Overview: The Baroque Period
The Baroque is a period of artistic style that started around 1600 in Rome , Italy, and spread throughout the majority of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In informal usage, the word baroque describes something that is elaborate and highly detailed.
The most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, with the development of the Baroque style considered to be linked closely with the Catholic Church. The popularity of the style was in fact encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation. Baroque art manifested itself differently in various European countries owing to their unique political and cultural climates.
Characteristics
The Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated motion and clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. Baroque iconography was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions.
The use of the chiaroscuro technique is a well known trait of Baroque art. This technique refers to the interplay between light and dark and is often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. The chiaroscuro technique is visible in the painting The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens. Other important Baroque painters include Caravaggio (who is thought to be a precursor to the movement and is known for work characterized by close-up action and strong diagonals) and Rembrandt.
The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens: Chiaroscuro refers to the interplay between light and dark and is a technique often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. This technique is visible in this painting by Peter Paul Rubens.
In the Baroque style of architecture, emphasis was placed on bold spaces , domes , and large masses , as exemplified by the Queluz National Palace in Portugal. In music, the Baroque style makes up a large part of the classical canon. Important composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi. In the later part of the period, the Baroque style was termed Rococo, a style characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works.
Southern, Southern + Northern Aristocratic, Northern Bourgeois
Big Ideas:
1. Counter Reformation
2. New Scientific discoveries
3. Discoveries in the New World
4. The spread of ideas and information due to the printing press
5. Baroque art flourished in Holland and became of the voice to counter Catholic art.
6. Baroque can be separated in 2 schools: classicists (influenced by Raphael) and naturalists (inspired by Titian).
7. Baroque architecture is associated with the grand and majestic royal courts.
The Counter Reformation Agenda:
1. Church beliefs and doctrines are fired by a new kind of mysticism and rekindling/redefining through education, public affairs, and missionary work.
2. The church faces the moral and political realities of the century by creating new religious orders to adapt to modern conditions and challenges Protestantism.
CONTEXT
History: 16th Century in Southern Europe that forms the foundation of 17th Century Art: 1492 - Expulsion of Jes and Moors from Spain 1534 - Counter Reformation begins - a movement within the church to bring about a revival of religious faith as a way to fight the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther in 1517. 1542 - the Universal Inquisition was established - effort to censor printed matter 1545 - the Council of Trent convened from 1545-1563 to undertake reform and reaffirm dogma within the Church’s various orders established as part of the Counter Reformation agenda (including Carmelite Order, Jesuit Order and missionary work of Francis Xavier. History: 17th Century in Southern Europe : The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) begins as a religious conflict but soon involves most of Europe - results in nation building. Treaty of Westphalia grants religious freedom across Europe World-wide mercantilism - international trade networks with old and new world (and Africa), supported by the slave trade, trade with the far east, and newly developed ideas of diplomacy.
History: France and 17th Century Northern Europe:
1648 - French monarchy under Louis 14th consolidated
absolute power French culture, language, and fashion dominates tastes
throughout Europe France becomes the largest and most powerful country in Europe
Royal Academies (of architecture, painting, science, arts
+ letters, etc.) are established in England and France. The annual Salon exhibition is a form of “gate-keeping” for upcoming artist - Stifles innovation
1. Divine Right of Kings/Absolutism: “I am the state” - Louis divine right to power
2. Art is the service of royal power: “le grande siecle” - art functions as:
= propaganda
= nostalgia for another time/place
= myth and landscape make Arcadian dream
3. Royal Academies established for arts/sciences (England/France) Rationalism = Official Tastes dictated and controlled through patronage of the king and aristocracy
4. Baroque Classicism in architecture = power and authority of king / state asserted through grandiose architectural and garden projects
Northern Bourgeois Baroque Art
(Amsterdam + the Netherlands) c. 1650
vanitas
camera obscura
etching
intaglio
editions
1566 Revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule begun - split:
Flanders remains Catholic, Holland is Protestant
1600 > Politically and economically Spain controlled all major Italian
regions and the “low countries” of the Netherlands
1601 Holland and Flanders are given independence from Spain, the
Thirty Years War ends, and Netherlands achieves independence in 1648
Content - Painting:
New Subject Matter
religious genre
mythological genre
allegorical histories
academic classicism
Royal portraits and portraiture
New Patronage
kings
aristocracy
Church
Four perceived threats to the church:
1. Protestant movements at home
2. The pagan religions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas abroad
3. The materialistic world view due to nationalism/colonialism
4. The forces of rationalism unleashed by free scientific inquiry - if scientific facts were accepted, the belief in miracles would be undermined and the notion of divine intervention would be destroyed, resulting in the sense of mystery being drained from the cosmos
VOCABULARY
Di sotto in su
genre painting
impasto
tenebrism
vanities
chiaroscuro
Baroque “classicism"
chiaroscuro
Rationalism
Absolutism
Academies
glazes
The Baroque is a period of artistic style that started around 1600 in Rome , Italy, and spread throughout the majority of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In informal usage, the word baroque describes something that is elaborate and highly detailed.
The most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, with the development of the Baroque style considered to be linked closely with the Catholic Church. The popularity of the style was in fact encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation. Baroque art manifested itself differently in various European countries owing to their unique political and cultural climates.
Characteristics
The Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated motion and clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. Baroque iconography was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions.
The use of the chiaroscuro technique is a well known trait of Baroque art. This technique refers to the interplay between light and dark and is often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. The chiaroscuro technique is visible in the painting The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens. Other important Baroque painters include Caravaggio (who is thought to be a precursor to the movement and is known for work characterized by close-up action and strong diagonals) and Rembrandt.
