Baroque Art Exam 1: Contextual Information

What are some characteristics of the Baroque style?

• more drama, oftentimes theatrical

• classical, mythological scenes 

• contemporary scenes

• many devotional works for the Catholic Church

• tenebrism, illusionism, cropping of scene

• inspiration from renaissance and mannerism

What was the impact of the Counter-Reformation on art and society in Italy?

• Catholic Church trying to regain control

• Religious aristocracy were most common of patrons

• more devotional works depicting saints or religious scenes

• renovations and re-buildings of Catholic Churches with more devotional imagery

What were the expectations regarding devotional art Post-Tridentine?

• nudity was frowned upon in religious works

• more criticism of idealization of certain figures, like the Virgin

• Protestants and Catholics had differing ideas on acceptable iconography

What role does art play in devotional/liturgical settings compared to private settings?

• commissions for private settings often portrayed mythological scenes and classical inspiration

• a bit more in line with the renaissance

• in religious settings, art had stricter guidelines: to incite religious devotion in a “tasteful” way

What is the role of the patron in creation of artworks?

• due to the class divide, patronage was the most important aspect of artistry

• to make profit, artists had to have close connections with men of the church and the aristocracy

• it was necessary to have patrons of high status to be a successful artist at this time

• they were the funds!!

What role did education and training play for painters, sculptors, and architects?

• Art Academies held prominence at this time

• The Carracci School, meant to bring realism to art

• many artists had previous training, which was an important tool in being a successful artist

• clear influences due previous training of artists

• Barocci’s work, for example, it heavily inspired by mannerism as he was trained by a Mannerist artist

• not much training available for architects, many often had previous engineering experience or something to aid them in that venture

• many artists started out in restoration

• depending on the academy, different techniques in art were emphasized creating some separation in Baroque style

What influence did the Renaissance and the Classical world have on art?

• many artists took inspiration from the Renaissance and the Classical world

• use of contrapposto, movement, wet drapery, drama, idealism, can all be attributed to hellenistic greek sculpture

• when the work was not meant to be devotional, it was often a mythological scene

How did Classicism compare to Naturalism?(Caracci vs Caravaggio;Caravaggisti vs Bolognese School)

• artists often had completely different intentions in their artwork, whether to create a naturalized scene or a classical scene

• Caracci tended to align more with classical ideals, with his devotional scenes taking more inspiration from the Renaissance in its composition

• Caravaggio used more contemporary settings and naturalized figures, even with the inclusion of the drama