Slides for Chapter 17

1. Art 1100
Joan Jonas
“They Come to Us without a Word”
U.S. Pavilion,Venice Biennale, 2015

2. The Baroque

3. The Baroque Period lasted from about 1600 to 1750, the
period of the Counter-Reformation in the Catholic
countries of Europe. It is nicknamed the “Age of
Colonization,” or “Age of Kings” because of the presence
of powerful monarchies.
The Baroque Period goes beyond the Renaissance
philosophy of attempting to recreate the stoic, intellectual,
classical art of Antiquity, by instilling their art with emotion,
dynamic composition, energy, richness and sensual color
The Baroque

4. At this time Europe was ruled by large monarchial nation-states.
More powerful than ever, these monarchs enabled the arts, the
sciences and the exploration ( and conquest) of the globe. These
monarchies evolved into dynasties, with children ruling after their
parents.
France: Louis XI, CharlesVIII, Louis XII, XIII, XIV etc.
Spain: Ferdinand and Isabella, the Habsburgs.
England: HenryVII, HenryVIII, EdwardVI, Mary I, called Mary
Tudor or Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I
Following a series of bloody civil wars, European political theorists
suggested, absolutism: the doctrine that a supremely powerful
leader was more stable for the populace.

5. It is important to make a distinction between Baroque art in the
Catholic countries and art in Protestant countries.
1).The patrons of the arts in the Catholic countries of Europe, i.e.
Italy, Spain and France, were primarily the Church and the
aristocracy. They produced arts that glorified the church (especially
the Counter-Reformation) and the aristocracy.
2). Protestant countries to the contrary, were not beholden to the
Pope and were mostly middle-class in nature.Therefore religious
subject matter was as common as themes taken from everyday life
such as landscapes, still-lifes, genre scenes and portraits.
The Baroque

6. Church of Our Lady ofVictory
Chiesa di Santa Maria dellaVittoria
Rome, Italy
Architect(s): Carlo Maderno,
Giovanni Battista Soria
1605-1620
In the Coronaro Chapel in
Rome, Bernini combined
architectural design with
painting, sculpture, and light.
The subject,Teresa, was an
important figure in the
Counter-Reformation.

7. Gianlorenzo Bernini, Cornaro
Chapel, Santa Maria della
Vittoria, Rome, 1642-1652.
The Baroque
in Italy
Extravagant artworks
glorified the Catholic
church as part of the
Counter-Reformation’s
efforts.

8. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
St.Teresa in Ecstasy,
Cornaro Chapel, 1645-52.
A Spanish mystic,Teresa
claimed to have visions of
Heaven and Hell and was
visited by angels. Bernini
depicts her swooning in
religious ecstasy as the
angel wields a spear that
leaves Teresa “consumed by
the great love of God.”

9. “It pleased our Lord that I would sometimes see this vision: very
close to me, on my left, an angel appeared in human form... In his
hands I saw a golden spear and at the end of the iron tip I
seemed to see a point of fire.With this he seemed to pierce my
heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails.When he
drew it out, I thought he was drawing them out with it, and he
left me utterly consumed by the great love of God.”
"The pain was so sharp that it made me utter several moans; and
so excessive was the sweetness caused me by this intense pain
that one can never wish it to cease, nor will one's soul be
content with anything less than God.”
-St.Theresa of Avila (1515-1582)

11. The gilt bronze rods depict the
heavenly rays of light, which are lit
from above by a hidden window.

12. Cardinals of theVenetian Cornaro
family assisting to the ecstasy of St.
Theresa, by Bernini. Left transept of
Santa Maria dellaVittoria

13. View of the apse, Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria dellaVittoria, Rome, 1642-1652.

14. Gianlorenzo Bernini was the brilliant tri-talented man
of the 17th century. Bernini was a kind of Renaissance
man during the Baroque Period, in that he was an
undisputed master of architecture, painting, and
particularly, sculpture.A leading artist of the Counter-
Reformation.
The Baroque
• Revives Hellenistic sculpture
• Twisting compositions
• Embellished details
• Heavily emotional

15. Gianlorenzo
Bernini, David,
1623. Carrara
marble,
height 170 cm
David #3

16. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
David, 1623. Marble,
life-sized.

17. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
David, 1623. Marble,
life-sized.

