Baroque - General Quotes

Bernini (specified sculptor) - Schama

“Michelangelo made God-men whilst Bernini made Men-men”

Bernini (specified sculptor) - Pope Urban VIII

“a sublime artificer born to illuminate the century”

Bernini (Specified Sculptor) - Pope Paul V

“We hope that one day this boy will become the Michelangelo of his century”

Wittkowe’s summary of the Tridentine Decrees

“Emotional stimulus to Piety”; “clarity, simplicity, intelligibility”; “realistic depictions”

The Encyclopaedia of Art History (Baroque architecture)

“For Baroque architects, a building was to some extent a kind of large sculpture”

“interiors were made to curve”

“ribbon curling round at the ends, which were used to form a harmonious join between two points at different levels” (volutes and ‘ears’)

The Encyclopaedia of Art History (French Baroque architecture)

“French Architects considered themselves professional men, dedicated to the service and glorification of their king”

Baroque according to Wolfin

“Painterliness, grandeur, massiveness and movement”

Hibbard

“Rome and the Baroque were synonymous as the focus and expression of Catholic power”

Richardson

“Whereas Protestant art could be said to tell, Catholic art shows. Bernini’s work was designed to capture his viewer on every level - physical, emotional, and rational” (Tim says to substitute depending on artist)

Wittkower

“Nothing could be more misleading than to label - as has been done - the art of the entire Baroque period as the art of the Counter-Reformation”

Richardson (2)

“Baroque art has to be encountered as a whole and entered into with all the senses, not just as an intellectual or rational exercise”

Gombrich

“[art] could help to persuade and convert those who has, perhaps, read too much”

Rubens (specified painter) - Ann Sutherland Harris

“Knighted by Charles I and Phillip IV, Rubens accomplished a rare feat, namely to be seen simultaneously as a gentleman, a great craftsman, and a great intellect”

Rubens (specified painter) (quote from Rubens)

“In order to achieve the highest perfection one needs a full understanding of [ancient] statues, nay a complete absorption in them; but one must make judicious use of them; and before all avoid the appearance of stone”