Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism & Romanticism: Art Characteristics & Key Works

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE ART

Emphasizes emotion, theatricality, movement, naturalism, and dynamism; often conflates opposites (spiritual vs. earthly, light vs. dark, divine vs. human); Classical Baroque features idealized, balanced compositions (e.g., Poussin), while Raw Naturalism emphasizes dramatic realism (e.g., Ribera); Disegno emphasizes drawing/design, Colore emphasizes color; reflects religious, political, and social circumstances; religious imagery is dramatic and didactic; secular imagery may show everyday life or aristocratic display.

Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods, Ceiling fresco, Palazzo Farnese, Rome, 1597-1601

Technique: Fresco, Quadro riportato; Theme: Mythological stories; idealized classical forms; Context: Classical Baroque; balanced and harmonious composition.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, St. Peter's, Vatican City, 1624-1633

Medium: Bronze, 66 feet high; Style: Theatrical Baroque; monumental scale; twisting Solomonic columns; Purpose: Marks St. Peter's tomb; conveys spiritual and earthly power.

Bernini, Piazza of St. Peter's, 1656-1667

Features: Elliptical colonnade; embraces visitors; blends architecture and urban design; Purpose: Integrates church with public space; demonstrates Baroque drama.

Bernini, David, Villa Borghese, Rome, 1623

Medium: Marble, 5'7" high; Features: Captures mid-action, intense emotion, dynamic movement; Contrast with classical stillness; exemplifies theatrical Baroque.

Francesco Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, 1638-1641

Features: Undulating facade, complex geometric interior; Innovation: Manipulation of space and light; dynamic Baroque architecture.

José de Ribera, Martyrdom of Saint Philip, 1639

Medium: Oil on canvas, 7'8" x 7'8"; Features: Tenebrism, raw naturalism, intense emotion; Context: Reflects Counter-Reformation emphasis on martyrdom and faith.

Nicolas Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego, ca. 1655

Medium: Oil on canvas, 2'10" x 4'; Style: Classical Baroque; idealized figures; moral meditation on mortality.

Quadro riportato

Ceiling painting in frame style, simulating easel painting (example: Carracci, Loves of the Gods).

Tenebrism

Extreme light/dark contrast to heighten drama (example: Ribera, Martyrdom of Saint Philip).

Trompe l'oeil

Optical illusion to appear 3D (example: Baroque ceiling frescoes).

Disegno

Emphasis on drawing, structure, and design (example: Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego).

Colore

Emphasis on color and painterly effect (example: Carracci, Loves of the Gods).

Camera Obscura

Optical device for projection and tracing (used in Baroque art studies).

Coffer

Recessed decorative panel in ceiling (example: Palazzo Farnese).

Corniche

Decorative molding along wall or ceiling.

Genre painting

Depicts everyday life.

Iconoclasm

Destruction or rejection of religious images.

ROCOCO CHARACTERISTICS

Light, playful, intimate, sensual; asymmetry, pastel palette, curving lines, soft brushwork; Themes: Love, leisure, aristocratic pleasures.

Fête galante

Elegant outdoor amusement scenes (example: Fragonard, The Swing).

NEOCLASSICISM CHARACTERISTICS

Moral, rational, civic-minded; inspired by Greco-Roman art; Linear precision, balanced composition, strong light/dark contrast; Themes: Patriotism, virtue, self-sacrifice; influenced by Enlightenment; Reaction against Rococo's frivolity.

David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784

Medium: Oil; Style: Neoclassicism; moral lesson; civic virtue; heroism.

Exemplum virtutis

Model of moral behavior (David, Oath of the Horatii).

Grand manner

Elevated, idealized style.

Grand tour

Cultural journey to study art/architecture.

Prix de Rome

Award for study in Rome.

Reception piece

Work submitted to academy for approval.

ROMANTICISM CHARACTERISTICS

Emphasizes imagination, emotion, and individual experience; Interest in exotic, dramatic, or unsettling subjects; Often ambiguous; raises questions rather than answers; Reflects socio-political concerns (example: Turner, The Slave Ship).

REALISM CHARACTERISTICS

Depicts contemporary life, witnessed events; Direct, unsentimental portrayal; Often provocative, socially aware (example: Courbet, Stone Breakers).

Niépce

First permanent image (heliography).

Daguerre

Daguerreotype, portable, 1839, single image.

Talbot

Calotype, negative-to-positive process, 1841, allows multiple copies.

Muybridge

Sequential photography; Zoopraxiscope, 1879; precursor to cinema.

Eadweard Muybridge, Horse Galloping, 1878

Scientific and artistic study of motion.

Daguerreotype

First practical, single-image permanent photograph (Daguerre, 1839).

Calotype

Negative-to-positive photographic process allowing multiple copies (Talbot, 1841).

Sequential photography

Series capturing motion (Muybridge, Horse Galloping).

Zoopraxiscope

Device projecting sequential photos; early cinema (Muybridge, 1879).

ISLAMIC ART CHARACTERISTICS

Aniconic; avoids figurative depictions in religious context; Architectural features: mihrab, spolia, ambulatory, circumambulation; Dome of the Rock: Sacred and political integration; prominent in Jerusalem.

ORIENTALISM

Western perception of Islamic and Eastern cultures as exotic or otherworldly; Often romanticized or stereotyped in art.

Aniconic

No figurative imagery (common in Islamic religious art).

Mihrab

Prayer niche indicating direction of Mecca.

Spolia

Reuse of architectural elements.

Ambulatory

Walkway around central shrine.

Circumambulation

Ritual walking around a sacred object.