The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens: Chiaroscuro refers to the interplay between light and dark and is a technique often used in paintings of dimly lit scenes to produce a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere. This technique is visible in this painting by Peter Paul Rubens.
In the Baroque style of architecture, emphasis was placed on bold spaces , domes , and large masses , as exemplified by the Queluz National Palace in Portugal. In music, the Baroque style makes up a large part of the classical canon. Important composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi. In the later part of the period, the Baroque style was termed Rococo, a style characterized by increasingly decorative and elaborate works.
Southern, Southern + Northern Aristocratic, Northern Bourgeois
Big Ideas:
1. Counter Reformation
2. New Scientific discoveries
3. Discoveries in the New World
4. The spread of ideas and information due to the printing press
5. Baroque art flourished in Holland and became of the voice to counter Catholic art.
6. Baroque can be separated in 2 schools: classicists (influenced by Raphael) and naturalists (inspired by Titian).
7. Baroque architecture is associated with the grand and majestic royal courts.
The Counter Reformation Agenda:
1. Church beliefs and doctrines are fired by a new kind of mysticism and rekindling/redefining through education, public affairs, and missionary work.
2. The church faces the moral and political realities of the century by creating new religious orders to adapt to modern conditions and challenges Protestantism.
CONTEXT
History: 16th Century in Southern Europe that forms the foundation of 17th Century Art: 1492 - Expulsion of Jes and Moors from Spain 1534 - Counter Reformation begins - a movement within the church to bring about a revival of religious faith as a way to fight the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther in 1517. 1542 - the Universal Inquisition was established - effort to censor printed matter 1545 - the Council of Trent convened from 1545-1563 to undertake reform and reaffirm dogma within the Church’s various orders established as part of the Counter Reformation agenda (including Carmelite Order, Jesuit Order and missionary work of Francis Xavier. History: 17th Century in Southern Europe : The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) begins as a religious conflict but soon involves most of Europe - results in nation building. Treaty of Westphalia grants religious freedom across Europe World-wide mercantilism - international trade networks with old and new world (and Africa), supported by the slave trade, trade with the far east, and newly developed ideas of diplomacy.
History: France and 17th Century Northern Europe:
1648 - French monarchy under Louis 14th consolidated
absolute power French culture, language, and fashion dominates tastes
throughout Europe France becomes the largest and most powerful country in Europe
Royal Academies (of architecture, painting, science, arts
+ letters, etc.) are established in England and France. The annual Salon exhibition is a form of “gate-keeping” for upcoming artist - Stifles innovation
1. Divine Right of Kings/Absolutism: “I am the state” - Louis divine right to power
2. Art is the service of royal power: “le grande siecle” - art functions as:
= propaganda
= nostalgia for another time/place
= myth and landscape make Arcadian dream
3. Royal Academies established for arts/sciences (England/France) Rationalism = Official Tastes dictated and controlled through patronage of the king and aristocracy
4. Baroque Classicism in architecture = power and authority of king / state asserted through grandiose architectural and garden projects
Northern Bourgeois Baroque Art
(Amsterdam + the Netherlands) c. 1650
vanitas
camera obscura
etching
intaglio
editions
1566 Revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule begun - split:
Flanders remains Catholic, Holland is Protestant
1600 > Politically and economically Spain controlled all major Italian
regions and the “low countries” of the Netherlands
1601 Holland and Flanders are given independence from Spain, the
Thirty Years War ends, and Netherlands achieves independence in 1648
Content - Painting:
New Subject Matter
religious genre
mythological genre
allegorical histories
academic classicism
Royal portraits and portraiture
New Patronage
kings
aristocracy
Church
Four perceived threats to the church:
1. Protestant movements at home
2. The pagan religions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas abroad
3. The materialistic world view due to nationalism/colonialism
4. The forces of rationalism unleashed by free scientific inquiry - if scientific facts were accepted, the belief in miracles would be undermined and the notion of divine intervention would be destroyed, resulting in the sense of mystery being drained from the cosmos
VOCABULARY
Di sotto in su
genre painting
impasto
tenebrism
vanities
chiaroscuro
Baroque “classicism"
chiaroscuro
Rationalism
Absolutism
Academies
glazes
ARTWORKS
85. Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio
* Conversion of St. Paul, Death of the Virgin,
Entombment, Caravaggio
82. Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus
ceiling fresco
88. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Francesco Borromini
89. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
* Blessed Ludovica, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Santa Maria della Vittoria
Versaille
-Hall of Mirrors
Judith Slaying Holofernes
Las Meninas
Marie de'Medici Cycle
Self Portrait with Saskia (Rembrandt)
Woman Holding a Balance
Fruits and Insects
85. Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio
* Conversion of St. Paul, Death of the Virgin,
Entombment, Caravaggio
82. Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus
ceiling fresco
88. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Francesco Borromini
89. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
* Blessed Ludovica, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Santa Maria della Vittoria
Versaille
-Hall of Mirrors
Judith Slaying Holofernes
Las Meninas
Marie de'Medici Cycle
Self Portrait with Saskia (Rembrandt)
Woman Holding a Balance
Fruits and Insects
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Assignments:
Add the Artworks listed to your flash cards, research and watch Various Art History Videos listed above, and read Chapter 23 and 24 in Gardener's..
Add the Artworks listed to your flash cards, research and watch Various Art History Videos listed above, and read Chapter 23 and 24 in Gardener's..
This website is based upon work supported by:
Dr. Robert Croad for workshops, resources and time -
Marsha Russell for your generosity in sharing materials and knowledge -
and to Valerie Park for your AP Art History web site that this website is based upon.
Dr. Robert Croad for workshops, resources and time -
Marsha Russell for your generosity in sharing materials and knowledge -
and to Valerie Park for your AP Art History web site that this website is based upon.