18. David by Bernini in the Galleria Borghese

19. c. 1430-1440. Bronze,
5' 2 1/2" high.
Donatello’s David
David #1

20. Michelangelo Buonarroti, David
1501- 1504 CE, Accademia Gallery,
Florence, Italy. 16 feet 11.15 inches
tall. Carrara marble.
David #2
Michelangelo’s David

21. Gianlorenzo Bernini. Pluto
and Proserpina, 1621-1622.
Marble, over-life-sized.
The Baroque
Pluto, powerful god of the
underworld, abducting
Proserpina, daughter of Ceres.
By interceding with Jupiter, her
mother obtains permission for
her daughter to return to earth
for half the year and then spend
the other half in Hades.

24. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
Apollo and Daphne,
1622-25, Galleria
Borghese, Rome

25. Here Apollo the god of light falls in love with and pursues the nymph,
Daphne. However, she abhors his attentions and tries to flee from her
suitor. Apollo finally catches up with her, but in the end she escapes
him by being turned into a laurel tree.
He has captured the very millisecond of Daphne's metamorphosis.
Here semi-human, semi-tree her body is being encapsulated with bark,
her feet molding into roots, and her fingers and hair sliding into the
form of leaves.
The Baroque

27. The Baroque
Bernini’s projects at St Peter’s and theVatican Palace began during the
pontificate of UrbanVIII and continued, with some interruptions, into
the 1670s. He is best known for the design of the piazza’s colonnade,
the bronze baldacchino at the crossing, and numerous other sculptures
in marble that decorate the basilica’s interior.
Bernini's last work for Saint Peter's, begun under Pope AlexanderVII,
was the design for the giant piazza leading to the church (1656–67). He
himself likened the oval space defined by two freestanding colonnades
as the mother church extending her arms to embrace the faithful.

28. Gianlorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s Piazza, Rome 1656-63

29. Bernini’s monumental bronze baldacchino (1623–1634) over the
high altar of St Peter’s. Its massive spiral columns make reference
to the Temple of Solomon.

30. Papal choir visiting the tomb of St. Peter under the baldacchino below the altar.

32. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
Altar of the Chair of
St. Peter, St. Peter’s
Cathedral, Rome
1647-53.
In the later work of the
Cathedra Petri (Throne of
St Peter)1657–66, placed in
the apse to encase the
ancient throne believed to
be that of Saint Peter,
natural light is intensified by
scattered gilt rays to create
a divine setting.

33. Gianlorenzo Bernini,
Altar of the Chair of
St. Peter, St. Peter’s
Cathedral, Rome
1647-53.
The Baroque

34. Bernini completed his design for the piazza of St Peter’s, which consists
of a modified oval-shaped covered walkway supported by massive Doric
columns and decorated with statues of saints.

36. Piazza of St. Peters Cathedral

37. Caravaggio,
Conversion of Saint
Paul, 1601. Oil on
canvas,
The Baroque
Caravaggio, Michelangelo
(b 1571; d 1610).
Italian painter.
After an early career as a
painter of portraits, still-lifes, and
genre scenes he became the
most persuasive religious painter
of his time. His bold, naturalistic
style, which emphasized the
common humanity of the
apostles and martyrs, flattered
the aspirations of the Counter-
Reformation Church.

38. Caravaggio,
Entombment of
Christ, 1604.
Caravaggio was a very spiritual
person in spite of his tumultuous
and controversial personal life. He
employs a version of chiaroscuro
referred to as “tenebroso.” It is not
as subtle as Leonardo’s “sfumato,”
and it is warmer and more
dramatic than early Renaissance
chiaroscuro. His figures are usually
few in number, very close to the
picture plane, on a stage setting like
a theatre, and illuminated by a
single light source.
The Baroque

39. Caravaggio,The Crucifixion
of St. Peter, 1601. Oil on
canvas,
The Baroque
• Dramatic “chiaroscuro”
light/dark.
• Used contemporary people
for religious stories.
• Theatre like settings.
• Extreme realism of each part.

