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Baroque 2011
- 1. Baroque Art 17th Century Italy, Spain, Flanders, Holland, France, England
- 2. Europe in the17 th Century
- 3. Italian Baroque Communicatesthe Catholic Counter-Reformation Promotes the Roman Catholic Church’s campaign to reestablish its preeminence. Popes would be strong patrons
- 4. Maderno, facade ofSt. Peter’s, 1606-12
- 5. Bernini, PiazzaSan Pietro , plaza and colonnades, 1656-67
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- 10. Bernini, Baldacchino, St.Peter’s , 1624-1633
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- 12. Gianlorenzo Bernini, David , 1623
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- 18. GIANLORENZO BERNINI, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa , Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy, 1645–1652. Marble, height of group 11’ 6”.
- 19. Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
- 20. Interior Dome ofChurch of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane , 1638-41 Francesco Borromini
- 21. Francesco Borromini, Chapelof Saint Ivo, College of the Sapienza, Rome, begun 1642
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- 23. Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods , Palazzo Farnese, 1597-1601, Rome
- 24. Annibale Carracci, Flight into Egypt , 1603-1604
- 25. Michelangelo Merisi CARAVAGGIOSelf Portrait as Bacchus
- 26. Caravaggio, Conversionof St. Paul , 1601
- 27. Caravaggio, Crucifixionof St. Peter , 1600-1601
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- 29. Caravaggio, Callingof St. Matthew , c. 1597-1601
- 30. Caravaggio, Deathof the Virgin , 1605-1606
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- 32. Caravaggio, JudithSlaying Holofernes (c.1598-1599)
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- 35. Caravaggio Artemisia GentileschiJudith Slaying Holfernes
- 36. Guido Reni, Aurora, 1613-14
- 37. Il Guercino, Aurora , 1621-23
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- 39. Fra Andrea Pozzo, Glorification of Saint Ignatius , Rome, 1691-1694
- 40. Salvator Rosa, St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1640
- 41. Spanish Baroque Scenesof martyrdom and death are popular Velasquez is the most famous artist from this area
- 42. Jose de Ribera, Martyrdom of St. Philip, c.1639 1639
- 43. Francisco de Zurbaran, St. Serapion , 1628
- 44. Francisco de Zurbaran, St. Francis in Meditation , 1639
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- 46. Velazquez, WaterCarrier of Seville , 1619
- 47. Velazquez, TheSurrender at Breda , 1634-35
- 48. Velazquez, LasMeninas (Maids of Honor), 1656
- 49. Flemish Baroque CharacteristicsArt of Flanders Closely related to Italian Baroque Peter Paul Rubens is the most famous of the Flemish painters
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- 51. PETER PAUL RUBENS,Elevation of the Cross, 1610.
- 52. Peter Paul Rubens, Lion Hunt , 1617-1618
- 53. Peter Paul Rubens, Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseilles , 1622-1625
- 54. ANTHONY VAN DYCK, Charles I Dismounted , ca. 1635.
- 55. Baroque in HollandCharacteristics The Dutch Republic received its independence from Spain Trade and banking made the area prosperous- good for the arts- great rise in middle class patronage Protestant citizenry rejected church art in favor of portraits, genre scenes, landscapes and still lifes Rembrandt van Rijn was the greatest Dutch artist of the time
- 56. GERRIT VAN HONTHORST, Supper Party , 1620.
- 57. Frans Hals, Willem Coymans , 1645
- 58. Frans Hals, Archers of St. Hadrian , 1633
- 59. Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait , 1635
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- 62. REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp , 1632.
- 63. Rembrandt Supper atEmmaus , 1628-30 Supper at Emmaus , 1648
- 64. Rembrandt, NightWatch , 1642
- 65. Rembrandt, ThreeCrosses , 1653. Fourth state dry point engraving
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- 67. Vermeer, Milkmaid, 1658-1660
- 68. Vermeer, Girl witha Pearl Earring, 1665
- 69. Vermeer, Viewof Delft , 1662
- 70. Vermeer, WomanHolding a Balance , 1664
- 71. The Allegory ofthe Art of Painting, 1665-1672
- 72. AELBERT CUYP, A Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows, and Other Figures , late 1640s.
