Baroque Art Italy + Spain (17th Century)

Baroque Architecture

[ Shift from High Renaissance calm and balanced to drama, movement, & emotional impact (impress, overwhelm, inspire ]

Movement & Curves : buildings have oval shapes, curved walls, and flowing forms instead of straight lines

Dramatic use of Light : Carefully controlled - bright areas contrast w/ shadow to creat theatrical effect

Grandeur, Scale, Megalomaniacal : Massive spaces meant to feel awe-inspiring and powerful.

• Megalomaniacal : Make larger to heighten importance; St. Peter’s Basilica - grand dome, sweeping spaces, dramatic interior lighting = Classic Baroque

Rich Decoration : Interiors filled w/ gold, marble, frescoes, elaborate details

Blending of Arts : Architecture, painting, sculpture are combined into one unified experience

Baroque Sculpture

Movement : Figures are in mid-action; twisting or reaching

Emotional Intensity : Facial and body expressions show strong feelings, pain, joy, ecstasy

Realism w/ Drama : Very lifelike, but more theatrical than natural

Interaction w/ Space : Sculptures often spill out into the viewers space, not just sit still

Light and Shadow : Deep carvings create strong contrast to enhance drama

Baroque Painting

Dramatic use of Light & Shadow (Chiaroscuro) : Highlights the main subject acting as a spotlight, creates theatrical & stage-like effect

• Band of Light : Chiaroscuro & tenebrism, strong beam/ strip of light across the painting

Tenebrism : Extreme darkness, more intense than chiaroscuro, figures appear to emerge out of the darkness

Movement & Action : Figures are rarely still; twisting, reaching, in mid-movement;

• Use diagonal lines instead of calm horizontal

Emotional Intensity : Faces and gestures show strong emotions; joy, pain, fear

Realism & Detail : Lifelike; dirt, wrinkles, textures

• Use ordinary people as models to make scenes feel relatable and immediate

Focus on Viewer : Figures look at the viewer, reach into viewer space; create a sense of the viewer being part of the scene

Rich Color & Texture : Deep, bold colors: red, brown, gold

• Fabric, skin, metals painted in great detail

Baroque Characteristics (for all)

• Polychromatic Colors - All colors used to stimulate emotion

• Multiple Points of View - Use of diagonals, twists, dramatic movement to engage the viewer and makes it more immersive.

  • Dramatic and immersive

  • Use of movement and diagonals

• Unity of Form - Nothing feels random; use of light source, repeating colors and shapes support the main idea/story

  • A lot happening, but all points to the main emotion/action

• Open Composition - Movement extends beyond the composition to make viewers feel part of the story

• Abstract Theme - Fuses realistic matter (people & events) with spiritual messages/events

• Focused on extraversion - focus on outside world where energy is gained from social interaction, action, and enthusiasm

Baroque Period

• Catholic church reforms under Council of Trent shifts to prohibiting nude images and accessible to the general public

  • Church wants to expand religion; make art easier to comprehend and inspire viewers to a higher, spiritual devotion

• Artist : Caravaggio created religious artwork containing real people and settings to feel real and dramatic, and show strong emotion, that clearly tells religious stories

Bernini

• Mastered method of marble reduction in his early 20s

• Design, playwriting, sculpture, architecture, painting

  • Religious works & portraits

• Worked for 5 popes: very wealthy artist

• Influenced by Michelangelo & Raphael

• Flowing and knotting of fabric to create tension, drama, & theatrical effect

• Ovid - Poet, Bernini’s sculptures were inspired by his poems

Apollo and Daphne - Bernini

Subject Matter: Depicts Ovid’s (poet) Metamorphoses

• Apollo is in pursuit of Daphne, who wants to remain chaste, and her father transforms her into a tree as Apollo catches her.

• Bernini captures the exact moment of transformation - Baroque art loved drama and movement

Expresses metamorphoses - change

• Daphne is turning into a tree - bark feet, leaves/branches for fingers

Dynamic twisting and spiraling creates the sense of motion

• Creates visual rhythm and guides the viewer upwards

Detail & Texture: Apollo’s muscular body contrasts w/ Daphne’s delicate texture of transformation in her hair and fingers

• Feel tension in Apollo’s grasp

Expression: Emotional intensity in Apollo’s facial expression of longing and surprise.

Daphne: Shows fear and desperation

• Intense interplay of emotion emphasizes theatricality and immediacy

Union of Space: Transformation is visible in multiple angles, viewers must walk around it to see the full narrative and makes them feel part of the moment

[ Excellent example of Baroque’s fascination with motion, drama, and psychological intensity ]

The Rape of Persephone - Bernini

Subject Matter: Persephone (goddess of seasonal change) is about to be pulled down to the underworld by Hades

• Bernini captures the instant of abduction, full of struggle and emotion

Composition: Figures spiraling upward, her body twisting as she resists

• Motion and tension are central

Emotional Intensity: Persephone expresses terror, while Hades is forceful and controlled

