Baroque Art: Types of Paintings religious images portraits history paintings still lifes genre* (scenes from every day life) * Genre painting is a fairly new development at the end of the 16th century (1580’s).

Religious Images Entombment Caravaggio 1603-1604 oil on canvas What makes this image a “Baroque” work? This is an open composition in which elements are seem to move diagonally in space. Caravaggio has used rich colors and dramatic contrasts of light and dark. This work demonstrates tenebrism: a technique in which forms emerge from a dark background into a strong light that often falls from a single source outside the painting. Caravaggio has attempted to depict this scene with as much realism as possible.

Portraits Catharina Hooft and Her Nurse Frans Hals 1620 oil on canvas What makes this portrait a “Baroque” work? Hals has used a loose, free technique; the viewer can see the evidence of his brushwork—of the movement of the brush as it constructs the image on the two-dimensional plane of the canvas. Hals has used a dramatic contrast of light and dark; the two figures emerge from a dark background into a strong light. Hals has attempted to portray the two individuals as realistically as possible; note the careful depiction of textures.

Portraits Mrs. Freake and Baby Mary Anonymous c. 1674 oil on canvas Is this portrait a “Baroque” work? technical term: limner the verb to limn means to - trace the shape of, to outline Why does this work seem so primitive? What exactly is the painter privileging?

History Paintings The most important fortress in the southern Netherlands was Breda in Brabant. Velázquez represents Spinola (Philip IV’s Spanish commander) as having dismounted from his horse to meet the Dutch commander, Justinus of Nassau, on equal footing. Instead of accepting the token of surrender, he places a hand on the Dutchman's shoulder, offering a consolation of one soldier to another. In this painting Velázquez makes a fundamental statement about humane conduct amidst the horrors of war. Many contemporary witnesses felt sure that the long struggle for the Netherlands would determine the future position of Spain as a world power. The most important fortress in the southern Netherlands was Breda in Brabant, and the strategic significance of the place was correctly assessed by Philip IV's best commander in the Thirty Years' War, Ambrosio Spinola. The commander of the fortress on the opposite side, Justinus of Nassau, was another military man famous throughout Europe. After a four-month siege and when all the provisions in the fortress had run out, he was forced to petition for an honourable surrender. Spinola allowed him to leave under conditions that were extremely generous for the period. Velázquez represents Spinola as having dismounted from his horse to meet the Dutch commander on equal footing. Instead of accepting the token of surrender, he places a hand on the Dutchman's shoulder, offering a consolation of one soldier to another. The Surrender at Breda (The Lances) Diego Velázquez 1634-35 oil on canvas

Still Lifes Still Life with Flowers Rachel Ruysch 1716 oil on canvas Nota bene: While the artist is extremely invested in created a naturalistic representation of the flowers, this image was not made from “life”—Ruysch has created a composite of different flowers. She would make sketches of different flowers and fruits and then “assemble” the individual images in one still life. Notice the tulip at the upper center of the image. Tulip mania or tulipomania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age—which roughly speaking spanned the 17th century—during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed. At the peak of tulip mania, in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble. Tulips were imported first from the Ottoman Empire during the reign of our friend Suleyman the Magnificent—remember his tughra?

Genre Woman Holding a Balance Jan Vermeer c. 1664 oil on canvas Vanitas Theme: the transitory nature of life (life is brief); the woman is weighing the value of “something;” notice the Last Judgment painting behind her?; notice the light that illuminates her hands and forehead?

Arnolfini Portrait Jan van Eyck 1434 What type of painting is it? portrait, of course… genre too? even a still life?

Merode Altarpiece Robert Campin 1425-1428 What type of painting is it? a religious image of course… a portrait of the patrons on the left and even the artist…right? a genre painting as well? even a still life, perhaps?