- 73. PIETER CLAESZ, Vanitas Still Life , 1630s.
- 74. RACHEL RUYSCH, Flower Still Life , after 1700.
- 75. French Baroque CharacteristicsMajor patron was Louis XIV- expanded the Louvre and built the complex at Versailles Interested in the classical influence (Poussin)
- 76. Georges de laTour, Adoration of the Shepards , 1645-1650
- 77. La Tour, Magdalen with the Smoking Flame , c. 1640
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- 80. Poussin, TheHoly Family on the Steps , 1648
- 81. Poussin , Etin Arcadia ego , 1655
- 82. HYACINTHE RIGAUD, Louis XIV , 1701. Oil on canvas, 9’ 2” x 6’ 3”. Louvre, Paris.
- 83. Palace of Versailles,begun 1669 Hall of Mirrors, 1680
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- 86. JULES HARDOUIN-MANSART, RoyalChapel, with ceiling decorations by Antoine Coypel, palace of Louis XIV, Versailles, France, 1698–1710.
- 87. English Baroque Architecturewas the most important art form Architecture harmonized the work of Andrea Palladio with the Italian Baroque and French classical style Christopher Wren is the most famous architect
- 88. John Vanbrugh, BlenheimPalace, Oxfordshire, England, 1705-1722
- 89. Andrea Palladio SanGiorgio Maggiore Villa Rotunda
- 90. Christopher Wren, St.Paul’s Cathedral, London, 1675-1710
Editor's Notes
- #2 The term Baroque is used to describe the time period of art roughly covering the 17 th century. Classical ideas were still used in the composition, but in a more theatrical and dynamic way.
- #5 Bramante and Michelangelo’s central plan was unsatisfactory to the clergy of 17 th century b/c it was too pagan and it was inconvenient for the growing assemblies. Paul V commissioned Maderno to extend the nave to the earlier plan and to provide the building with a facade. He had difficulty working with a pre-existing incomplete plan. The design was never fully executed. As it stands the front of St. Peter’s is neither the realization of Maderno’s wishes nor those of Michelangelo or Bramante. Today we must view the structure from the back to understand what the original architect had envisioned. When viewed up close the dome hardly emerges above the soaring cliff of the facade, seen from further back it appears to have no drum.
- #6 Designed by Bernini The colossal Tuscan colonnades, four columns deep, frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive elliptical area which precedes it. The trapezoid and oval shape are Baroque. The colonnades define the piazza. The elliptical center of the piazza, which contrasts with the trapezoidal entrance, encloses the visitor with "the maternal arms of Mother Church" in Bernini's expression.
- #7 View from the dome
- #8 The Vatican Obelisk is the only obelisk in Rome that has not toppled since ancient Roman times. The obelisk, of the 13th century BC, was moved to Rome in AD 37. Bernini has used the obelisk to mark the center of the piazza and Maderno created one of the fountains and Bernini later matched Maderno’s fountain on the other side.
- #9 Features non Renaissance trapezoid and oval shape
- #11 Made of bronze. Erected above the main altar under the dome. It was built to mark and memorialize the tomb of Saint Peter. It is almost 100 feet tall and serves as a visual bridge between the human scale and the lofty vaults and dome above.
- #12 Interior designed by Bernini
- #13 Although Bernini was a great and influential architect, his fame comes from his sculpture. It is very dramatic and time plays an important role. Bernini’s David aims at catching the split-second action of the figure and differs from the restful and tense figures of David portrayed by Donatello, Verrocchio and Michelangelo. Here we see a muscular body in action, beginning the violent, pivoting motion that will launch the stone from his sling. The sculpture shows a scene from the Old Testament First Book of Samuel . The Israelites are at war with the Philistines , whose giant warrior Goliath has challenged any of the Israeli soldiers to settle the conflict by single combat . The young shepherd David has just taken up the challenge, and is about to slay the giant with a stone from his sling : 48. As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. – 1 Samuel 17 David's nudity is only partially covered by a robe. At his feet lies the amour he has just shed, as he is unaccustomed to it and believes he can fight better without. Also at his feet is his iconographic harp , something not mentioned in the biblical account
- #16 Bernini- interior of the Cornaro Chapel. Bernini draws on the full resources of architecture, sculpture, and painting to charge the entire area with dramatic tension. Saint Theresa, the focal point of the chapel, is a soft white marble statue surrounded by a polychromatic marble architectural framing. This structure works to conceal a window which lights the statue from above. In shallow relief, sculpted figure-groups of the Cornaro family inhabit in opera boxes along the two side walls of the chapel. The setting places the viewer as a spectator in front of the statue with the Cornaro family leaning out of their box seats and craning forward to see the mystical ecstasy of the saint. St. Theresa is highly idealized and in an imaginary setting. St. Theresa of Avila , a popular saint of the Catholic Reformation , wrote of her mystical experiences aimed at the nuns of her Carmelite Order ; these writings had become popular reading among lay people interested in pursuing spirituality. In her writings, she described the love of God as piercing her heart like a burning arrow.
