Art in the Baroque Period - Assignment Example

March 29, 2009 Art in the Baroque Period The Baroque Period occurred roughly around 1600-1750. Like other well-known periods in art, Italy was a major influence in the development of the Baroque Period. The main thing that the Baroque movement tried to accomplish was to allow the senses to become more involved in the art. (Vlieghe 1998) This was done in order to bring more emotion into the work and to pass this emotion on to the viewer. It also wished to represent movement in the paintings, which gave these paintings a very different sense of realism. This was an entirely different form than past movements, as the line between the artwork and reality was blurred, with each entering into each other’s realm. This was also a time that saw great religious and political change occurring throughout Europe and many of these paintings were designed to capture this. In the end, the Baroque Period will be remembered as a time when paintings almost became real because they represented real emotions and real human movement. There was great religious turmoil during this time period. This tumultuous force was the Reformation. After Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses, it took relatively little time for northern Europe’s nations to become primarily Protestant, while the southern countries retained and strengthened their Catholic identities during the Counter-Reformation. There was an intense us vs. them battle of religion, and art was in the middle. Once the Reformation began, Protestant leaders such as John Calvin and Huldreich Zwingli encouraged iconoclastic movements, which denounced Catholic imagery as idolatrous and called for its destruction. However, the Protestants did not condemn all art—they chiefly opposed the Catholic religious art, to which Catholics of the time gave reverence. The chief argument between Catholic and Protestant was that the Protestants believed the Catholics held their relics and imagery sacred, instead of revering Christ. In contrast, the Roman Catholic Church had embarked in the 1550s on a program of renewal known as the Counter - Reformation. As part of the program, the Catholic Church used art of the magnificent display for the campaign. It was intended to be both doctrinally correct and visually and emotionally appealing so that it could influence the largest possible audience. Their paintings glorified Catholic traditions, the sacraments, and the saints. Clearly, the content of their work contrasted strongly with that of the northern Protestants’ work. But as the century progressed the style made inroads into the Protestant countries. Main representatives of this form of Baroque were Bernini and Rubens. At the same time as the religious reformations, scientific advances and exploration forced Europeans to change their view of the world. New knowledge in Astronomy was important. Also in the eighteenth century, scientific literature became so plentiful that the period has been given the name – Age of Enlightenment. Economic growth also helped create a large and prosperous middle class eager to invest in large houses and possibly art. The Baroque style reflects the time period in which it was created. There is dramatic usage of lighting, realistic representations and rummaged emotions. One notable example of a Counter-Reformation artist from the Baroque Period was named Peter Paul Rubens. He was a Flemish artist who studied in Italy, so he was very familiar with the Italian tradition. He was arguably the most influential painter of the Baroque period. He was certainly one of the most well known. Rubens was raised by a very catholic mother who instilled the importance of religion in her son. He was one of the leaders of the Catholic Counter-Reformation style of painting. Rubens is known for the frenetic energy and lusty ebullience of his paintings; the figures are tense, and at cross-sections with the viewer. (Vlieghe 1998) He fulfilled massive commissions for leaders of the church and state in Italy, Austria, and Germany. With the memory of Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Venetian painting still fresh in his mind, he returned home from studying in Italy and painted Raising of the Cross for the high altar of Antwerps church of St Walpurgis. This painting is significant to the period because it contains a high level of realism and tension. In the centre nine executioners strain with all their might to raise the cross from which Christs pale body hangs. The dramatic action is witnessed from the left by St John, the Virgin Mary and a group of weeping women and children. On the right, a Roman officer watches on horseback while soldiers in the background are crucifying the two thieves. In other words, the subject is spread across all three panels. The outside of the wings shows Saints Amand, Walpurgis, Eligius and Catherine of Alexandria. (Vlieghe 1998) This gives the painting a feeling of human emotion and one can only imagine what Christ must be suffering through. The contrast of light subjects against a dark background gives the painting a more dramatic light. By giving the piece realistic emotions, Rubens is able to blur the line of reality and representation effectively, which is exactly what the Baroque Period was all about. He futhers this idea in Descent from the Cross (1611). The painting is the second of Rubenss great altarpieces for the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp. (Vlieghe 1998) It is a tri-panel consisting of images of Christ. Sequentially, the triptych describes the Visitation, the Descent from the Cross, and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. This painting was commissioned by he Confraternity of the Arquebusiers, whose Patron Saint was St. Christopher. (Vlieghe 1998) The background again is very dark – black in the middle panel emphasizing the descent. Christ is pale skinned, with a white cloth behind him he seems to glow against the background. The figures helping him down are all dark, in dark clothing – this furthers the contrast of the good Christ against the evil (dark) world. There is a use of open space around the subject which highlights the solitude that one is meant to feel when contemplating the Christ. This painting along with The Raising of the Cross established Rubens as Flander’s leading painter. Anthony Van Dyck was possibly the most well known portrait painter in the Baroque period. Van Dyck served as chief assistant to Peter Paul Rubens. He was not Ruben’s pupil as he was already an accomplished artist before joining Ruben’s studio, but naturally Ruben’s style would influence his own. He was the court painter for Charles I and painted numerous