40. The differences between Catholic and Protestant art.
The patrons of the arts in the Catholic countries of Europe, i.e.
Italy, Spain, Flanders, and France, were primarily the Church and
the aristocracy. It is important to make a distinction between
Baroque art in the Catholic countries of Europe and the art
produced in Holland, a Protestant country. Since the Church and
the aristocracy were in complete charge of the social structure
and operation of Catholic countries, in a way they worked in
collusion to maintain a particular status quo.
Holland, to the contrary, was not beholden to the Pope, the
Catholic Church or an aristocratic segment of society, and was
mostly middle-class in nature. In Holland, a Protestant country,
religious subject matter was not nearly as common as themes
taken from everyday life such as landscapes, still-lifes, genre scenes
and portraits.
The Baroque

41. Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch, 1621–1691,AView ofVianen with a Herdsman
and Cattle by a River, c. 1643/45
The Baroque

42. The term “still-life” comes from the Dutch word for
paintings of groups of objects “stilleven”. But in Latin
languages that type of composition was known as “natura
morte” meaning literally dead-nature.
Simultaneously used as...
Symbols of status because of the wealth
presented in the image.
And as reminders of life’s shortness,“vanitas”
Pieter Claesz
Dutch, 1597/98–1660
Still Life, c. 1625
The Baroque

43. Paul Theodor van Brussel
Dutch, 1754-1795
Still Life: Fruit and Flowers, 1787
The Baroque

44. Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill, 1628
Pieter Claesz
The Baroque

45. Vermeer, Johannes
(b 1632; d 1675).
Dutch painter.
He is considered one of the principal Dutch genre
painters of the 17th century. His work displays an
unprecedented level of artistic mastery in its
consummate illusion of reality.Vermeer’s figures are
often reticent and inactive, which imparts an evocative
air of solemnity and mystery to his paintings.
The Baroque

46. JohannVermeer.The
Lace Maker, c.
1669-1671. Oil on
canvas,
Vermeer worked in
the Protestant
tradition where
themes were taken
from everyday life.
The Baroque

47. JohannesVermeer (1632 - 1675)
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665
oil on canvas height: 44.5 cm
width: 39 cm
Girl with a Pearl Earring isVermeer’s
most famous painting. It is not a
portrait, but a ‘tronie’ – a painting
of an imaginary figure.Tronies
depict a certain type or character;
in this case a girl in exotic dress,
wearing a turban and an
improbably large pearl in her ear.
JohannesVermeer was the master
of light.This is shown here in the
softness of the girl’s face and the
glimmers of light on her moist lips.
And of course, the shining pearl.

48. JanVermeer,
The Milkmaid, c.
1658-1660. Oil
on canvas,
Vermeer

49. JanVermeer,The
Geographer, c.
1668. Oil on
canvas,
Vermeer

50. Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-
portrait as Saint Paul (aged
fifty-five), 1661. Oil on
canvas,
The Baroque
Rembrandt van Rijn
(b 1606; d 1669)
Dutch painter, draughtsman and
etcher.
His name still symbolizes a whole
period of art history rightfully known
as ‘Holland’s Golden Age’. His most
famous portrait commission was that
of the Militia Company of Capt. Frans
Banning Cocq and Lt Willem van
Ruytenburch, a picture known by its
nickname, the ‘Night Watch’

51. Rembrandt, The Night Watch, 1642.
The Baroque

52. Rembrandt’s innovation in portrait painting was to
present individual portraits within the context of a
larger activity.This depiction of an Amsterdam militia, is
still referred to by its popular title,“The Night Watch,”
though a long overdue cleaning revealed the context
to be a day scene. Documents have revealed that each
member contributed to the commission depending on
how prominently they would appear.
The Baroque

53. The Baroque
Rembrandt,Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, 1632
Oil on canvas, 216.5 cm × 169.5 cm (85.2 in × 66.7 in)

54. The Baroque
en Francais

55. Gianlorenzo Bernini. Louis XlV, 1665. Marble, life-sized.
The Baroque in France
The pinnacle of Baroque
culture was the French
court of Louis XIV.
Ruled with authority
from his rural estate of
Versailles.
In 1665 King Louis XIV
invited Bernini to Paris.

56. Louis the XIV received his name the
“Sun King” from his role in the ballet
where he portrayed the sun god
Apollo.
The ballet was performed through the
night depicting the chaos of civil war,
but Louis, only 15 at the time, would
enter at dawn, dressed as the sun, with
gold, diamonds and rubies, as the
savior of the kingdom.
The message was clear:
Louis XIV was the answer to France’s ills.