- #18 Saint Theresa was a nun. Her conversion took place after the death of her father, when she fell into a series of trances, saw visions, and heard voices. Feeling a persistent pain in her side, she came to believe that its cause was the fire-tipped dart of Divine love, which an angel had thrust into her bosom and which she described as making her swoon in delightful anguish. The whole chapel becomes a theater for the production of this mystical drama.
- #20 Dynamic and revolutionary architect. Borromini rejected the traditional notion that a building’s façade should be a flat frontispiece. Borromini creates a façade in a serpentine motion forward and back, making a counterpoint of concave and convex on two levels. He emphasizes the sculptural effect with deeply recessed niches. The strangest thing is the two facades. The upper façade was completed after Borromini’s death so we cannot be sure to what extent it reflects his original intention. The plan of San Carlo is a hybrid of a Greek cross and an oval. The side walls pulsate in a way that reverses the façade’s movement. The molded, dramatically lit space appears to flow from entrance to altar
- #21 Interior view of the dome. The oval was important to the Baroque time period. In place of a traditional round dome, Borromini capped the interior of San Carlo with a deeply coffered oval dome that seems to float on the light entering through windows hidden in its base.
- #22 In characteristic fashion, Borromini played concave against convex forms on the upper level of the Roman Chapel of Saint Ivo. Pilasters restrain the forces that seem to push the bulging forms outward. The interior elevation fully reflects all the elements of the highly complex plan of Borromini’s chapel in the College of the Sapienza, which is star-shaped with rounded points and apses on all sides.
- #23 Unlike Renaissance domes, Borromini’s Saint Ivo dome is an organic part that evolves out of and shares the qualities of the supporting walls, and it cannot be separated from them.
- #24 Baroque painting is well under way in 1600 w/ the decoration of the Farnese gallery. Carracci’s generation was tired of the mannerist style and they returned for a fresh view of nature, but only after they studied the Renaissance masters carefully. He studied at an academy in Bologna, it was founded by some of his family members…this academy was the 1 st significant institution of its kind in the history of western art…it was founded on the premise that art can be taught…the basis of any academic philosophy of art. The materials of instruction must include the Antique and the Renaissance traditions, in addition to the study of anatomy and life drawing. We can tell here that Carracci was VERY familiar w/ Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. He restores the Renaissance interest in human themes and emotions, renouncing the artificialities of Mannerism to return to the study of nature, and forming a bridge btw Renaissance and Baroque. The style is vigorous, sensuous, and adroit naturalism, modified by the classical form inherited from the masters Subject matter is the interpretations of the subtle and various stages and degrees of earthly and Divine love. Despite the pagan subject, there are Christian overtones. Much of the images come from Classical literature especially Ovid’s Metamorphosis. This fresco resembles individual framed paintings on a wall.
- #25 Carracci created the ideal or Classical landscape. Mary, with the Christ Child and St. Joseph are making their way to Egypt. The painter sought for the effect of a balanced, idyllic landscape beauty, with a perfect sentimental fusion of the holy characters, their stories and the landscape. Landscape is now a major subject matter for the painter.
- #26 Caravaggio was known after the northern Italian town he was from. He did not particularly care for the Classical masters and received a lot of criticism because of it. Caravaggio’s life was marked with run ins with the law for various violent offenses and assaults- even murder. His every day existence among criminals and “lowlifes” along with his rejection of the Renaissance ideals of beauty and decorum may have led to his unglorified and unfashionable view of the great themes of religion. In his art, he secularizes both religion and the classics, reducing them to human dramas that might be played out in the harsh and dingy settings of his time and place.
