Spanish and French Baroque - Research Paper Example

Spanish/French Baroque Art Order No. 294994 No. of pages: 5 6530 The period between 1600 -1750 is referred to as the Baroque period, which is the period immediately following the Renaissance, marked by great advances in scientific thinking and an energetic infusion of novel elements in the artistic arena. This period came during the Counterreformation, sweeping through Europe in the 17th-century, supported by the Church, and its chief exponents were found in the Catholic countries. The painting of this era is marked by the artists attempts to recreate Classical motifs, in defiance of the new philosophies sweeping through the age. Thus we have landscapes with a dreamlike quality, and a conscious restraint in the use of colors and technique. Artists in this period laid emphasis on studying the effects of light while creating their works, with alternate spaces of “intense lighting and dark shadows” called chiaroscuoro. They used dark colors to heighten the sense of drama. (Suzanne Hill, 2007) Paintings of the Baroque style show a kind of dynamism, in contrast to the static mood of the Renaissance. They achieve a sense of movement by placing the composition along the diagonal, instead of the vertical. The paintings of the age were infused with the vitality and vigor, which had taken hold of Europe after the counterreformation. The artists of this period took the landscape from merely being “the background of paintings in which the figural subject was primary,” to a celebration of the landscape itself (Michael Miller, 2007) During the Renaissance, landscape was treated as an adjunct to the primary figural subject and served as merely the background. In fresco decoration it appeared as an “ornamental interlude” in opposition to the main figures. The artists of the Baroque era took the landscape and “endowing it with a new grandeur” pushed the details and incidents to the realms of secondary objects. This style of painting was marked by Pastoral themes, and the artist tried to recreate Virgil’s Arcadia as the locus amoenus (pleasant place), where shepherds could lead the days in otium (leisurely) pursuits. (Freedman, et al, 1989) Baroque works of art stressed upon the idea of creating pleasurable emotions but without any vulgarity, and keeping it “simple and natural’ based on the concept of les bienséances (decorum) (Véronique Sigu, 200, 58-67) The Classical landscapes of the Baroque age painting, is marked by vast open spaces, with an architectural structure, usually a dilapidated fort or castle, which is placed there so as to “order the landscape through a symmetrical placement of geometricized forms.’ (Liam Harty, n.d) The Baroque style was practiced predominantly in Catholic countries of Europe, and so, many of the important pieces of art of the period can be traced to Spain and France, who were staunch Catholics. Some of the most important of French Classical Baroque artists were Claude Lorrain, Simon Vouet and Nicolas Poussin, and more than one third of the output in the genre consists of landscapes. These artists show a distinct Italian influence, especially that of Carracci. The Spanish masters of this genre of painting were Zurbarán and Jusepe de Ribera, taking their inspiration from Caravaggio, while Diego Velázquez, acknowledged as the greatest Spanish painter of the time and court painter to Philip IV, shows in his work a mastery over color and tone. (History.com, n. d) The landscape paintings of Claude Lorrain can be found in several museums in America, and the one under consideration is ‘The Dance Under the Trees”, an etching by Claude Lorrain, seen in The Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco. All the landscapes painted by Lorrain show an inclination towards use of large trees, especially on the sides of the painting, so as to give the whole landscape the effect of being framed by trees. In this painting, or rather etching, Lorrain has used clumps of trees, two on the left-hand side and one on the right, and the height of the trees extend up into the painting, which gives the painting a vertical field. In the foreground can be seen groups of people dancing and making merry, and as with all Pastoral landscapes, the clothing of the revelers is simple, the kind worn by goatherds and shepherds. A few animals can be seen in the vicinity, grazing contentedly. The painting extends inward into the horizon, although, instead of the usual ruins of the Roman countryside, the area is depicted full of rocks and rather wild. Claude Lorrain, whom Horace Walpole called “the Raphael of landscape painting” is one of the leading artists of the Baroque period, whose stirring landscapes, serene yet with a notion of activity, gave a new direction to art in this age. His work used the landscapes of the Roman Campagna as the building blocks for his imaginative Pastoral scenes. He altered the Roman countryside, from a dangerous place into “a near state of grace’ (Jessica Dawson) His landscapes are expansive views of the countryside, framed by “robust trees… peopled by amiable peasants herding obedient sheep” as can be seen in this work by the artist. The trees are lush with foliage and, the movement of the trees indicates that a gentle breeze is blowing through. When the viewer looks at the scene, he imagines himself to be at eye level with the scene, and the gaze is allowed to move freely in the distance cleared of all obstructions. (Dawson, 2007, pg 1) Claude Lorrain laid