baroque art & rococo
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Baroque Art & Rococo17th and early 18th Centuries in Europe
The 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” and the
architecture, “overly decorated”.
Baroque Pearl
Baroque style is Dramatic
Strong Contrast of Light and Dark
Dynamic Composition
Architecture 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, including Italy, Holland, France, and Spain.
Italian Baroque
Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods, 1597 – 1601, Ceiling Fresco
Annibale Carracci, Loves of the Gods
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)
Comparison
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 shadow
Light as a symbol of God
Comparison
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
30 Meters Tall
St. Peter’s, Vatican (Rome)
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
Spanish Baroque
Diego Valazquez, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), 1656, Oil on Canvas
• 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, Oil on Canvas
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, Oil on Canvas
St. Serpion (Martyr) – tied to a tree and tortured (devotion to religion)
St. Serpion - monk born in England - “commoner” (normal person)
De Zurbaran inspired by Caravaggio’s light and shadow
Figure fills the foreground (close to viewer)
Dutch Baroque
Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait in a Cap, Etching, 1630
• 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
Rembrandt Self-Portraits
Comparison
Rembrandt van Rijn, Return of the Prodigal Son, 1665, Oil on Canvas
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
Jan VermeerThe Art of PaintingOil on Canvas1662 – 1668
Jan VermeerThe Art of PaintingOil on Canvas1662 – 1668
• Vermeer painted less than 40 paintings in his lifetime (eight of them considered masterpieces)
• Vermeer known for his domestic interior scenes
• Vermeer worked slowly - highly detailed
• Realistic perspective
• Dramatic use of lighting from behind curtain
Anthony van Dyck, Charles I
Dismounted,1635, Oil on Canvas
Van Dyck – portrait artist (full body portraits)
Elegant portrait of King of England
King as a nobleman riding a horse in park
King higher up – looking down
Landscape in background
French Baroque
Hyancinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701, Oil
on Canvas
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
Palace of Versailles, Paris
Rococo Art
Rococo
• 18th Century Style began in France
• In Reaction to Baroque Style
• Associated with King Louis XV
• Characterized by soft pastel colors
• Architecture is light and airy
• Asymmetrical Design
• Playful and Witty Style
Interior of Hôtel de Soubise Paris
Hôtel de Soubise interior designed by Germain Boffrand, Paris, 1735 - 1740
• Palace built in 1375 for Prince and Princess de Soubise - now a museum
• Interiors renovated in Rococo style in 1735 – 1740
• Light and airy oval-shaped rooms
• Light and airy feeling,
asymmetrical, decorative curves, creamy pastel colors with gold
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing,
oil on canvas, 1767
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, oil on canvas, 1767
• Typical Rococo Style
• Departure from Serious Baroque Subject Matter
• Pastel Colors
• Visual Movement / Diagonal Composition
• Garden Scene with Cupid Statues
• Witty Subject / Erotic