- #27 Tenebrism – painting in the “dark manner” using violent contrast of light and dark, as in the work of Caravaggio. He painted this for the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo. We see the conversion of the Pharisee Saul by a light and a voice from heaven. At first glance the spiritual looks missing. This could be a painting of an equestrian accident, but the light shows us the presence of the divine. The dramatic spotlight shining down upon the fallen Pharisee is the light of divine revelation that brings about Paul’s conversion to Christianity.
- #28 Also in the Cerasi Chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome . This hangs across the chapel from The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus (1601). The painting depicts the martyrdom of St. Peter by crucifixion—Peter asked that his cross be inverted so as not to imitate his mentor, Christ, hence he is depicted upside-down. The large canvas shows Romans, their faces shielded, struggling to erect the cross of the elderly but muscular St. Peter. Peter is heavier than his aged body would suggest, and his lifting requires the efforts of three men, as if the crime they perpetrate already weighs on them. Caravaggio depicts the Romans in modern day clothing. The scene is very similar to that of Michelangelo’s Vatican fresco.
- #29 Michelangelo’s version fifty years before
- #30 One of two large canvases honoring Matthew in the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. The setting is typical of Caravaggio: a dingy tavern of the sort that the artist frequented himself. Christ, identifiable initially only by his indistinct halo, enters from the right. With a commanding gesture that recalls that of the Lord in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam . Never before had this New Testament theme been rendered in such a fashion, and its worldly, genre quality, regarded as irreverent by many, caused the church to refuse the work at first.
- #31 The depiction of the Death of the Virgin caused a contemporary stir, and was rejected as unfit by the parish. Subsequently, upon the recommendation by Peter Paul Rubens , who praised it as one of Caravaggio's best works, the painting was bought by Charles I , Duke of Mantua , whose collection had later to be sold to Charles I of England. After his execution the English Commonwealth put his collection up for sale, and the painting was bought for the French Royal Collection, which after the French Revolution became the property of the state. Today it hangs in the Louvre . In Caravaggio’s unique realization of the theme, the Virgin is unceremoniously laid out in the awkward stiffness of death, her body swollen, limbs uncomposed, and feet uncovered (this was considered indecent at the time). Caravaggio was also accused of using the corpse of a young woman who had drowned as his model. It was common to depict Mary as younger than her actual age (53) during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
- #32 A diagonal cascade of mourners and cadaver-bearers descending to the limp, dead Christ and the bare stone – is not a moment of transfiguration, but of mourning. Unlike the gored post- crucifixion Jesus in morbid Spanish displays, Italian Christs die generally bloodlessly, and slump in a geometrically challenging display. As if emphasizing the dead Christ's inability to feel pain, a hand enters the wound at his side. While faces are important in painting generally, in Caravaggio it is important always to note where the arms are pointing. Skyward in the The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus , towards Levi in The Calling of Saint Matthew . Here, the dead God's fallen arm and immaculate shroud touch stone; the grieving Mary gesticulates to Heaven . In some ways, that was the message of Christ: God come to earth, and mankind reconciled with the heavens.
- #33 Caravaggio's version of the Judith story. Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Barberini, Rome From the Apocrypha. Clearly and harshly drawn figures characterize this gruesome scene. Relates the delivery of Israel from its enemy, Holofernes. Having succumbed to the charms of Judith. Holofernes invites her to his tent for the night. When he has fallen asleep, Judith cuts off his head. We see the servant holding the bag as Judith cuts off the head of Holophernes, the leader of the enemy troops.
- #34 One of Caravaggio’s followers inside Italy. Part of the “Caravaggisti”- the painters of night pictures. Her successful career helped spread Caravaggio’s manner throughout Italy.
- #35 Two paintings on the theme of Judith The one on the left in the act of cutting off his head. The one on the right is just after the act. The servant is putting the head into a sack and Judith puts up one hand blocking the light source causing a dramatic shadow on her face. Still full of tension.
