaggio
– The Conversion of St. Paul is a painting with no physical setting
that focuses on Paul's internal movement.
 The horse takes up more space than the saint, causing more
tension.
– The artist's temper got him into trouble, eventually leading to his
killing a man over a disputed tennis match.

Caravaggio THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL
Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. c. 1601.
Oil on canvas, 7'6" × 5'8" (2.3 × 1.75 m).
© Vincenzo Pirozzi, Rome. [Fig. 23-12]

Painting (7 of 9)
• Artemisia Gentileschi
– She helped spread the Caravaggesque style beyond Rome, first
studying under her father.
– Judith Beheading Holofernes draws its subject from the book of
Judith.
 The heroic act is emphasized by gory details such as blood
spurting wildly from the victim's neck.

Artemisia Gentileschi JUDITH BEHEADING HOLOFERNES
c. 1619–20. Oil on canvas, 6'6-3/8" × 5'4" (1.99 × 1.63 m).
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. © Quattrone, Florence - courtesy of the Ministero Beni e
Att. Culturali. [Fig. 23-13]

Painting (8 of 9)
• Cortona and Gaulli: Baroque Ceilings
– Painters sought to portray an immeasurable heaven through using
the viewpoint called di sotto in sù.
– Pietro da Cortona's The Glorification of the Papacy of Urban VIII
was structured around framing and mythological scenes.
 The subject is an allegory of the virtues of the pope.

Pietro da Cortona THE GLORIFICATION OF THE PAPACY OF URBAN VIII
Ceiling in the Gran Salone, Palazzo Barberini, Rome. 1632–1639.
Fresco. Palazzo Barberini, Italy/Canali Photobank, Milan, Italy. [Fig. 23-14]

Painting (9 of 9)
• Cortona and Gaulli: Baroque Ceilings
– Giovanni Battista Gaulli's The Triumph of the Name of Jesus and
the Fall of the Damned fused sculpture and painting to eliminate
any appearance of architectural division.
 Every element builds the illusion that clouds and angels have
descended into the top of the church during the Last
Judgment.

Giovanni Battista Gaulli THE TRIUMPH OF THE NAME OF JESUS AND
FALL OF THE DAMNED
Vault of the church of Il Gesù, Rome. 1672–1685.
Fresco with stucco figures.
© Vincenzo Pirozzi, Rome.[Fig. 23-15]

Spain
• Spanish Habsburg kings Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II reigned
over a weakening empire.
– Naples was in a constant state of unrest and the Netherlands
gained independence in 1648.
– Writers and artists produced great works despite the suffering of
agriculture, industry, and trade.

Painting in Spain's Golden Age (1 of 8)
• The primary influence on Spanish painting was Flanders in the
fifteenth century, and Florence and Rome in the sixteenth century.
• Seventeenth-century painting was influenced by the drama of
Caravaggio.

• Juan Sánchez Cotán
– Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber contrasts
curved shapes of the fruits and vegetables with angular geometry
of the cantarero.
– He was fascinated with spatial ambiguity and contemplative
sensibility.

Juan Sánchez Cotán STILL LIFE WITH QUINCE, CABBAGE, MELON, AND
CUCUMBER
c. 1602. Oil on canvas, 27-1/8" × 33-1/4" (68.8 × 84.4 cm).
San Diego Museum of Art. Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam. © akg-images/De Agostini
Picture Lib. [Fig. 23-16]

• Jusepe de Ribera
– Nicknamed "Lo Spagnoletto," he combined styles to create a new
Neapolitan style.
– The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew captures the horror of the
impending violence of being skinned alive.
 Compression of figures into the foreground heightens the
viewer's sense of witness to the scene.

Jusepe de Ribera MARTYRDOM OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW
1634. Oil on canvas, 41-1/4" × 44-7/8" (1.05 × 1.14 m).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Rosenwald Collection (1950.14.744). Image
courtesy the National Gallery of Art, Washington. [Fig. 23-17]

• Francisco de Zurbarán
– This artist emerged from the same Caravaggesque school of
Seville as Velásquez.
– St. Serapion is an arresting portrayal of a dead saint who
sacrificed himself for the rescue of Christian captives.
 The only colors are the red and gold of the insignia, making the
portrait a tragic still life study of fabric and flesh.

