Baroque Art

By James Smith

Baroque was a certain type of art that was

associated with many different styles and artists in the late sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century. It’s meaning is unclear (it may have been used

as a term to describe irregular, strange etc.). May have came from the Portuguese word

barocco or the Spanish word baroque meaning an irregular shaped pearl.

Baroque art started off as a way of the Roman

Catholic Church to show Church doctrines to the illiterate more so than the educated. This idea came during the time of the Council of Trent and the Reformation. It was to be both doctrinally accurate as well as visually/emotionally appealing. It was a way for the Roman Catholic Church to “win” back power and influence.

Baroque art started to move away from a

Mannerist like view (artificial and intellectual), to a more naturalistic and dramatic type that aimed at the senses. Baroque art depended on contrapposto

(“counterpoise”) that showed the tensions within figures that made them seem almost realistic.

Naturalism- displayed everyday life and real

situations (Caravaggio). High-baroque- showed lots of emotion,

theatrical like pictures, and lots of energy. Classicism- High Renaissance like principles

with balance and clarity (Carracci).

In Baroque paintings, the main conceptions

were of monarchy, iconography, religion, and movement/space.

Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)- A Bologna

painter. His works were know for their great landscapes. Most of his best works are in fresco which is painting on a moist surface with colors grounded up in water. His works include Assumption of the Virgin Mary and The Flight Into Egypt.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-

1610)- Italian painter who was usually known by Caravaggio. Really emphasized chiaroscuro. Had an ability to express a vivid and amazing scene of a passing of an important moment. He also painted many religious works. His works include The Resurrection of Lazarus and The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula.

Baroque sculptures showed great energy and

movement, it showed multiple viewing angles, and the use of different colored marble from different marbles.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini- He was an Italian

painter, sculptor, and architect, but was renown for his sculpting. He built the St. Teresa in Ecstasy (1645-1652) for the Cornaro Chapel of the church of Saint Maria della Vittoria in Rome for the Cornaro family. He designed the entire chapel for the Cornaro family. The main focus was the St. Teresa sculpture and Bernini aimed to portray religious experience as extremely physical.

In Baroque architecture, emphasis began to be

placed on domes, chiaroscuro, color effects, and volume/void. The innovation of the state apartment became a

major interior design which consisted of a chain of increasingly rich interiors all leading to a throne room or state bedroom. The innovation of immense and beautiful

staircases.

Example: Stairway to Heaven (1750) by

Johann Leonhard Dietzenhofer.

Example: A room in a state apartment.

Baroque art started to lose favor with artists

when the new form of art called Neoclassicism began to come about later in the eighteenth century. Neoclassicism was the art style of

incorporating old art works into revised art works from the artist’s point of view.

Baroque art served as a way for the Roman

Catholic Church to bring back some of its members from the Reformation movements. It served as a way for the nobility to show

their wealth and power. Helped those who were illiterate understand

the Catholic faith and history.

I believe that this helped influence later

generations of art (neoclassicism). It was a helpful guide for people during the

Scientific Revolution .

 "Baroque - Baroque Art." Oil Paintings Reproduction - Canvas

Oil Painting Reproductions For Sale. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .  "Baroque -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .  "BAROQUE ART AND ARCHITECTURE,." The History Channel Home Page. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .

 "Baroque Art." Art Gallery Museum Painting Fine

Art Artist Biography. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .  "Baroque Sculpture." Rome in the footsteps of a 1750 traveller. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. .  Kagan, Donald, Steven Ozmet, and Frank M. Turner. The Western Heritage Since 1300. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.