- #37 Also trained in the Bolognese academy. Here inspired by Raphael. Aurora or Dawn leads the chariot of Apollo, while the hours dance about it. Use of quadro riportato ( transferred framed painting similar to the Sistine Chapel). Ceiling Fresco. The scene of Dawn leading Apollo’s chariot derives from ancient Roman reliefs.
- #38 Guercino paints the figures at a 45 degree angle giving the illusion of unlimited space on the ceiling painting.
- #40 The ceiling painting as we see here was being stimulated anew by the large, new churches of Baroque Rome. Some of the problems associated with ceiling painting are of course special. Looking up at a painting is very different from looking at a painting. The experience of looking at what is above us carries a sense of awe, particularly when we are viewing something located at considerable height. Guercino recognized this when he painted his Aurora, but Guido Reni apparently did not. In fact in his Aurora fresco he either did not realize the special power of ceiling painting or perhaps preferred or was required to use the quadro riportato method (a ceiling design in which painted scenes are arranged in panels resembling framed pictures transferred to the surface of a shallow, curved vault ) Fra Andrea Pozzo, Glorification of St. Ignatius ,1691-1694 ceiling
- #41 Picturesque landscape that will influence Romanticism. We see nature in a violent mood, a savage wilderness abandoned by Heaven.
- #43 Spain rejected Mannerism and the Italian Renaissance during the Baroque time period. In an age of merciless religious fanaticism, torture as a means of saving stubborn souls, was a common and public spectacle. Martyrdom scenes were popular in Counter Reformation Spain
- #44 Mixes realism with mystical. His subjects are saints represented in singly in devotional attitudes and usually sharply lighted from the side. Serapion was a British monk who went to Spain and died a martyr’s death.
- #45 The skull is the constant reminder to the contemplative individual of his own mortality. Zurbaran gives us a personification of the fierce devotion of Catholic Spain.
- #47 Diego was the GREATEST painter to emerge from the Caravaggesque school of Seville and one of the most acclaimed painters of all time then he entered the Seville painter guild in 1617. During his early years he was influenced by Caravaggesque tenebrism and naturalism. During his early years he painted figures set in taverns markets kitchens etc,and he was devoted to studying from life. You can see this in the above right painting. Velazquez arranged the elements in his painting with mathematical rigor. The objects & figures allow the artist to exhibit his virtuosity in rendering sculptural volumes and contrasting textures illuminated by dramatic natural light, which reacts to the surfaces: reflecting off the glazed water pot at the left and the matte or dull finish of the jug in the foreground being absorbed by the rough wool and dense velvet of the costumes; and reflecting, being refracted, and passing through the clear glass and water drops on the jug’s surface.
- #48 The extraordinary respect and dignity Spinola demonstrated towards the Dutch army is praised through The Surrender of Breda . Spinola “had forbidden his troops to jeer at, or otherwise abuse, the vanquished Dutch. The painting demonstrates the glimpses of humanity that can be exposed as a result of war, and commends Spinola’s consideration for Nassau and the Dutch army. Velázquez’s relationship with Spinola makes The Surrender of Breda especially historically accurate. The depiction of Spinola is undoubtedly accurate, and Spinola’s memory of the battle contributed to the perspective with which Velázquez composed the painting. Velázquez’s knowledge of the intimate history of the siege of Breda makes The Surrender of Breda an especially important historical commentary. Velázquez “desired in his modest way to raise a monument to one of the most humane captains of the day, by giving permanence to his true figure in a manner of which he alone had the secret.” The Surrender of Breda salutes a moment of convergence between Spanish power, restraint, and kindness in the battle. Here he treats the theme of triumph and conquest in an entirely new way, unlike traditional gloating military propaganda.
- #49 Velasquez shows himself as a master of brilliant optical realism. He represents himself in his studio standing before a large canvas, on which he may be painting this very picture or the portraits of King Philip and Queen Mariana, whose reflections appear in the mirror on the far wall. Margarita appears with her two maids in waiting, her favorite dwarfs and a large dog. Velasquez has extended the pictorial depth of the composition in both directions- the mirror and the open door leading to an ascending staircase. No consensus exists today on the meaning of this monumental painting, it seems to have been a personal statement in its own day, not a true court portrait.