Francisco de Zurbarán ST. SERAPION
1628. Oil on canvas, 47-1/2 × 40-3/4" (120.7 × 103.5 cm).
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut. Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin
Sumner Collection Fund. Wadsworth Atheneum, Photo: Allen Phillips. [Fig. 23-18]

• Velázquez and Murillo
– Diego Velázquez was one of the most brilliant painters of the age.
 The model for Water Carrier of Seville was a well-known
character in the city, symbolizing Velázquez's working from life
and ordinary people.
 He became official court painter to Philip IV until his death in
1660.

Diego Velázquez WATER CARRIER OF SEVILLE
c. 1619. Oil on canvas, 41-1/2" × 31-1/2" (105.3 × 80 cm).
Victoria & Albert Museum, London. V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum. [Fig. 23-19]

– The Surrender at Breda was borne of Velázquez's studies in Italy.
 The theme of triumph and conquest is removed from military
propaganda.
 The exchange seems gracious, resembling a courtly ideal.
 Compositional virtuosity comes to the fore with controlled color
and texture.

Diego Velázquez THE SURRENDER AT BREDA (THE LANCES)
1634–1635. Oil on canvas, 10'-7/8" × 12’-1/2" (3.07 × 3.67 m).
Museo del Prado, Madrid. © 2016. Image Copyright Museo Nacional del Prado. © Photo
MNP/Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-20]

– Las Meninas is an enormous multiple portrait featuring the king,
queen, Infanta Margarita, maids of honor, and even the painter
himself.
 No consensus exists on the precise meaning of this painting
other than royal portraiture; fundamentally, it is a personal
artistic statement.

Diego Velázquez LAS MENINAS (THE MAIDS OF HONOR)
1656. Oil on canvas, 10'5" × 9’-1/2" (3.18 × 2.76 m).
Museo del Prado, Madrid. © 2016. Photo Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-21]

– Seville declined after an outbreak of the plague in 1649, but art
was still influenced by the work of Bartolomé Estebán Murillo, who
focused on religious iconography.
– The Immaculate Conception shows Mary dressed in blue and
white according to Counter-Reformation instructions.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
c. 1660–1665. Oil on canvas, 81-1/8" × 56-5/8" (2.06 × 1.44 m).

Architecture (1 of 2)
• Lavish decoration was once again embraced, opposing the sixteenth-
century style of El Escorial.
• Ornamentation began to flood back into retablos, then portals, then
finally entire buildings.

• The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
– Popular saints challenged the role of St. James as patron saint of
Spain.
– Renewed interest in pilgrimages called for an elaborate façade to
be added to the front of the Cathedral of St. James.
 Its redesign focused on a wall of class nicknamed "The Mirror."

WEST FAÇADE, CATHEDRAL OF ST. JAMES, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, SPAIN
South tower 1667–1680; north tower and central block finished mid 18th century by
Fernando de Casas y Nóvoas. © Bartosz Turek/Shutterstock. [Fig. 23-23]

Flanders (1 of 2)
• The northern provinces of the Netherlands rebelled against Spain in
1568 and only achieved independence in 1648.
– It was known as the Peace of Westphalia.

Flanders (2 of 2)
• Flanders, the southern part of the Netherlands, returned to direct
Spanish rule in 1621.
• Catholic churches were restored, among many other important sacred
works.
• Following religious wars, artists such as Rubens and van Dyck
established reputations there.

Rubens (1 of 4)
• The work of Peter Paul Rubens typifies the Flemish Baroque style.
• Rubens visited every major Italian city, returning to Antwerp in 1609 to
accept a position as court painter to the Habsburg regents of Flanders.
– His first painting there commemorated his marriage to Isabella
Brandt, which occurred ten days after he arrived.