portraits of him. He also painted numerous portraits of the nobility. His relaxed and elegant style would serve as the dominant influence on English painting for the next 150 years. He did mostly portraits although he did also include a few religious themed pieces in his body of work. He was not a notably outspoken critic or champion of either the Protestant or Catholic movement. One can imagine whatever his beliefs were; Van Dyck kept them quiet as to risk him position at Charles’ court. He developed a full-length portrait style drawing on Ruben’s style where extremely tall and graceful figures look down on the viewer with great hauteur. His portrait entitled Portrait of Elena Grimaldi, Marchesa Cattaneo (1623) displays this noble hauteur. Van Dyck’s mission was to pay a supreme compliment to a noble-woman. The inclusion of the Moorish servant was meant to address her status and serves as a black foil to her patrician whiteness. While the subject stands in the center of the painting, there is space around her head and back. She is standing “above” the other elements in the portrait, again emphasizing her importance and status. Van Dyck was known to flatter his subjects when painting them, perhaps in deference to their wishes. Sophia, Electoress of Hanover met Queen Henrietta Maria in exile and reportedly wrote that “Van Dyck’s handsome portraits had given me so fine an idea of the beauty of all English ladies, that I was surprised to find that the Queen, who looked so fine in painting, was a small woman raised up on her chair, with long skinny arms and teeth like defense works projecting from her mouth” (Waterhouse 1978). This flattery when painting a subject was common as the artist had to please the patron; especially when the patron was the King. Van Dyck painted Queen Henrietta numerous times, portaits in both full and three-quarters lengths. Notably, she was usually alone with the exception of in Queen Henrietta Marie and Sir Jeffrey Hudson (1633) where she was painted with her “Queen’s dwarf” Jeffrey Hudson. He had been presented to her as a gift for her amusement and brought her much joy and entertainment. They are posed in the portrait resembling mother and child with Jeffery standing beside her, the Queen’s arm extended toward him in a protective gesture. Jeffery is in a tense and worried position, with distress on his face looking up toward the Queen as if for reassurance. The Queen is regal, standing and gently assuring him with a light touch. One of the more important frescoes from the Baroque Period was painted by Cortona and is entitled Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power. This painting marked a new direction during the Baroque Period because it was meant to cover up the manmade architecture that made up the ceiling of the grand salon of the Palazzo Barberini with divine images of above. This was meant to give people a feeling of humility, as they gazed at the ceiling above, because Cortona believed that everyone should feel inferior to God. (Vlieghe 1998) While the paintings of Cortona are not as popular in contemporary society, it is possible to see how Cortona would have been an influential painter during this time period because of what he was trying to accomplish. Allegorically speaking, this fresco represents Barberini; some argue it portrays his election which was rumored to have been rigged as divine providence. This work is saturated with suns and bees (Barberini’s family symbols). At one end of the sky is the solar Divine Providence and at the other end, flying maidens hold the papal keys, tiara and robe belt above a swarm of bees. There are other symbols alluding to the divine providence and “rightness” of Barberini’s papal election. An artist who could immortalize his patron, and assure any viewer of the piece of his divine providence would be highly prized, and Cortona was no exception. The ceiling of the Gesu in Rome was transformed by Givoanni Bettista Gaulli into a realistic dream. The gilded and stucco figures are surrounded a scene looking like the roof has split apart, revealing sunbursts, clouds, and angels. It would seem standing beneath the ceiling one would feel that they were looking up into heaven itself. Gaulli was awarded the project at only 22 years of age, after an involved debate. This choice may have been somewhat controversial, since Gaullis naked figures recently frescoed in the pendentives for SantAgnese in Agone had offended some eyes, causing additional work in painting cloth to cover the figures. (Vlieghe 1998) Thus, his project was likely to have been heavily overseen by Olivia and Bernini two authorities in the Jesuit order. The strong use of color and addition of plastering to his paint emphasizes the dimensionality of the piece, as well as the realistic yet dreamlike quality. The Baroque Period is important to the history of art because it allowed for people to become more involved with the artwork than ever before. Previously, the artwork was meant to be perfect, but this period purposely showed the flaws, which allowed for the viewer to gain a connection with the subject. This blurred line draws us to the subjects, making the artwork very important to the history of art. The realistic subjects in the projects as well as the dramatic use of color leads to the viewer being able to better relate and understand the subjects. This effect leads to greater emotional attachment to the works, and thereby establishing the artist to be one of quality since so many appreciate their work. This emotional attachment is the reason artists paint and viewers appreciate art. Finally, with after the turmoil of the Reformation and the answer of the Catholic Counter-Reformation the art stands as a lasting testament to the beliefs of the artists or patrons of the pieces. Still echoing hundereds of years later, one can hear Ruben’s Catholic passion when viewing The Raising of the Cross. It still forces the viewer to acknowledge the suffering that was done and to at very least hold the event with reverence. It seems that this effect is what Ruben would have wanted – and what all art aspires to. Works Cited Goodman Elise, Womans Supremacy over Nature: Van Dycks "Portrait of Elena Grimaldi" Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 15, No. 30 (1994), pp. 129-143 Ellis Waterhouse, "Painting in Britain, 1530-1790", 4th Edition, 1978,pp 70-77, Penguin Books Cf. Gaulli, The Glorification of the Holy Name of Jesus (bozzetto), c. 1676-79, oil on paper, 163 x 111 cm., The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. Vlieghe, Hans, Flemish Art and Architecture 1585-1700, Yale University Press, Pelican History of Art, New Haven and London, 1998. Read More