- #51 Very famous Flemish painter. He was educated and well mannered making him the associate of princes and scholars. He was the court painter to the dukes of Mantua, friend of the king of Spain and his adviser on art collecting, painter to Charles I of England and Marie de Medici, queen of France, and permanent court painter to the Spanish fovernors of Flanders. He was also involved in his patrons political dealings, often entrusted with diplomatic missions of the highest importance. He turned out large numbers of paintings for an international clientele. In addition, he was an art dealer, buying and selling works of contemporary art and Classical antiquities. He was very rich; he had a large town house in the city and a chateau in the countryside. Regardless of his success and wealth, Rubens remained polite and likeable.
- #52 In this triptych, Rubens explored foreshortened anatomy and violent action. The compositions seethes with a power that comes from heroic exertion. The tension is emotional as well as physical.
- #53 Very large oil paintings. 8 x 12 feet. We see an allegory of the confined tensions of Mannerism exploding into the extravagant activity that characterized the Baroque. Rubens uses diagonals to dramatize the moment of pure danger and fierceness of the actions that draw the viewer back into the center of the composition. The background is so dark and the colors are so vivid that the hunters stand out within the background and apart from the animals. The energy through motion is extremely present in this scene and it feels like at any moment the battle between man and beast will spring forth and continue right before your eyes.
- #54 Marie has arrived in France after the sea voyage from Italy. An allegory of France, a figure draped in the fleur-de-lis, welcomes her. The sea and the sky rejoice at her safe arrival. We see Neptune and Nereids salute her and a winged, trumpeting Fame swoops overhead.
- #55 Van Dyck was on of Ruben’s assistants. He went to London and became the court painter for Charles I. In this painting, he depicted Charles I at a sharp angle so that the king, a short man, appears to be looking down at the viewer.
- #57 Van Honthorst spent several years in Italy and studied the work of Caravaggio. We see a mundane tavern setting. Genre scene.
- #58 This shows a relaxed relationship between the portrait artist and his subject. This kind of intimate confrontation rarely has been seen in painting. The casualness, immediacy and intimacy are intensified by the manner in which the painting is executed.
- #59 A different take on the traditional group portrait. Here, each man is both a member of the troop and an individual with a distinct personality. He balances direction of glance, pose and gesture, making compositional devices of the white ruffs, broad-brimmed hats and banners.
- #60 Judith Leyster was the most renowned Dutch female artist of the Baroque era. She specialized in portraits, still lifes and genre scenes (scenes of common people and everyday life), and is often associated with the Dutch painter Frans Hals. Many claim that she was a pupil of Frans Hals, in whose studio in Haarlem she worked around 1630-1631, and whose style she followed. She was definitely a friend of the Hals family, because in 1631 she became godmother to Hals’ daughter Maria. Their friendship was later broken, as it is known that she successfully sued Hals for a breach of ethics after he took on one of her students. She painted this self portrait in her early twenties. Her career pretty much ended after she had children which was common for female artists of the time period.
- #61 Left over 600 paintings, 300 etchings, and 2000 drawings
- #62 Rembrandt used painting as a method for probing the states of the human soul. Rembrandt, like Velasquez, renders optical reality as a series of values. Instead of using abrupt lights and darks, gradation of light is used to show actual appearance. This happens because the eye perceives light and dark not as static, but as always subtly changing. Changing light and dark can suggest changing human moods. The motion of light through a space and across human features can express emotion, the changing states of the psyche.
- #63 In this early work, Remrandt used an unusual composition, portraying members of Amsterdam’s surgeons’ guild clustered together on one side of the painting as they watch Dr. Tulp dissect a corpse.
- #64 Influenced by Rubens and Caravaggio. Experimentations in light. The dramatic versus the quiet, humble picture of humanity.
- #65 Was originally named The Shooting Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq. It is a group portrait. Rembrandt accepted the commission and was paid equal by each person. Some were upset by the unequal representation and highlighting of certain individuals. Rembrandt wanted to make a different painting. The Captain and Lieutenant are highlighted in the front and the rest of the men are posed naturally in the background. The color of the painting darkened over the years, prompting the name change. The painting was changed forever when three feet off the left and one foot off the right were removed, so the painting could be fit through the door when it was moved after WWII. This dramatically changed the composition and balance of the work.