Peter Paul Rubens SELF-PORTRAIT WITH ISABELLA BRANDT
1609–1610. Oil on canvas, 5'9" × 4'5" (1.78 × 1.36 m).
Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Photo © Blauel Gnamm/ARTOTHEK. [Fig. 23-24]

Rubens (2 of 4)
• His first major commission in Antwerp was the Raising of the Cross
triptych for the church of St. Walpurga.
– This work uniquely stretches the action and landscape of the
central scene across all three panels.

Peter Paul Rubens RUBENS'S HOUSE
Italianate addition built 1610–1615. Looking toward the garden: house at left, studio at
right; house restored and opened as a museum in 1946. From an engraving of 1684.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. [Fig. 23-25]

Peter Paul Rubens THE RAISING OF THE CROSS
Made for the church of St. Walpurga, Antwerp, Belgium. 1610-1611.
Oil on panel, center panel 15'1-7/8" × 11'1-1/2" (4.62 × 3.39 m),
each wing 15'1-7/8" × 4'11" (4.62 × 1.52 m).
Now in Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp. Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk, Antwerp Cathedral,
Belgium/Bridgeman Images. [Fig. 23-26]

Rubens (3 of 4)
• In the painting of the royal engagement of Henry IV and Marie de'
Medici, Henry IV is seen falling in love with Marie as he gazes at her
portrait; he is surrounded by Roman gods in full, lavish color.

Peter Paul Rubens HENRY IV RECEIVING THE PORTRAIT OF MARIE DE' MEDICI
1621–1625. Oil on canvas, 12'11-1/8" × 9'8-1/8" (3.94 × 2.95 m).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre)/René-Gabriel
Ojéda/Thierry Le Mage. [Fig. 23-27]

Rubens (4 of 4)
• For Prometheus Bound, Rubens brought in Frans Snyders to paint the
large eagle who devours Prometheus's liver.
– Elements of lighting, composition, and energetic brushwork
identify Rubens's style, while Snyders's imprint is tight and
detailed.

A CLOSER LOOK: Prometheus Bound by Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders
c. 1611–1618. Oil on canvas, 95-1/2" × 82-1/2" (2.43 × 2.1 m).
Philadelphia Museum of Art. © 2016. Photo The Philadelphia Museum of Art/Art
Resource/Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-28]

Van Dyck and Peeters: Portraits and
Still Lifes (1 of 2)
• Anthony van Dyck associated with Rubens as a specialist in painting
heads.
• Charles I at the Hunt portrayed the king truthfully short but with
imposing presence.
– Both the horse and the tree branches bow to him in forms that
echo the lines of his hat.

Anthony van Dyck CHARLES I AT THE HUNT
1635. Oil on canvas, 8'11" × 6'11" (2.75 × 2.14 m).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © Photo RMN (Musee du Louvre, Paris). [Fig. 23-29]

Van Dyck and Peeters: Portraits and
Still Lifes (2 of 2)
• Clara Peeters's Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels
shows an arrangement of tableware and food against a neutral
background to emphasize surface textures of the objects.

Clara Peeters STILL LIFE WITH FLOWERS, GOBLET, DRIED FRUIT, AND PRETZELS
1611. Oil on panel, 20-1/2" × 28-3/4" (52 × 73 cm).

The Dutch Republic
• Prince Frederick Henry improved patronage of the arts in the House of
Orange.
• The Dutch were interested in scenes depicting themselves and their
country, as well as history, mythology, science, and colonial
exploration.
• Art was popular among merchants and working people.

Painting (1 of 14)
• Hendrick ter Brugghen introduced Caravaggio's influential style in
paintings such as St. Sebastian Tended by St. Irene.
– The diagonal created by St. Sebastian's left arm dislodges him
from the triangular stability of the group.
– Crowding the figures to the foreground plane was another
Caravaggesque element.

Hendrick ter Brugghen ST. SEBASTIAN TENDED BY ST. IRENE
1625. Oil on canvas, 58-15/16" × 47-1/2" (149.6 × 120 cm).
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio. R.T. Miller Jr. Fund (1953.256).
Bridgeman Images. [Fig. 23-31]

Painting (2 of 14)
• Hals and Leyster
– Group portraiture documenting the membership of corporate
organizations became popular in the Dutch Republic.
– Officers of the Haarlem Militia Company of St. Adrian transforms
the portrait into a social event.
 Strong diagonal lines underlie the composition.

