Baroque

What did Mannerism mark?

the end of the Renaissance

Baroque time

early 17th century

How did Baroque art emerge? Who founded an institution?

reacting against the complexity and ambiguity of Mannerism

Carracci founded an academy in Bologna that shaped Baroque style

What occurred for the Reformation and Luther in 1517?

Luther posts 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31

this began protestant reformation

What was the counter-Reformation?

1545-1563

Council of Trent begins

Catholic church responds to Protestant challenges and reform its own practices

Annibale Carracci, The Assumption of the Virgin, 1588-1590. Oil on canvas.

Virgin Mary ascending to Heaven

• neoclassical

• chiaroscuro

• natural and architectural background

• movement, dynamism

  • diagonals

  • elipses/concentric circles

• facial expressions, drama, gestures

• chaotic

• vivid colours

Baroque integrates movement into religious scenes

How did Baroque differ from High Renaissance?

symmetrical, ordered (Mary along central perpendicular axis) vs. diagonals and chaos (Mary on a diagonal)

stability vs. dynamism

Who was Caravaggio in terms of style?

Baroque artist

focused on emotional intensity and dramatic compositions

striking realistic style

rawness and realism

focuses on human condition

unflattering realism

likeness over idealism

he would use ordinary models (himself, people from streets of Rome)

Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes, c.1598-1599 or 1602. Oil on canvas.

• emotionally intense

• Holofernes faces is contorted in shock

• Emphasis on the process and Judith performing that action

  • instantaneous moment

  • blood pouring out but Holofernes remains alive for a split second

• intimate background and scene with few figures

• light is a major communication device

  • highlights figures faces and expressions

Why does the full piece represent?

intermediality

architecture and sculpture merge to make intermedial artwork

showcases Baroque’s integration of multiple arts to create whole pieces

intersections between medias and how they influence each other

What was Bernini’s role in the plan of Saint Peters Basilica?

in 1629, made official architect

worked on existing spaces and changed aspects

What did he incorporate here?

secondary reliquary framed with complex sculptural elements

ornamental framing

dove coming from window directly (foreshortened dove)

architect integrates sculptural elements with architecture

• engulfed by sculpted figures

• intermediality

• physical expression to light

Michelangelo Buonarroti, New Saint Peter’s, 1546

two outstretched arms of colonnades to welcome pilgrims and worshippers

look like Greek columns or temples multiplied dozens of times

• taking something static and introducing dynamism

equilateral/greek cross plan type

Bernini was a master of controlling space

Baroque audiences are expected and compelled to move and the piazza guides them through spaces in predetermined steps

architecture lures you, pushes you forward, guides you through a series of steps almost

moving emotionally and physically

swept up in circular dynamics like a vortex

guiding through experience

How did Baroque art serve as propaganda for the counter-Reformation?

• Baroque is reaction to reformation and part of counter reformation effects of Catholicism

• Catholicism is under threat of nepotism and rejection of institution of papery

• Need to win votes back form the people

• Baroque art gets at the senses to immersify you

Who was the leader during 17th century France?

King Louis XIV

absolutist leader

“L’État c’est moi”

he embodies the state

What was King Louis XIV reign like?

absolutist rule

Sun King

cared about the arts

transformed the Palace of Versailles

What was the style of the French gardens?

landscape design emerges

overgroomed, geometricized, separating into quadrants

everything organized and orderly

hedges groomed

allegorical references to Sun King

Explain + Why add mirrors?

Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and artist Charles Le Brun, 1678-1684.

builds on Italian Baroque principles

gilded surfaces

shift from religious to secular/political themes to glorify his authority

added reflective surfaces/mirrors to the Baroque vocabulary

• brighten the space

• visually widen the gallery

• amplify natural light

• multiplying images of the elites and the Sun King

• multiplying the opulent decor, crystal chandeliers

  • reflects Sun King’s desire to extend his power beyond the state and into the realm of the arts

What was the French Academy?

King Louis XIV, John Baptiste Colbert and Charles Le Brun

founded the royal academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648

major institution for systemizing knowledge

royal arts training institution

political and financial support

high standards for training

What did the French academy mean for artists?

artists were under control of the state

subservient to the political goals of the state

in exchange for career opportunities, you would agree with the state

What were the Salons (Parisian salons)?

important exhibitions for the arts

informal gatherings for intellectual and social exchange

solidified France as the centre of arts

Recap: Why did the Baroque movement emerge?

in response for the need of the Catholic church to reinstate its influence during the Protestant reformation

• a way of reclaiming their followers

moved away from elitism and complexity of Mannerism

Baroque art went for a style that was more direct and compelling for the people

Recap: What are the main features of Baroque art?

• accurate anatomy

• shown in dramatic lighting, chiaroscuro, gestures, facial expressions

• dramatic

• power and legible narrative

Recap: What was the point of clear and dramatic Baroque art?

connected on a deeper, emotional level

solicits feelings of devotions and passion more easily

emotion of art needs to be loud, intense and clear

Recap: How did the Sun King use Baroque art?

mobilized the visual language of the Baroque style to sustain his absolutist rule