- #66 The illustration here shows the fourth state or version. In the earlier versions he only represents the hill of Calvary in a pictorial, historical way with the crowds of soldiers descriptively rendered with great detail. Rembrandt eliminates most of the historical details including the 3 rd cross on the right and instead makes the scene more symbolic. The dark lines that pour down from heaven appear almost storm like, leaving a zone of light on the lonely figure of Christ. These heavenly spikes remind us of the golden rays of light in Bernini’s Ecstasy of At. Theresa, but here they are dark and communicate a VERY different mood by similar means.
- #67 Vermeer painted small, neat and quietly opulent interiors of the Dutch middle class. Men, women and children engage in household tasks or other commonplace action. Alongside Rembrandt, Vermeer is the best known painter of the Dutch Golden Age, and his paintings are admired for their transparent colors, careful composition, and brilliant use of light. Although his choice of subject matter, colors, and composition was similar to that of certain contemporaries. Vermeer achieved a timeless, monumental quality in his paintings that places it on a level all its own. His total output was extremely small by the standards of the time, with perhaps 50 attributed paintings in all, of which approximately 35 have survived. His latter day high regard is a recent phenomenon; for many years all but forgotten, he was "rediscovered" in the mid-19th Century. His reputation and stature has been on the ascent ever since.
- #68 The main focus is the pouring of the milk. Nothing is random in the composition- each item is calculated. He doesn’t paint a representation of what he sees, he paints what he actually sees. None of the women in his paintings have ever been identified.
- #69 It is unclear whether or not this work was commissioned, and if so by whom. In any case, it is probably not meant as a conventional portrait The Girl with a Pearl Earring is universally recognized as one of Johannes Vermeer's absolute masterworks. After more than a century of study, the work still poses significant questions. Who was the sitter and was the painting even intended as a portrait? Why had it remained in complete obscurity until it was rediscovered in 1882 and sold for the price of a reproduction? Was it a part of a pendant? Did Vermeer sell the painting during his lifetime? Why was the original background a deep transparent green rather than the black we see today? Was the pearl a real one? What significance did the turban have? Which painting procedures did Vermeer employ? Which pigments did he use?
- #70 In this painting, Vermeer achieved a sense of monumentality by subtle textural, lighting and compositional techniques. He moved beyond descriptive realism to create a mood that conveys the history and character of his city.
- #71 He convinces the viewer of his authenticity of recreating the scene both landscape and interiors, but he does not actually paint a photograph reproduction, instead he moves buildings, people and objects around to create an ideal composition. He may have experimented with the camera obscura, not as a method of reproducing the image but as another tool in the visual analysis of the landscape. The camera obscura would have led to the “beading” of highlights, which creates the illusion of brilliant light but not dissolve the underlying form. In this composition perfect balance creates a monumental composition and moment of stillness. The woman contemplates the balance and calls our attention to the act of weighing and judging. Her hand and the scale are central, but directly over her, on the wall of the room, hangs a large painting of the Last Judgment. Thus Vermeer's painting becomes a metaphor for eternal judgment. The woman’s moment of quiet introspection before she touches gold or pearls also recalls the vanitas theme of transience of life, allowing the painter to comment on the ephemeral quality of material things.
- #72 The painting is famous for being one of Vermeer's favourites, and is also a fine example of the optical style of painting. Created in an age without photography, it offers a realistic visual depiction of the scene and is a fine example of the camera obscura style. The use of bright colours, and the impact of light streaming through the windows on various elements of the painting, are other highlights. Oil on panel, 47 ¼” x 39 ¼” The model represents Clio, the Muse of history, looking at a table full of objects that symbolize other Muses. The double headed eagle, symbol of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty and former rulers of Holland, which adorns the central golden chandellier, may have represented the Catholic faith. Vermeer was unique in being a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Holland. The absence of candles in the chandellier is also supposed to represent the suppression of the Catholic faith. The mask lying on the table next to the artist is thought to be a death mask , depicting the ineffectiveness of the Habsburg monarch Vermeer is in a sixteenth century costume. The map of Holland in the background may symbolize that Vermeer intends to make Holland famous with this painting. We are spying on the scene; curtain pulled back, painter’s back to the viewer. Light coming from the window and another source on the curtain. This is thought to be Vermeer’s favorite painting as it was never sold by his bankrupt family after his death. It was stolen from Vienna where it was on display, during WWII Hitler took it and made it part of his collection. After his death it was returned to Vienna where it is today.
