Characteristics of Baroque Style of Arts - Essay Example

Visual Arts and Film Studies al Affiliation) Baroque Arts Baroque style of arts, that incorporated the use of exaggerated motion in demonstrating the varied forms of literature including drama, dance and theatre among others, began after the great renaissance in arts. Arising at a time when religious tension between the Protestants and the Catholic Church was just beginning, this form of artistic display was supposedly adopted by the Catholic Church in an attempt to reassert its position as a leading religious group1. The fact that this form of artistic style originated in Rome before spreading to the rest of Europe further confirms its reasons of origin. The form of art was, therefore, used to propagate a propagandist agenda in Catholic emperor. In protestant countries such as Holland, this form of art took a less religious position as it was mainly used to appeal to the people- merchants and middle class. As such, this form of art was mainly displayed in the forms of wall paintings, frescoing of ceilings and vaults of religious buildings2. As a result of the fore stated divergent forms taken by this artistic style, there existed different strands of Baroque which included Religious grandeur, Greater realism and Easel art among others. It is important to note that these forms of Baroque were pioneered by different people in different locations3. This paper seeks to explore two different forms of Baroque by first identifying the differences between Bernini’s and Nicolas Poussin’s styles of art. Secondly, the influences that baroque, as a form of art, has had on modern artistic culture will be given, and a conclusive summary of artworks given. Discussion The artistic styles adopted by Bernini and Poussin both show a huge number of differences that may be attributed to the divergent background of these two artists. Good examples of the respective arts by these two artists are The Sacrament of Penance that displays a sinful woman requesting, while on her knees, for supplication, and The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa that shows Teresa’s face with an angel’s embodiment. These are examples of religious paintings that show a wide disparity in form of art used by these two artists who graced the world of art at an almost same time. Priorities: while Bernini was of Italian origin-a stronghold for the Catholic Church, Poussin hailed from France. As such, Bernini’s artistic displays were mainly centered on religious beliefs. His subject matter was majorly focused towards bringing out a religious theme. His executed works, in form of paintings and sculptures were as well showed a major interest in myths of human, and in general societal existence4. Bernini considered dynamism in creating his sculptures and aimed at inviting the viewers to form a part of the scene that was being displayed. Energy and a sense of motion always formed a part of his paintings and sculptures as these were a part of human existence5. The figures created by Bernini occasionally possessed a strain of muscle, a flow of hair, swirling motions among others and were always constructed in a diagonal format to emphasize to the audience the essence of movement in the society. Poussin, on the other hand, prioritized a philosophical approach in developing his paintings6. A vision of the future state of humanity was central in influencing the theme that his paintings aimed at bringing out. He was inspired by the environmental setting including the light and the golden colors of the titans to develop artistic products that had a sense of natural setup. Poussin adopted an intellectual approach to painting by aiming at displaying the hidden nature of humanity7. Subjects: while Poussin focused his art towards figures, landscapes and scenery, Bernini’s arts were mainly focused towards portraying figures. This was as well a major point of difference of the form of arts adopted by the two artists, since, figures are easily portrayed as compared to scenery and landscapes. Scenic settings require a lot of precision to bring out clearly. In as much as displaying motion and energy in figures may be committing, it is important to note that Poussin’s subjects in art required a greater sense of dedication. Additionally, Bernini’s arts were mainly focused towards the creation of paintings, sculpture and architecture as compared to Poussin’s arts that took the forms of drawings and paintings. Therefore, Bernini provided viewers with a wider sense of dynamism8. Poussin stuck to creating artistic displays that took the two dimensional form of expression. Methods and material: an analysis of the work methods of the two artists also reveals outstanding differences. Bernini was a committed artist who worked so hard that his assistants could not manage to match his pace. He possessed a tight schedule that encompassed a matrix of prayer and work, toiling for as long as seven hours a day while the rest of the work was dedicated to his assistants9. Poussin, however, was far different form Bernini, since, he did not invest a great energy and time in the process of developing his arts, and in turn letting other junior artists assist him. Instead, he preferred doing his arts alone, and despised the idea of involving other artists to help him. In preparing his arts, Poussin would work on preparation for his future display by using a tiny theatre set to keep his early wax models10. Bernini on the other hand used the lost-wax model in creating his arts by using a representation of the real life situation to develop a drawing, sculpture or drawing that possessed a sense of life11. Color and size: Poussin’s arts showed a greater sense of color as compared to those done by Bernini. Poussin used cooler colors to enhance the extents of optical appeal that the drawings usually created in the viewers. The colors were effectively organized and carefully mixed to ensure that the drawings were attractive to the eyes12. His drawing as well possessed a sense of rhetoric question, mostly evident in the faces of his figures. Having grown up in Rome, his form of art was influenced by the environment to focus on creating a theatrical view of humanity. Bernini, on the contrary, did not incorporate a color objective in his drawings and sculptures13. His art were prompted by religion, hence, did not take the enormous sizes as compared to Poussin’s paintings and drawings. The Sacrament of Penance by Poussin when compared to Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa reveal a major disparity in the sizes of artworks done by the two artists. Summary and conclusion In spite of the different lines of approach adopted by the two artists, the influences of their two artistic forms in modern arts cannot be undermined. The intellectual style that was adopted by Poussin is still evident in the artistic displays in the world today14. Bernini’s arts that possessed a greater sense of energy and vibrancy as well still continue to influence the lines taken by artistic displays15. Today, artists seek to combine intellectuality, dynamism and energy into a single artwork, and the results are an indication of a tremendous literary progress16. In general, baroque has continued to influence modern artistic culture with old paintings still being relevant even to this generation17. In conclusion, artworks form an important part in defining and shaping societal existence today. Unlike the past when artworks were based on a sense of myths and unproven beliefs, today, with the rapid developments in the intellectual capacities of humanity, arts has been used to portray current and postulated occurrences in the society. Though the influences of old age arts is still felt, since, we cannot revolutionize any old artworks for the better, our progresses in enhancing artworks are only attributable to the existence of better technology that was non-existent in the past18. Bibliography “Artble.” Nicolas Poussin Style and Technique.www.artble.com/artists/Nicolas_poussin/more_informtion/style_and_technique (Accessed 30th November 2015) “Artble.” Gian Lorenzo Bernini Style and Technique. www.artble.com/artists/gian_lorenzo_bernini/ more_informtion/style_and_technique (Accessed 30th November 2015) Facos and Michelle: Introduction to 19th Century Art. Taylor and Francis, p. 53, 2011 Jillian Norris: Early American Literature, Influence of Baroque Style on Modern Culture, 2012. Margaretha R. Lagerlöf : Interpretation, emotion, and belief: cognitive dimensions in art historical investigation, featuring examples from Jan Vermeer, Nicolas Poussin, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Word & Image, 27:4, 366-377, DOI: 10.1080/02666286.2011.553798, 2011 Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02666286.2011.553798 Read More