Baroque and Rococo 17 th and 18 th Century. Baroque The term Baroque once had a negative meaning. The name is derived from Baroque pearls ◦ pearls with

Baroque and RococoBaroque and Rococo

17th and 18th Century

BaroqueBaroqueThe term Baroque once had a negative meaning.

The name is derived from Baroque pearls ◦pearls with unusual, odd shapes

Compared to Renaissance art, it was considered to be ◦“over-dramatic” ◦ The architecture, “overly decorated”.

Baroque PearlBaroque Pearl

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Baroque StyleBaroque StyleBaroque style is DramaticStrong Contrast of Light and Dark

Dynamic CompositionArchitecture is decorative / many details

Roman Catholic Church supported Baroque art style in response to the Protestant Reformation (movement to reform Catholic Church) ◦ communication of religious themes with

viewer's direct and emotional involvement

Aristocracy adopted Baroque style◦ to impress visitors and to express triumphant

power and control

Baroque Style spread throughout Europe◦ Italy, Holland, France, Spain, and England.

Baroque Art – 1600-1750

Catholic Countries: Italy, Flanders (Flemish), Spain, France

Common Traits that reflect the values of the time:

-Gigantic religious works to display their faith’s triumph and to over-whelm and attract new worshippers.

-Massive displays of wealth by absolute monarchs to enchant and impress visitors.



What to look for:

-Use of light – harsh light from single source to concentrate your eye (chiaroscuro but for focal point…).

-Saints and miracles looking like ordinary people and events



What to look for:

-Use of light – harsh light from single source to concentrate your eye (chiaroscuro but for focal point…).

-Saints and miracles looking like ordinary people and events

-dynamic explosion of energy – images captured at height of action

-VERY voluptuous female nudes

-portraits – posed to show refinement but looked “real”

-huge clouds in landscapes


Two distinct “schools” of Baroque Art:

1. Catholic Countries: Italy, Flanders (Flemish or

Austrian/Spanish Netherlands), Spain, France

2. Protestant Countries: England & Holland (Dutch)

ItalianItalian BaroqueBaroque

Annibale CarracciAnnibale Carracci, , Loves of the GodsLoves of the Gods, 1597 – 1601, Ceiling , 1597 – 1601, Ceiling FrescoFresco



Commissioned by Cardinal Farnese to celebrate the wedding of his brother

Various Gods and Humans in love“quadro riportato” – looks like framed easel paintings

Inspired by Italian Renaissance art (Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian)



Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods



ComparisonComparison





Baroque fresco Renaissance fresco



Caravaggio, Conversion of St. Paul, 1601, Oil on Canvas



Story of Pharisee Saul converting to Christianity

Appears to be an accident in the horse stable (everyday life)

Caravaggio used strong light and dark / shadowy style (greatly influenced European art)

Perspective and Chiaroscuro (light and shadow) used to bring the viewer closer to the event



Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, 1597 – 1601, Oil on Canvas

Christ enters from the right to summon Levi (a Roman tax collector) to a “higher calling”

Bland street scene (“normal, everyday life”)

Caravaggio’s style of strong light and shadowLight as a symbol of God



ComparisonComparison





Caravaggio, Crucifixion of St. Peter

Caravaggio, Judith Slaying Holofernes

Judith Slaying Holofernes

Artemisia Gentileschi



Gianlorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, 1624 – 1633, Gilded Bronze



Bronze “canopy” over the tomb of St. Peter

Focal point of church

Made from Bronze of doors of the ancient Roman Pantheon (Pantheon was a temple for Pagan religion)

Commissioned by the Barberini Family

Bernini

David

•Expressive•Dynamic•Energetic

David



St. Peter's, Rome exterior – late Renaissance (Completed 1690) designed in part by Michelangelo

Largest interior of any Catholic Church in world – holds up to 60, 000 people





Ancient Roman Pantheon, 125 – 28 CE

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa

BerniniItalian

This supreme example of Baroque art was the first masterpiece that the twenty-six year old genius, Gianlorenzo Bernini made for St. Peter's Basilica. It is impossible not to admire this fantastic, sumptuous bronze canopy supported by four spiral columns, richly decorated with gold, as it majestically rises upward. It is the largest known bronze artwork. He sent most of his life working on St. Peter’s Cathedral