Frans Hals OFFICERS OF THE HAARLEM MILITIA COMPANY OF ST. ADRIAN
c. 1627. Oil on canvas, 6' × 8'8" (1.83 × 2.67 m).
Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem. Photo: © Margareta Svensson. [Fig. 23-32]

Painting (3 of 14)
– Hals delighted in painting portraits of eccentric local figures that
served doubly as genre paintings.
– The subject of Malle Babbe was a well-known barmaid.
 The technique in this character study is looser and more
energetic than in formal portraits.

Frans Hals MALLE BABBE
c. 1630–1633. Oil on canvas, 30-7/8" × 26" (78.5 × 66.2 cm).
Staatliche Museen, Berlin. © 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur für Kunst,
Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin. [Fig. 23-33]

Painting (4 of 14)
– Judith Leyster created portraits more typical of the Dutch painters
of the time.
– Self-Portrait is lively, showing two styles of painting as exhibited in
her figure and the easel behind her.

Judith Leyster SELF-PORTRAIT
1635. Oil on canvas, 29-3/8" × 25-5/8" (74.6 × 65.1 cm).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss
(1949.6.4). Image courtesy the National Gallery of Art, Washington. [Fig. 23-34]

Painting (5 of 14)
• Rembrandt van Rijn
– Rembrandt trained under Pieter Lastman and grew an interest in
elements of the Caravaggesque style.
– The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a charged moment
from a life story rather than a posed portrait.
 Figures' attentive faces are framed by brilliant white ruffs,
contrasting the darkness of the ambiance.

Rembrandt van Rijn THE ANATOMY LESSON OF DR. NICOLAES TULP
1632. Oil on canvas, 5'3-3/4" × 7'1-1/4" (1.6 × 2.1 m).
Mauritshuis, The Hague. © 2016. Photo Scala, Florence. [Fig. 23-35]

Painting (6 of 14)
– The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq transforms a group
portrait into a dramatic event.
 A girl in the gathering crowd carries a chicken with prominent
claws, which is a pun in Dutch about the company's name,
"The Kloveniers."

Rembrandt van Rijn THE COMPANY OF CAPTAIN FRANS BANNING COCQ
(THE NIGHT WATCH)
1642. Oil on canvas, 11'11" × 14'4" (3.63 × 4.37 m) (cut down from the original size).

Technique: Etching and Drypoint
• Rembrandt popularized etching, which is an intaglio technique that
carves designs out of the surface of a printing plate.
– Metal is coated with an acid-resistant resin, then scratched into.
• Drypoint is another intaglio technique in which a sharp needle directly
scratches into the metal.

Painting (7 of 14)
– In the Three Crosses, four states of the work exist and show
Rembrandt's process from first anecdotal draft to the haunting
blackness in the final state.

Rembrandt van Rijn THREE CROSSES (FIRST STATE)
1653. Drypoint, 15-1/6" × 17-3/4" (38.5 × 45 cm).

Rembrandt van Rijn THREE CROSSES (FOURTH STATE)
1653. Drypoint, 15-1/6" × 17-3/4" (38.5 × 45 cm). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. [Fig. 23-38]

Painting (8 of 14)
– The aging artist used a wider range of textures in paint, creating a
rich chiaroscuro ranging from thin glazes to impasto.
– In a Self-Portrait of 1658, the artist's expression is inward and
weary, reflecting his stressful bankruptcy.

Rembrandt van Rijn SELF-PORTRAIT
1658. Oil on canvas, 52-5/8" × 40-7/8" (133.6 × 103.8 cm).
The Frick Collection, New York. Henry Clay Frick Bequest. (1906.1.97).
Photo: Michael Bodycomb. [Fig. 23-39]

Painting (9 of 14)
• Johannes Vermeer
– Although Vermeer produced fewer than 40 canvases that are
indisputably his work, he was famous for his highly structured
compositional approach.
– View of Delft shows a city with timeless stability, and buildings
moved for ideal placement.
 It may have been aided by a camera obscura.