• Psychological contrast shows realism and drama

  • Viewers see this as real human interaction instead of static stone

    • Persephone’s struggling body - panic tone

    • Hades forceful grip makes tension and weight appear realistic

Space: Sculpture is meant to be viewed from multiple angles

Technique: Bernini creates the illusion of soft flesh as Hades is pressing onto her thigh

• Acute detail to depth and curvature allows him to shape each contour to mimic soft skin

• Deep undercuts and delicate folds enhances - light hits different surfaces at different angles

  • Shadows enhance the illusion of depth and softness

[ Bernini pushes this medium beyond its limit, creating this soft illusion ]

St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome

Bernini - Commissioned by Pope Alexander VI to redesign the area in front of the Basilica

• The church aimed to become inclusive, welcoming, and re-engaging the public through emotional, welcoming architecture after the Counter-Reformation (be part of the Catholic Church)

Colonnade - Bernini created massive curved colonnades on both sides w/ 4 rows of Tuscan columns, topped with Saints.

• Colonnades are meant to act as the “maternal arms” of the church, embracing visitors

• Sweeping curvature motion of the colonnades = movement. (Baroque characteristic)

Piazza - Rectangle > redesigned into an elliptical (oval) shape, creating a sense of movement, flow, and gathering

• Creates emotion and theatricality

Visual Control - Everything is perfectly aligned to pull the viewer’s eye towards the basilica facade and dome. Egyptian Obelisk is the visual anchor

[ Bernini used his control in perspective, symmetry, emotion, theatrics, and movement to engage & guide viewers]

Baldacchino - Bernini

Designed for Pope Urban VIII - directly under Michelangelo’s dome & marks the site of St. Peter’s tomb below

4 Spiral Columns - Called Solomonic columns; swirling upwards to create movement

• Shafts are enriched w/ laurel & olive branches

• Barberini bees - coat of arms for Pope Urban’s family

Canopy - Rendered in bronze, but made to look like rich cloth hanging over

• Fringed tassel edges make it feel ceremonial

• Turning hard material into what seems soft, animated, and luxurious (Baroque Characteristic)

Cherubs, doves, and gold ornaments are part of Baroque characteristics

[ twisting columns move the viewer’s eye around, into the canopy,, then towards the dome. Creates dramatic vertical connection between human world of worship and divine space above ] there’s movement, drama, rich ornaments, and theatrical scale of the structure itself

Scala Regia - Bernini

Designed by Bernini

Private staircase connected from St. Peter’s Basilica to Papal Apartments - redesigned to counter claustrophobia

Narrowing Corridor : gets narrower and shorter

• Forced-perspective illusion makes it look longer and grander

  • Pope appears powerful and elevated walking down

All create a dramatic grand entrance

Equestrian Statue of Constantine - Bernini

Marble sculpture of Emperor Constantine on horseback, located at Scala Regia entrance

Horse: Raised & tense - creates strong movement & energy

Constantine: Looks upward in awe; spiritual and emotional moment

• Light source enhances divine vision

Curtain/ fabric knots: Tension & control; theatrical backdrop

• Ignorance being pulled down

• Struggle/tension of conversion

[ Moment Constantine converts to Christianity ]

St. Longinus - Bernini

Marble, capturing St. Longinus piercing Christ

Contraposto, X- stance (Chiastic Pose) - burst of movement

Voluminous Mantle: his cloak wrapped around him creates constant motion, and folds represent inner transformation & intensity

Knotting: Spiritual angst & transformation

Open Lips: Capture high drama, captures a moment, not a pose

Piazza Barberini, Fontana de Tritone - Bernini

Designed by Bernini for Barberini family

Fontana de Tritone designed by Bernini

Shows Triton blowing upwards from a shell, spraying up water

• Creates movement & energy

Fountain of the Four Rivers - Bernini

Depicts 4 major rivers from 4 continents using figures, an Egyptian obelisk in center

Represents global reach/ spread of the Catholic church

Combines religion, geography, and power

Neptune & Triton - Bernini

Neptune (god of sea): Holding trident (power)

Triton (son): Blowing on conch shell

Head of Dolphin: Cloak swirls to the shape of it

[ Bottom represents sea and chaotic nature, Neptune represents control over the sea supported by Triton ]

Barberini Faun - Restored by Bernini

Created during ancient Rome/ Greece period

Overtness expression (Hellenistic Period)

Post sex pose - emotional vitality

Blessed Ludovica Albertoni - Bernini

Marble, Red jasper marble (bed)

Movement: Voluminous & chaotic twisting of her death shroud & detailed hands = pain & physical intensity

Emotion: Parted lips = pain, gasp of her last breath of life

[ Expressing her final breath at the moment of death & spiritual union w/ God ]

Borromini

• Focus on architecture and structure

• Integrate interior & exterior sPace

• Mix of concave to convex

• Creates illusion via geometry & light

  • multiple foci

• Non-geometric proportions

San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane - Borromini

Outside Building : Irregularly shaped corner site, complex and flowing geometry

• Moves from concave to convex waves - feels like it’s moving

Ceiling : Oval dome w/ repeating coffered pattern

• Creates illusion of height & endless space

• Hidden windows create soft light - feels weightless and airy

[ Break away from solid line architecture & focus on movement (dynamic & alive) ]