Baldachin of St. Peter’s Cathedral

BerniniItalian

Pietro da Corton, The Triumph of Divine Providence

SpanishSpanish Baroque Baroque



Diego Valazquez,Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor),1656



Informal family portrait Theme “Mystery of the

Visual World”

Young Princess in middle “Infantata”

Maids in waiting helping her

Her favorite dwarfs and her dog

Valasquez is working on large canvas (portrait of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana (reflections in mirror)

Man framed in doorway

Diego Valazquez, Surrender of Breda, 1634 – 1635,

Made for King Philip IV

Spanish Victory over Dutch in 1625

Spanish troops on right (organized - victory)

Dutch troops on left (disorganized – defeat)

Spanish General patting the back of Dutch General





Francisco de Zurbaran, Saint Serpion, 1628,



St. Serpion (Martyr) – tied to a tree and tortured (devotion to religion)

St. Serpion - monk born in England -◦ “commoner”

De Zurbaran inspired by Caravaggio’s light and shadow

Figure fills the foreground (close to viewer)

DutchDutch Baroque Baroque


Protestant Countries: Holland (Dutch) & England

Common Traits that reflect the values of the time:

-Still lifes

-Landscapes

-Portraits

-Very little to no religious imagery

Independence from SpainTrade and Banking = Patrons of

ArtProtestant rejected religious art,

traded for portraits, genre scenes, and landscapes



Created when he was a student

Exercise in lighting, expression

Rembrandt created at least 70 self-portraits during his lifetime (oil paintings and etchings)

Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait in a Cap, Etching, 1630

Rembrant Self-PortraitsRembrant Self-Portraits









Rembrandt van Rijn, Return of the Prodigal Son, 1665,

Stillness / inward contemplation (less dramatic than Italian Baroque paintings)

Humility and humanity of Christ

Father and Son relationship (father forgiving Christ)

Light mixed with shadow

Light focused on father and son



Rembrant, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp



Frans Hals, The Women of the Regents of the Old Men’s Home at Haarlem, 1664

Somber and Serious

Very orderly composition

Monochromatic Color Palette (black and white and gray)

Women look out of painting (2 look at viewer)



VermeerDutch

The Geographer

FrenchFrench Baroque Baroque



Hyancinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701,

Louis XIV expanded the Louve and extended expenses for the building and completion of versailles



King Louis XIV

Grandiose

Absolute Monarchy

Wore high heels to make him taller (5’4”)



Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Charles Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles), 1680, interior architecture

Hall of Mirrors in King Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles

Mirror – Baroque source of illusion

100’s of rooms in palace

Rich decoration / details



RococoRococo

Means pebble, or shellRefined, fanciful, playful style

fashionable in France due to Louis XIV’s pampered lifestyle.

1700-1789Scenes showed the luxuries and

leisurely pursuits of aristocrats and the wealthy

More decorative and non-functional then Baroque

Rococo

Rococo StyleRococo StylePastel colorsDelicately curving formsDainty figures,Light heartedSensual and erotic

Jean Baptiste Simeon, Boy Blowing Soap Bubbles

Antoine Watteau, L’Indifferent

Anotine Watteau, Return from Cythera

Francois Boucher, Cupid a Captive

Jean-Onore Fragonard, The Swing

William Hogarth, Breakfast Scene, from Marriage a la Mode

Jean Honore Fragonard, The Secret Meeting

Jean Honore Fragonard ,The Lover Crowned

Jean Honore Fragonard , The Bathers

Jean Honore Fragonard , Marquise de Pompadour

David

• Compare and Contrast each “David”.• Discuss the Artist, Time Period, and Materials used• Discuss what style characteristics are evident in each piece and how does it compare to the others?• Discuss the theme and situation that the statue portrays. How Does it fit in the time period?

Compare and ContrastCompare and Contrast

Compare the artwork of Baroque and Rococo.What characteristics of style did they have in

common? In contrast?What were the themes of Baroque? Of Rococo?What was going on in society when Baroque

was popular?What was going on in society during the

Rococo period?

Documents

Baroque and Rococo 17 th and 18 th Century. Baroque The term Baroque once had a negative meaning. The name is derived from Baroque pearls ◦ pearls with