Johannes Vermeer VIEW OF DELFT
c. 1662. Oil on canvas, 38-1/2" × 46-1/4" (97.8 × 117.5 cm).
Royal Picture Gallery, Mauritshuis, The Hague. [Fig. 23-40]

Painting (10 of 14)
• Johannes Vermeer
– He also produced genre paintings of quiet interior scenes.
 Woman Holding a Balance evokes the vanitas theme of the
transience of earthly life as the woman stands underneath a
painting of the Last Judgment.

Johannes Vermeer WOMAN HOLDING A BALANCE
c. 1664. Oil on canvas, 15-5/8" × 14" (39.7 × 35.5 cm).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Widener Collection (1942.9.97). Image courtesy
the National Gallery of Art, Washington. [Fig. 23-41]

Painting (11 of 14)
• Genre Scenes
– These paintings are often laden with symbolic references.
– The Suitor's Visit shows a scene where a well-dressed man bows
to an elegant woman in a sumptuously furnished room.
 The dog symbolizes loyalty, while instruments in the room
symbolize both harmony of soul and sensory pleasure.

Gerard ter Borch THE SUITOR'S VISIT
c. 1658. Oil on canvas, 32-1/2" × 29-5/8" (82.6 × 75.3 cm).
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Andrew W. Mellon Collection. Image courtesy
the National Gallery of Art, Washington. [Fig. 23-42]

Painting (12 of 14)
• Genre Scenes
– Jan Steen painted over 800 works, the most remarkable of which
being paintings of children.
 The Feast of St. Nicholas displays a household boisterous with
a family get-together.
– Children react in various ways to pre-Christmas gifts.

Jan Steen THE FEAST OF ST. NICHOLAS
c. 1660–1665. Oil on canvas, 32-1/4" × 27-3/4" (82 × 70.5 cm).

Painting (13 of 14)
• Genre Scenes
– Emanuel de Witte specialized in architectural interiors, some
called "portraits" of actual buildings.
 Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam depicts an extant location
and serves as a record of seventeenth-century synagogue
architecture.
– It reflects Dutch religious tolerance in an age where Jews
were often persecuted.

Emanuel de Witte PORTUGUESE SYNAGOGUE, AMSTERDAM
1680. Oil on canvas, 43-1/2" × 39" (110.5 × 99.1 cm).

Painting (14 of 14)
• Landscape and Still Life
– Jacob von Ruisdael's View of Haarlem from the Dunes at
Overveen showcases the Dutch love of landscapes, with religious
undertones of restoration following Noah's flood.

Jacob van Ruisdael VIEW OF HAARLEM FROM THE DUNES AT OVERVEEN
c. 1670. Oil on canvas, 22" × 24-1/4" (55.8 × 62.8 cm).
Royal Picture Gallery, Mauritshuis, The Hague. [Fig. 23-45]

The Dutch Republic (1 of 2)
– Pieter Claesz, like Clara Peeters, painted "breakfast pieces" with
nearly monochromatic colors.
 Claesz gives the objects a strong sense of space and
lifelikeness.
 Contrast of textures and materials, such as the plainness of
the food but the richness of the silver tazza, mark his mastery
of the work.

Pieter Claesz STILL LIFE WITH TAZZA
1636. Oil on panel, 17-3/8" × 24" (44 × 61 cm).
Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague. [Fig. 23-46]

The Dutch Republic (2 of 2)
– Rachel Ruysch was a sought-after flower painter in Amsterdam
with a 70-year career.
– Flower Still Life may be a less daring work, but it is sumptuous
and scientific in study.

Rachel Ruysch FLOWER STILL LIFE
After 1700. Oil on canvas, 30" × 24" (76.2 × 61 cm).
The Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment.
Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey (1956.57). The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
(1956.57) [Fig. 23-47]

Art and Its Contexts: Science and the
Changing Worldview
• Anna Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) was a researcher and artist
who published Metamorphosis of Insects in Surinam.
– Large plates were engraved after her watercolors.
• Francis Bacon and René Descartes insisted on scrupulous objectivity
and logical reasoning in philosophy.