such a premium on peaceful vistas, that even the Roman countryside, teeming with thieves is transformed into a mythical place where “herders and their animals can relax and enjoy the sunset.” (Dawson, 2007.pg. 1) Claude Lorrain’s landscapes place great importance on the use of light and the various ways in which it appears at different times of the day. In his paintings, as in this one a gentle light falls on the dancers, who enjoy themselves, in the beauty of nature. In his paintings there can be seen a compositional technique, based on certain stylistic principles, according to Marcel Rothlisberger, (1979) an expert on Lorrain. These include clearly distinguished background and foreground with a narrow zone having few large masses. Diagonal to the foreground are placed large features but with very little details. Gradually receding colors and tone on one side of the painting move the focus from large silhouettes in the foreground, to those in the background, which are relatively small. (Leupen, 1997, pp44-45) In this painting, these features can be discerned clearly, with trees placed on both sides of the canvas, which serve to frame the composition. Trees are massed on the left side and come up to almost the centre of the painting. The crepuscular mood is maintained with the use of dark and light tones and with receding planes. Light tones are used for distant objects and dark colors for the objects placed in the foreground. Light and its changes at various times of the day were so important to Lorrain that, according to Joachim Sandrart, he could be found “lying in the fields before the break of day and until night in order to learn to represent very exactly the red morning-sky, sunrise and sunset and the evening hours." (Miller, 2007) In this painting, a work dated after 1640, the artist was consciously striving towards imbuing his works with the classical style and the influence of the Bologna style is evident. Lorraine had perfected something of a formula for his landscapes, and so here we see it, as tall trees on one side, a ruin in the background, small trees further away in the distance, figures in the foreground, a winding river which helps the viewer to move his gaze from the foreground to the horizon, and the sea peeping in from behind. In keeping with the Pastoral tradition, the figures are dressed in Classical costume. (Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009) the paintings of Lorrain, feature human figures but the main focus of his painting is the sea, the sky, the land and the trees. Lorrain was directed in his detailed drawings of trees and foliage by the German artist Adam Elsheimer, under whom he had apprenticed. The influence of Baroque artists on landscapes was not limited only to the canvas but in later years, their work was transplanted on to the geographical canvas, and some of the most famous gardens of Europe and England were based upon these paintings. William Kent, one of the most famous creators of English style natural gardens, based many of his works on the paintings of Lorrain and other artists of the Baroque era. In these gardens he incorporated statues, temples, winding paths and grow close, and one of them Rousham, can be visited near Steeple Aston in Oxford shire. The reach of the baroque artist and his dreamy, idealized landscapes have been thus much imitated and adored. References Bernard Leupen, Design and analysis, 1997 http://books.google.co.in/books?id=XG9JdhKdZMkC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=%EF%82%A7%09Rothlisberger,+Marcel.+Claude+Lorrain:+The+Paintings.&source=bl&ots=-F49jA4azz&sig=cXImJ1MW_bQ6j12CvBw5Rqsh9gw&hl=en&ei=JxQFSryjA8uSkAWa7Yj1CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPA44,M1 Claude Lorrain. (2009) In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 07, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/120438/Claude-Lorrain Painting http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=218471 Untitled Document http://www.legionofhonorguide.com/ The Theatrical Baroque: European Plays, Painting and Poetry http://www.fathom.com/course/10701023/session5.html Claude Lorrain – Knox College http://www.knox.edu/academics/courses-of-study/art-history/baroque-print-show/lorrain---flight.html Claude Lorrain: 17th Century French Landscape Artist http://arthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/claude_lorrain#ixzz0Eq3BnR9Q&B Claude Lorrain Landscape Drawings from the British Museum http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/?page=article&article_id=218&catID=3 Luba Freedman, The Classical Pastoral in the Visual Arts (New York: Lang, 1989); Robert Cafritz, Lawrence Gowing, and David Rosand, Places of Delight: The Pastoral Landscape (New York: Crown Publishers, 1988); and Paul Alpers, What is Pastoral? (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Jean-Pierre Van Eslande provides an excellent study of pastoral aesthetics in L’Imaginaire pastoral du XVIIe siècle: 1600-1650 (Paris: PUF, 1999). http://www.fathom.com/course/10701023/session5.html Idealized Italy, Transplanted to Britain Claude Lorrain Never Saw England, but Its Gardens Bear His Mark By Jessica Dawson, Special to The Washington Post, Sunday, June 17, 2007; Page N01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/exhibits/claude-lorrain-the-painter-as-draftsman-drawings-from-the-british-museum,1138760.html#editorial-review Rothlisberger, Marcel. Claude Lorrain: The Paintings. New York: Hacker Art Books, 1979 Read More