St. Francis Receiving Stigmata - Caravaggio

Caravaggio died from heat exposure

Oil Painting

Subject Matter : St. Francis receives stigmata (wounds of Christ)

Uses extreme tenebrism - extreme use of dark & light; creates drama and focus

• Light directly hits St. Francis & the Angel - highlights the spiritual moment

Figures : Look like real people, not idealized

The Cardsharps - Caravaggio

Oil Painting

Calling of Saint Matthew - Caravaggio

Oil Painting

Subject Matter : Moment Jesus calls Matthew to follow him

Tenebrism : Very dramatic light beams from right side, cuts through darkness, & lands on Matthew - divine calling

Setting : Everyday setting (tavern) , realistic people (contemporary clothing)

• Makes the story feel more real & relatable

  • Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi does this also

Entombment of Christ - Caravaggio

Oil on canvas, History Sacred

Subject Matter : Christ’s body being placed into the tomb

Composition : Strong diagonal line (Christ’s body) creates movement and suggests weight

• Large stone slab is close to the viewer, entering our space

Realism : Christ’s body appears heavy and lifeless, strain of figures supporting him

• Very human reactions - grief and sorrow (Virgin & Mary Magdalene)

Tenebrism : Contrast of light and deep shadow highlights key figures

[ Drama, movement, realism., viewer engagement = Baroque ]

The Doubting Thomas - Caravaggio

Oil on canvas, history sacred

Subject Matter : St. Thomas touches Christ’s wounds after the Resurrection

Physical Interaction : Christ guides Thomas’s finger inserted into his wound - emphasizes touch & proof

Realism : Extreme realism w/ skin, wrinkles, & dirt - highly detailed

• figures look like ordinary people

Composition : Asymmetrical, closed, figures tightly grouped, no background distractions

• Forces attention on the action/ focal point (wound)

• Diagonals guide the viewer

• Death shroud knotting at the center works w/ tenebrism to direct attention to wound

David & Goliath - Caravaggio

Oil on canvas, history sacred

Subject Matter : David holding severed head of Goliath after defeating him

Emotion : David’s expression is not triumph, but sad, thoughtful, remorseful

• Psychological moment

Goliath’s Head : Highly realistic

Strong tenebrism : Strong light highlights David and the head

[ Believed to be self portrait of Caravaggio. His younger self beheading older self = self immolation or guilt and desire for forgiveness ]

Boy Bitten By Lizard - Caravaggio

Oil on canvas, Genre

Subject Matter : Boy recoiling after being bitten by a lizard

Boy : Roman god of wine, Bacchus (Grapes = wine)

Rose : Sensory pleasure = decay & temporary life, beauty & youth fades

Glass Vase : Precious, fragile, wealth, but can still be broken = temporary

Lizard : At the bottom of painting. In darkness, echoes man’s expulsion from paradise. Deception, consequences of indulgence

• Snake: Renaissance VS Lizard: Baroque

Middle Finger : Palm down = homosexuality

[Temptation & sexual pleasure = sin. Reminder of shortness of life, how quickly good fortune can fade ]

Caravaggio

• Influenced by Michelangelo

• Drew/painted people he saw

• Commissioned by French Church - religious art that looked like someone was actually there, realistic setting, figures were people he knew

• Put himself in paintings

• Patron : Cardinal Del Monte

  • Castrado, era of opera (figures painted w/ puffy hands & face)

• Committed murder, fled to Rome

Artemisia Gentileschi

• Wealthy family

• Expanded tenebrism to more nuance, coupled w/ dramatic staging

• Autobiographical works - SA trauma w/in the church

• 1st female member of Florentine

Susanna & The Elders - Gentileschi

Oil on canvas, History sacred

Subject Matter : Susanna harassed by two elders while bathing

• Biblical story

• Based on Gentileschi’s experience

Judith & Holofernes - Gentileschi 1620

Oil on canvas, history sacred

Subject Matter : Moment Judith severs Holofernes’s head, accompanied by her maid

Foreshortening : Holofernes’s body foreshortened; head and blood splattering is close to the viewer

Composition : Diagonal lines leading to the action, Holofernes missing limbs = sense of dismemberment, larger male scale

Tenebrism : Painting in the dark, complete darkness creates very shallow background, vivid physicality

Realism : Rolled up sleeve, Judith holding his head down, dislocates it = seems no longer connected to his body

[ Violent, gory, bloody, enger, less sophisticated proportions ]

Judith & Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes 1960

Oil on canvas, history sacred

Subject Matter : After beheading of Holofernes. Judith holds candlelight & bloody sword while maidservant stuffs the head into a bag

Composition : Arching shapes guide viewers from top left to bottom right of the canvas

• Slow diagonals accentuate the idea that the figures have stopped in movement, as they look to see if they are in danger

Technique : Tenebroso, “in the dark manner”

• Rendering chiaroscuro - lights are very light, darks are very dark = theatrical spotlighting embedded in darkness

[ Lighting = candle. We can see what they’ve done, sophisticated proportions ]