Southern Baroque Flashcards
Characteristics of Baroque
- Dynamic
- Theatrical
- Tenebrism (Caravaggio)- Extreme/intense between light and dark
- Recommendations of the Council of Trent (counter-reformation) are followed in Christian countries (Italy, Flanders)
- Emphasis on secular genres such as portraiture, group portraits especially in Protestant countries (Dutch Republic)
- Grandiose Naturalism / Realism
- Lots of details
- Compositional complexity
- Animation
- Drama
- Often emotionally charged subjects
- Painterliness, colorism
Bernini, Pluto and Persephone, 1622
Bernini catches the moment where he takes Persephone -Catches the drama: The struggle, Violence, Stress, Fear. Bernini/baroque does 360 sculpture. Viewers gets a different part of the scene from every angle. Persephone’s hand Difficolta
Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Theresa, 1645-1652
Bernini, David, 1623
Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit, c. 1596
Caravaggio, Boy Bitten by a Lizard, c.1594
DRAMA Pain and flowers may be an allegory to the pain of love. Study on pain and hear AND the effect of light on water
Caravaggio, Medusa, c. 1597
Considered one of the strangest works of art of all time; Convex surface-painted on a real shield
• Because of this, snakes on head actually seem to be alive as viewer walks around it; term: Trump L’oeil-to deceive the eye
Probably used his own face to study dramatic facial expressions
• Asymmetrical expression in Medusa
Originally shown in the armory of the Medici not in the paintings collection
Caravaggio, Judith and Holofernes, c. 1598
Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, c. 1600
Caravaggio captures the moment of transition “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” –Matthew 9:9 Figures look “earthbound”; Caravaggio catches a moment in time; Naturalism: The faithful depiction of the natural world; God pointing to Matthew mimics Michelangelo’s creation of Adam
Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, ca. 1610
Tale from the old testament from the book of Judith ; Story of a heroic woman; Judith is a Jewish widow; Holofernes is a general of the army that invades town; To save town, Judith dresses herself up to attract Holofernes and crosses enemy lines; Beheads him with his sword; Very baroque; deep tenebrism (dark/style); Very highlighted figures in the foreground, strong use of lighting ; Gets across the violence and distress of scene; H’s body is radically foreshortened
Juan Sanchez Cotan, Still Life with Game Fowl, 1600-1603
One of the greatest still life’s in European tradition; Naturalism and trump l’oeil; Mastering observed reality; Details create action in painting; Great balance of composition; Also meant to show the glory of God’s creation
Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas (Maids of Honors), 1656
Most famous painting; Centered on Margaret Theresa of Spain, daughter of the King and Queen of Spain She is in a large room in the Madrid palace; Surrounded by maids of honor, guards, and a dog; Velazquez portrays himself working on a large canvas; Mirror in the background reflects the King and Queen
- reflection of the painting Velazquez is working on?
- King and queen are in the place of the viewer of the painting?
Traits Of Bernini’s Art
- Coordination of painting, sculpture, architecture alongside still other arts.
- Tricking the eye through optical, perspectival effects. Introducing painterly methods to the other arts, especially sculpture and architecture.
- Virtual reality: boundary between art and life seemingly dissolved leading to the emotional involvement of the spectator. Drama.
- Virtuosity
Traits of Caravaggio’s Style:
- Intense and dramatic chiaroscuro (light and shadow)—tenebrism
- Extreme naturalism
- Interest in lowlife subject matter
- Emphasis on the contemporary–in dress and setting
- Focuses on critical moments in his dramas to increase their impact (while at the same time harboring in them a sort of meditative self-reflective absorption).