57. Hyacinthe Rigaud
Louis XIV (1638-1715)
1701
“French kings, using
Italian Renaissance
examples, thought of
spectacle as a way to
soothe passions and calm
sectarian violence.”
-Jennifer Homans from
Apollo’s Angels
The Baroque in France

58. Louis XIV also destabilized the traditional hierarchy of
nobility as well, in order to undermine competitors to
the throne.
1). Commanded them to live with him atVersailles.
2). Denied traditional markers of nobility.
3). Established elaborate court ritual [ballet] to validate
nobility.
The nobility were literally dependent on the king for
their status, and ballet served as a way to show to the
king your poise, control and education.
The Baroque in France

59. Under Louis XIV centers were established for each of
the arts, ballet, music, opera, painting etc.These
Academies controlled access to art’s commissions and
enforced royal taste and standards on each of the arts.
i.e. All plays had to have 5 acts, obey the unities of
time and place, and provide and uplifting moral.
This standardization of the arts was designed to export
French art to replace the primarily Latin (or Italian) art
of the Renaissance.
Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
The French Academy

60. Gianlorenzo Bernini: modello for the equestrian statue of Louis XIV,
terracotta, h. 763 mm, 1670 (Rome, Galleria Borghese);
Bernini’s model for a statue of Louis XIV as Apollo
The Baroque in France

61. The statue portrayed him as Apollo in the act of climbing the Hill of Glory
and leading an imaginary army, but the king was utterly displeased with the
final result of Bernini's work that a different artist, François Girardon, was
instructed to modify it.
The Baroque in France

62. Gianlorenzo Bernini: Equestrian statue of Louis XIV, modified
by François Girardon into “Marcus Curtius”, 1687
The Baroque in France

63. Because a statue of the king could not be placed in such an
unassuming site, in 1687 François Girardon, a French sculptor,
was asked to modify it in order to portray Marcus Curtius, a
hero of the very early days of Rome.The rocks of the Hill of
Glory became the flames into which the hero threw himself, a
sort of Roman helmet was placed on the head, the long hair of
the king was trimmed and some features of the face were
modified.
Gianlorenzo Bernini: Equestrian statue
of Louis XIV, modified by François
Girardon into “Marcus Curtius”, 1687
The Baroque in France

64. Mansart and Le Brun,, Palace of Versailles, C. 1680.
The Baroque in France

65. Baroque Architecture:
1). Used Renaissance ideas
of proportion and
harmony. (i.e. repeated
units)
2). Incorporated greater
ornamentation and lavish
materials.
3).Tried to unify the arts
in a single building.
Mansart and Le Brun,, Palace of Versailles, C. 1680.
The Baroque in France

66. Of all the artistic projects initiated during King Louis XIV’s
reign, his country palace, Versailles, is his most magnificent. It
was what defined him as a man of culture, wealth and power.
Versailles, view of the
Garden Front façade,
by Louis LeVau and
Jules Hardouin
Mansart, 1668–85;

67. Parterre du Midi, Palace ofVersailles, France

68. Mansart and Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, C. 1680.

69. http://paris.arounder.com/en/historic-building/chateau-
de-versailles/versailles-galerie-des-glaces.html
Mansart and Le Brun,
Hall of Mirrors, Palace ofVersailles, C. 1680 CE.
A formal display of royal magnificence was created for him by Charles
Le Brun in 1681–84 in the new Galerie des Glaces atVersailles. Here the
paintings of the vaulted ceiling displaying Louis XIV's triumphs in peace
and in war, the colored marbles, the gilt-bronze fittings, the silver and
silver-gilt furnishings, the crystal candelabra, and the many-colored
carpets, all multiplied by the large, shimmering mirrors, created a
symphony of visual enchantment hailed as the crowning moment of the
Louis XIV style.

70. Versailles, Salon de la Guerre, interior view showing a plaster relief of the Triumph of Louis XIV by
Antoine Coyzevox, c. 1681–3;

71. Purposiveness without purpose.
According to an 18th century German philosopher
Immanuel Kant, fine art follows two paradoxes:
1). It “is a way of presenting that is purposive on its own and
that furthers, even though without a purpose, the culture of our
mental powers to [facilitate] social communication”
2).“It must have the look of nature even though we are
conscious of it as art”.
In other words, Kant believes that fine art is intentionally
produced, yet remains purposive without a purpose, and is
fabricated, essentially unnatural, yet must appear natural to
its viewers.