Anna Maria Sibylla Merian PLATE 9 FROM THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE INSECTS
OF SURINAM
1719. Hand-colored engraving, 18-7/8" × 13" (47.9 × 33 cm). Getty Research Institute,
Los Angeles (89-B10750) [Fig. 23-48]

France
• Absolute monarchy was exemplified in the rule of King Louis XIV (r.
1643–1715), "le Roi Soleil" who glorified himself in art as the sun god,
Apollo.
– The portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud accentuates his legs with a
drawn-back robe and high heeled shoes.
– France became the cultural center of Europe under his reign.

Hyacinthe Rigaud LOUIS XIV
1701. Oil on canvas, 9'2" × 7'10-3/4" (2.19 × 2.4 m).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand
Palais/Philippe Migeat. [Fig. 23-49]

Art and Its Contexts:
Grading the Old Masters
• A debate about the merits of drawing and color in painting arose at the
French Royal Academy in the 1860s.
– The poussinistes supported drawing over use of color.
– The rubéniste Roger de Piles published a critical work grading
artists on a scale of 1 to 20 (highest grades of 18).
– They did not account for change in taste.

Versailles (1 of 2)
• The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1648
with corresponding Royal Academy of Architecture founded in 1671.
• The small château at Versailles was built into a grand palace to seat
the King and 5,000 aristocrats.
– André Le Nôtre planned the gardens with precise geometry and
harmony.

Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart GARDEN FAÇADE OF THE PALACE OF
VERSAILLES
1678–1685. Foreground: Jean-Baptiste Tuby, Neptune.
© Onairda/Shutterstock. [Fig. 23-50]

Versailles (2 of 2)
• Jules Hardouin-Mansart turned the rear terrace of Versailles into the
immense Hall of Mirrors, with arched windows on one side and
Venetian glass lining the others.
– Mirrors were enormously expensive in the seventeenth century.

Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Charles Le Brun HALL OF MIRRORS, PALACE OF
VERSAILLES
Begun 1678. Length approx. 240' (73 m).
© Massimo Listri/Corbis. [Fig. 23-51]

Elements of Architecture
Garden Design
• At Versailles, André Le Nôtre imposed order upon the vast expanses of
palace gardens and park by using broad, straight avenues radiating
from round focal points.
• Colorful patterns of flowers in planting beds, parterres, lined paths and
pools.
• Two crossing canals were supplied by fourteen waterwheels.

ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE: PLAN OF THE GARDENS OF THE PALACE OF
VERSAILLES (LOUIS LE VAU AND ANDRE LE NOTRE, c.1661–1785
John Woodcock © Dorling Kindersley.

Painting (1 of 6)
• French Mannerism gave way to the impact of Classicism and
Caravaggio in the 1620s.
• The Royal Academy increasingly encouraged the study of the Classics
and antiquities of Rome.

Painting (2 of 6)
• Caravaggio's Influence: Georges de la Tour and the Le Nain Brothers
– La Tour painted many images of Mary Magdalen, such as Mary
Magdalen with the Smoking Flame.
 The figure is pressed to the foreground and lends a sense of
intimacy
 Flickering light draws attention to her meditative face.

Georges de La Tour MARY MAGDALEN WITH THE SMOKING FLAME
c. 1640. Oil on canvas, 46-1/4" × 36-1/8" (117 × 91.8 cm).
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gift of the Ahmanson Foundation (M. 77.73).
[Fig. 23-52]

Painting (3 of 6)
• Caravaggio's Influence: Georges de la Tour and the Le Nain Brothers
– The Le Nain brothers are best known for genre scenes.
– A Peasant Family in an Interior is a large, lyrical scene of peasant
life.
 Adults acknowledge the presence of a viewer, but children are
lost in play.
 It is a casual, cluttered space.

