The Baroque Period - Essay Example

? Baroque period is the era in the history of the Western arts roughly coinciding with the 17th century (Pioch, 2002). The early appearance of this era appeared in Italy from the last decades of the 16th century but appeared late in the regions of Germany and South America during the 18th century. The style of the era is said to have originated in Rome and greatly associated with Catholic Counter Reformation which demonstrates rhetoric and dynamic movement and characterized by self-confidence and proselytizing spirit of the revived Catholic Church (Pioch, 2002). Pioch (2002) described the era as associated with religious art. Baroque period is characterized by vigorous movement and emotional intensity associated with Baroque art in its primary meaning. Much Hellenistic sculpture could therefore be described as `baroque'. The older meaning of the word means `capricious', `overwrought' or `florid' (Pioch, 2002). Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci are the two great figures who stand at the head of the Baroque tradition, bringing a new solidity and weightiness to Italian painting, which in the late 16th century has generally been artificial and often convoluted in style (Pioch, 2002). The two artists are considered to have their own style in which Annibale's work has an exuberance that is completely his own, and Caravaggio created figures with an unprecedented sense of sheer physical presence (Pioch, 2002). These two major artists have great influences of their own and fusing these influences, the Baroque area arose (Pioch, 2002). Baroque artists inherited from the mannerist style the movement and fervent emotion and solidity and grandeur from Rennaisance style (Pioch, 2002). The Deposition from the Cross is an artwork made by oil in canvas. This is considered one of the greatest works of Caravaggio. In this artwork, the artist did not really portray the Burial or Deposition in the conventional way. Christ is not shown when he was rested in the tomb but instead the painting shows the presence of holy women and men on the Anointing Stone. In the painting, Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleophas and John were present and showed a very spectacular emotion. This painting shows a very tight association between a very emotional theme and a huge balanced composition. The painting represents suffering. The painting illustrated how the figures feel about the death of Jesus Christ and his burial. Caravaggio is known for his tendency to imitate sculpture. He arrived in Rome in 1592 and was the hero and leading artist of a real artistic revolution. He started the change in treating subjects and use of colour and light. He was considered one of the most important public figure of the “realist” movement of the 17th century painting. He refused to produce frescoes which have been the trend in 1600s. Instead, he used oil canvas and was said to have painted from life without prior drawing. Baroque period is an era in the history of Western arts which is distinguished because of it being stylistically complex and contradictory (Pioch, 2002). The period is characterized by the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations and most frequently associated with qualities such as grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts (Pioch, 2002). The Sacrifice of Isaac significantly illustrates the story of faith with bold chiaroscuro. Rembrandt used the bold light to play the drama and emotion in the painting. In the painting, it is clearly shown that Isaac was held on a pile of wood and that an angel clasps and holds back the hand of Abraham. Abraham looks surprised and shocked of the grasp that he dropped his knife. The painter was able to capture that very moment and freeze the instant with the knife in mid air. Tension was dramatically revealed in the face of Abraham and his hands. Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1689, is of the famous artists in history. He is from Netherlands. Rembrandt was greatly influenced by Caravaggio's religious art paintings where Caravaggio took time old bible stories and placed them in modern day settings (www.arthistory-famousartists-paintings.com, Rembrandt). He is one of the famous artists in Baroque period showing more actions that are theatrical and dramatic in his paintings. The paintings showed tension, drama, movement and other qualities that describes the era of Baroque. Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness is painted in oil on copper. It is evident that the Annibale Carracci was fascinated by Roman sculpture. In this painting, he was able to portray how St. John bore witness of Jesus Christ. The painting shows a stylized painting of St. John’s head. It is a very good landscape painting that shows the real emotion of St. John when Jesus Christ appeared to him. The picture is a depiction of the Gospel story in John (1:29): "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (www.metmuseum.org, Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness) Annibale Carricci is considered the most admired painter of his time and the vital force in the creation of Baroque style (Christiansen, 2005). He was painting the most drastic and inventive pictures in Europe and a painter of fresco cycles and altarpieces. He also launched the vogue for carefully constructed landscapes in which nature is transformed by the imagination into an idyllic setting for biblical or mythological stories (www.metmusem.org, Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness). Like the other two Baroque artists, Carricci was innovative and illustrates richness of drama and emotions in his paintings. The painting fit in the context of the Baroque era because it is a religious art. Aside from this, the painter portrayed emotional exuberance, drama and richness of movement. The works of art from the Baroque period focused on religion. It is evident that the three artists are enthusiasts of religion and they have their own interpretation of the bible. Caravaggio shows a very dramatic painting of Christ’s burial but in an unconventional interpretation. Rembrandt captures a very emotional and impressive moment of the angel’s grasps of Abraham’s hand. Carricci also shows the emotional and stylized painting of St. John’s face upon Christ’s appearance to him. The three Baroque artists used the technique of light and colour to give the best impact of their artworks and convey the emotions of the figures. All of them portrayed in their paintings the richness of drama and emotion, movement and tension. Rembrandt was greatly influenced by Caravaggio and that is shown on how they both used the technique of bold light to illustrate the emotions of the figures in the painting. Carricci on the other hand is considered to be Caravaggio’s challenger in Rome. Carricci focused more on combining Italian naturalism and Roman idealism. The three artists are very dramatic and religious. They created their masterpieces with great expression of emotion and drama. They used their paintings to convey what they felt. The unconventional and radical paintings they made characterized the Baroque era. The religious artworks of the three artists: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Carricci truly characterized the era of religious Counter Reformation. There artworks showed more solidity, movement, and emotion which greatly depict the era of Baroque. Sources: “Annibale Carracci: Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness (2009.252)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.Retrieved July 3, 2011 from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2009.252 Gray, D. (n.d.). Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), The Deposition, or Entombment of Christ (c. 1602-1604), Vatican Museum, Rome. Retrieved July 2, 2011 from http://www.jessieevans-dongray.com/essays/essay086.html Pioch, N. (2002). Baroque. Retrieved July 2, 2011 from http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/baroque/ Rembrandt. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2, 2011 from http://www.arthistory-famousartists-paintings.com/Rembrandt.html Read More