- #73 Another Dutch landscape. Contrast with idealized Italian Renaissance landscapes. This is a particular location. This is portraying the importance of the Dutch Republic’s dairy industry.
- #74 Vanitas still lifes reflect the pride Dutch citizens had in their material possessions, but Calvinist morality tempered that pride. The skull and timepiece remind the viewer of life’s transience.
- #75 Flower paintings were very popular and Rachel Ruysch received international fame for her carefully planned compositions of lush flowers.
- #77 He is one of Caravaggio’s most important followers in France. He received major Royal and ducal commissions and became court painter to King Louis XIII in 1639. He traveled to Italy in 1614, and he visited the Netherlands; Like Caravaggio, Latour filled the foreground of his canvases with monumental figures, but in place of Carvaggio’s detailed naturalism La Toru uses a simplified setting and a light source with in the picture so intense that it often seems to be his real subject. In many of his paintings the light emanates from a candle. Here we see the Nativity, but Mary, Joseph and others are in regular clothes. The supernatural calm that pervades this picture is characteristic of the mood of La Tour’s art.
- #78 This is one of four paintings documenting the conversion of Mary Magdalene. In The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame , Mary Magdalene still looks like the legendary woman of wayward life — yet she seems to be questioning her present existence. Her shoulders and legs are bare, and she holds a human skull on her lap. Skull symbolism was frequently used in art of this era to indicate mortality and the inevitability of death. Here Mary Magdalene contemplates an oil lamp, the flame of which might further symbolize enlightenment and purification. This flame, however, is smoky and not burning with clarity. A wooden cross rests before Mary Magdalene on the table. The significance of moving past prior sins toward a holier way is integral.
- #80 Nicolas Poussin (15 June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. We see the influence of Raphael in compositions as well as figures inspired by ancient statuary.
- #81 Triangular composition with obvious influence from the Renaissance. Joseph sits in the shadows.
- #82 "Et in Arcadia ego" is a Latin phrase that most famously appears as the title of two paintings by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). They are pastoral paintings depicting idealized shepherds from classical antiquity , clustering around an austere tomb . The more famous second version of the subject, measuring 121 by 185 centimetres (47.6 x 72.8 in), is in the Louvre , Paris , and also goes under the name "Les bergers d'Arcadie" ("The Arcadian Shepherds"). It has been highly influential in the history of art . Poussin used Classical painting as expressive of French taste and genius of the 17th century.
- #84 Louis XIV decided to convert a royal hunting lodge at Versailles into a great Palace. A large group of architects, decorators, sculptors, painters and landscape architects were assembled under the general management of Le Brun, a former Poussin student. Le Brun was the kings impresario of art and the head of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The conversion of a simple hunting lodge into the Palace of Versailles became the greatest architectural project of the age. This hall overlooks the Versailles park from the second floor of Louis XIV’s palace. Hundred of mirrors illusionistically extend the room’s width and once reflected gilded and jeweled furnishings. Careful attention was paid to every detail of the extremely rich decoration of the palace’s interior; everything from wall paintings to doorknobs was designed in keeping with the whole and was executed with the very finest sense of craftsmanship. There are literally hundreds of rooms in the palace. Outside of the palace is a huge park and garden surrounding the structure.
- #89 The last palace in England inspired by the monumentality of the Baroque time period. Built during the period of prosperity that resulted from Great Britain’s expansion into the New World. It’s dramatic, full of variety and contrast, and a large monumental scale- all characteristics of the Baroque time period.
- #90 Fig. 22-53; 18-61 Dissastisfied with earlier solutions to the problem of integrating a high central nave and lower aisles into a unified façade design, Palladio solved it by superimposing a tall, narrow, Classical porch on a low broad one.
- #91 Wren’s cathedral replaces an old Gothic church. The façade design owes much to Palladio and Borromini. The great dome recalls St. Peter’s in Rome