72. Isidore-Laurent Deroy,View of the park and Palace ofVersailles. 19th century Lithograph.

73. Château deVersailles, aerial view;

74. Google art project
The Baroque in
France
http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/versailles

75. The French Imperial City Plans, of bothVersailles and
Paris served as inspiration for the Plan of Chicago.

76. The Enlightenment (1700-1780)

77. During the “Enlightenment” society gained a greater
confidence in the use of reason to perfect
government, art and life.
Fed up with the abuses of the Baroque “Age of Kings”
this period set the stage for the American and French
revolutions.
Rococo: Frivolity and riches.
Neoclassicism: Reason re-applied.
Bourgeois Style: The common people.
The Enlightenment (1700-1780)

78. The 18th Century
François
Cuvillies the
Elder, Mirror
Room, Munich,
1734-39.
: Rococo

79. Rococo art and culture can be regarded as the last
decadent phase of the Baroque Period. It
maintains all the ornate surfaces, beautiful colors,
energy and grace of Baroque, but removes deeper
meanings.
Rococo art is a reflection of the privileged life of
the aristocracy and royal family.
Rococo

80. The 18th Century : Rococo
Dominikus Zimmermann,Wieskirche (Church of the Meadow), Bavaria, 1745-1754
“Rococo”
More natural designs.
Kept Baroque’s dense
decoration.
Unity of different parts
with furniture working
with art and architecture

81. Nicolas Pineau's, 1735 from the Hôtel deVarengeville, Paris
The 18th Century : Rococo

82. Staircase of the Residenz showing the ceiling fresco of Giovanni Battista
Tiepolo,Würzburg, Germany, 1752-1753
The 18th Century : Rococo

83. Jean-Honoré
Fragonard,The
Swing, 1766. Oil
on canvas
Rococo

84. Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a celebrated Rococo painter. Had he
followed the traditional path of the history painter, he might have
become Director of the Académie. Instead, he never sought to be
received at the Académie and seldom exhibited at the Salon,
preferring the unofficial forums. His contemporaries accused him of
compromising his artistic integrity by pandering to the frivolous
tastes of collectors.
Certainly, he supplied an eager market with rapidly brushed paintings
on a variety of themes. Even the few works he did show at the Salon
of 1767 were far from being grand pictures as critics were quick to
lament.The change in direction is symbolized in The Swing. It is a small
painting, commissioned by the Baron de Saint-Julien to show his
mistress being pushed in a swing by a bishop, while he himself looks
on.
Rococo

85. Frogonard, The
Pursuit, 1771-73.
Rococo themes:
Flirtation and seduction.
Art for pleasure and
decoration.
Instead of the dark, rich
colors of Baroque art,
Rococo favors a pastel
palette.

86. Jean-Honoré FRAGONARD (1732 - Paris, 1806)
The Bolt C. 1777

87. François Boucher
French, 1703–1770
AreTheyThinking about the
Grape? (Pensent-ils au raisin?),
1747
Rococo

88. The Toilet ofVenus, 1751
François Boucher
(French, 1703–1770)
Rococo

89. Young Lady with a
Parrot, Rosalba
Carriera, Italy, 1730.
Rococo

90. Marie Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsburg,
Queen of France and her children
1787, oil on canvas, Length: 195 cm
(76.8 in). Height: 271 cm (106.7 in).
Palace ofVersailles
Louise Élisabeth
Vigée Le Brun
(1755-1842) French
portrait painter. She
quickly became the
favorite painter of
Marie-Antoinette and
her circle, and is said
to have painted the ill-
fated Queen 25 times
Rococo

91. Marie-Louise Elisabeth
Vigee-Lebrun, Marie
Antoinette, 1788.
Rococo
At the outbreak of the
Revolution she fled Paris
with her daughter,
fearing to follow the fate
of her royal patron (who
died by the guillotine).
She travelled in Italy,
Russia,Austria, Germany,
and England, returning
to Napoleonic Paris in
1805.