Louis or Antoine Le Nain A PEASANT FAMILY IN AN INTERIOR
c. 1640. Oil on canvas, 44-1/2" × 62-1/2" (1.13 × 1.59 m).
Musée du Louvre, Paris. © akg-images/Erich Lessing. [Fig. 23-53]

Painting (4 of 6)
• The Classical Landscape: Poussin and Claude Lorrain
– Nicolas Poussin was commissioned for two large paintings
showing John and Matthew composing their text within expansive,
Classical landscapes.

Nicolas Poussin LANDSCAPE WITH ST. MATTHEW AND THE ANGEL
1639–1640. Oil on canvas, 39" × 53-1/8" (99 × 135 cm).
Staatliche Museen, Berlin. © 2016. Photo Scala, Florence/bpk, Bildagentur für Kunst,
Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin. Photo: Joerg P. Anders. [Fig. 23-54]

Painting (5 of 6)
– Landscape with St. John on Patmos shows a clearly defined
foreground, middle ground, and background marked with
alternating sunlight and shade.

Nicolas Poussin LANDSCAPE WITH ST. JOHN ON PATMOS
1640. Oil on canvas, 39-1/2" × 53-5/8" (100.3 × 136.4 cm).
The Art Institute of Chicago. A.A. Munger Collection (1930.500). Photo © The Art Institute
of Chicago. [Fig. 23-55]

Painting (6 of 6)
– Claude leads viewers into a zigzagging action in A Pastoral
Landscape.
 The picture evokes a city dweller's nostalgia for the simple,
sensuous joys of the country.

Claude Lorrain A PASTORAL LANDSCAPE
c. 1648. Oil on copper, 15-1/2" × 21" (39.3 × 53.3 cm).
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut. Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., B.A. 1913,
Fund (1959.47). Image courtesy Yale University Art Gallery. [Fig. 23-56]

England
• King James VI of Scotland joined England and Scotland in 1603, and
thereafter increased royal patronage of the arts.
• After his son, Charles I, could not maintain the throne, rulers
alternately supported Protestantism or Catholicism until Catholic King
James II was overthrown by his Protestant daughter.

• The English favored foreign artists for the realms of sculpture and
painting.
• However, architecture was dominated by Englishmen.
• Inigo Jones
– The Banqueting House features Jones's interpretation of Palladian
design; its west front is composed of superimposed Ionic and
Composite orders.

• Inigo Jones
– The interior of the hall is singular and large, divided by a balcony
and with antechambers at each end.
 Rubens painted nine canvases glorifying the reign of James I
for the ceiling's decoration.

INTERIOR, BANQUETING HOUSE, WHITEHALL PALACE
Ceiling paintings of the apotheosis of King James and the glorification of the Stuart
monarchy by Peter Paul Rubens. 1630–1635.
Historic Royal Palaces Enterprises Ltd. [Fig. 23-58]

• Christopher Wren
– Wren, who had been a mathematician at Oxford, was involved
with the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire of 1666, which
included more than 50 churches.
– His famous design for St. Paul's was initially a centrally planned
building with a great dome, but developed into a long nave and
sanctuary.

• Christopher Wren
– The interior of the dome featured a masonry vault with an oculus.
– On the façade, paired Corinthian columns support a carved
pediment.
– The large scale, verticality, complexity of form, and chiaroscuro
effects make this a major monument of English architecture.

Christopher Wren FAÇADE OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, LONDON
Designed 1673, built 1675–1710.
© Angelo Hornak/Getty Images. [Fig. 23-60]

Think About It (1 of 2)
• Discuss how Bernini and Caravaggio established the Baroque style in
sculpture and painting, respectively. Locate the defining traits of the
style in at least one work from this chapter by each artist.
• Discuss the development of portraiture, still life, and genre painting in
the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century. What accounts for
the increased importance of these subjects at this time?

Think About It (2 of 2)
• Choose two paintings of monarchs in this chapter and explain how the
artists who painted them embodied the ruler's prestige and power. Are
the strategies of these painters different from those employed by
painters of powerful people in the sixteenth century?
• Determine how Poussin's landscapes depart from other stylistic
currents at the time. What is meant by the term "Classicism" in relation
to Poussin's style? Comment on its importance for the future of French
art.

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