2. The term Baroque once had a negative meaning.
The name is derived from Spanish word relating to
Baroque pearls - pearls with unusual, odd shapes
Compared to Renaissance art, it was considered to
be “over-dramatic” and the architecture, “overly
decorated”.
4. Baroque style is Dramatic
Strong Contrast of Light and Dark
Dynamic Composition
Architecture is decorative / many details
5. Roman Catholic Church supported Baroque art style
in response to the Protestant Reformation (movement to
reform Catholic Church) – communication of religious
themes with viewer's direct and emotional involvement
Aristocracy adopted Baroque style to impress visitors
and to express triumphant power and control
6. Baroque Style spread throughout Europe, including Italy,
Holland, France, and Spain.
9. Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods
• Commissioned by Cardinal
Farnese to celebrate the
wedding of his brother
• Various Gods and Humans in
love
• “quadro riportato” – looks
like framed easel paintings
• Inspired by Italian
Renaissance art
(Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian)
12. • Story of Pharisee Saul converting
to Christianity
• Appears to be an accident in the
horse stable (everyday life)
• Caravaggio used strong light and
dark / shadowy style (greatly
influenced European art)
• Perspective and Chiaroscuro (light
and shadow) used to bring the
viewer closer to the eventCaravaggio
Conversion of St. Paul
1601, Oil on Canvas
14. • Christ enters from the
right to summon Levi (a
Roman tax collector) to a
“higher calling”
• Bland street scene
(“normal, everyday life”)
• Caravaggio’s style of strong
light and shadow
• Light as a symbol of God
Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew
1597 – 1601, Oil on Canvas
17. • Bronze “canopy” over the tomb
of St. Peter
• Decorative, Grand Structure
• Sculpture / Architecture
• Focal point of church
• Made from Bronze of doors of
the ancient Roman Pantheon
(Pantheon was a temple for
Pagan religion)
• Commissioned by the Barberini
Family
30 Meters Tall
St. Peter’s, Vatican (Rome)
18. St. Peter's, Rome exterior – late Renaissance
(Completed 1690) designed in part by Michelangelo
Largest interior of any Catholic Church in world – holds
up to 60, 000 people
22. • Informal family portrait
• Theme “Mystery of the Visual
World”
• Young Princess in middle “Infanta”
• Maids-in-waiting helping her
• Her favorite dwarfs and her dog
• Velasquez is working on large
canvas (portrait of King Philip IV and
Queen Mariana (reflections in mirror)
• Man framed in doorway
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor)
1656, Oil on Canvas
24. • Made for King Philip IV
• Spanish Victory over Dutch in 1625
• Spanish troops on right (organized -
victory)
• Dutch troops on left (disorganized –
defeat)
• Spanish General patting the back of
Dutch General
Diego Velazquez
Surrender of Breda,
1634 – 1635, Oil on Canvas
26. Francisco de Zurbarán
Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb
Oil on Canvas, 1630-4
• Dramatic light and shadows
• St. Francis of Assisi, a friar who lived in
Italy in the late 11th / early 12th Centuries.
St. Francis was born rich, but at the age of
21 he had an epiphany and realized he
should live simply, so he eventually gave
away all his money.
• Story of when Pope Nicholas V was
visiting the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi
and saw a vision of the Saint 200 years
after his death.
• Holding a skull to remind us of his death.
• Stigmata on his feet that he received (same
as the ones on Christ’s body when he was
on the cross).
29. • etching technique (printmaking)
• Created when he was a student
• Exercise in lighting, expression
• Rembrandt created at least 70
self-portraits during his lifetime
(oil paintings and etchings)
Rembrandt van Rijn
Self-Portrait in a Cap,
Etching, 1630
32. • Van Dyck – portrait artist (full body
portraits)
• Elegant portrait of King of England
• King as a nobleman riding a horse in
park
• King coming down off of his horse to a
closer level to “the people”, but he is
still higher up
• Landscape in background
Anthony van Dyck
Charles I Dismounted
1635, Oil on Canvas
34. Johannes Vermeer
The Art of Painting
Oil on Canvas, 1662
• Vermeer painted less than 40 paintings
in his lifetime, but 8 of them are
considered to be masterpieces.
• Art about the creation of art - “the
artist’s process”
• Vermeer known for his interior domestic
scenes.
• The woman is an allegorical figure
(symbolic)
• Realism
• Dramatic use of lighting
37. Johannes Vermeer
Girl with a Pearl Earring,
Oil Painting, 1665
• Tradition of Portrait Painting in Northern
Europe
• Symbolism of the turban headdress and
the pearl
• Involvement of the viewer: The viewer
believes they have caught her attention and
caused her to turn her head
• Dramatic light and shadow
• Vermeer’s signature color: ultramarine
blue
39. Pieter Claez
Still Life with Silverware and Lobster
1641, Oil on Canvas
• Claez was one of the masters of
Dutch Baroque still life painting.
• Vanitas Painting - Still Life as a
metaphor related to the passing of
time / ephemerality / inevitability of
death
• Symbolism
• Realism and emphasis on
textures / reflective surfaces
• Celebration of Dutch life /
pleasure of dining / wealth.
42. • King Louis XIV - France’s longest
reigning Monarch
• “Louis Couture” - the birth of
haute couture fashion (high
fashion - seasonal, corporate,
media driven)
• King Louis XIV helped to make
France a fashion capital
(previously Madrid, Spain)
• Wore high heels to make him taller
(5’4”) - set the trend for high heels
• Absolute Monarchy
Hyancinthe Rigaud
Louis XIV,
Oil on Canvas
1701
43. Jules Hardouin-Mansart / Charles Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles)
1680, interior architecture
44. • Hall of Mirrors in King Louis
XIV’s Palace of Versailles
• Mirror – Baroque source of
illusion
• 100’s of rooms in palace
• Rich decoration / details
Hardouin-Mansart / Le Brun
Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles)
1680, interior architecture
