Baroque

 Naturalism : depiction seeking to imitate nature, not idealistic in the least.  Impasto : thick and heavily applied pigment (paint)  Renaissance painters strived for perspective and definition, while Baroque artist included the viewer emotionally and intellectually.

 St. Teresa of Ávila in Ecstasy, Marble  Cornaro Chapel, framed by corinthean columns in a niche in front of altar.  Highly emotional with facial expressions and movement of drapery  Descending rays of light are gilt bronze, illuminated from window above BERNINI

 David, marble,  This David unlike Michelangelo’s and Donatello’s is depicted during the battle.  Echoes _____________ from Classical Greece? (think Olympics..)  Fierce look of determination, heightened sense of emotionalism.  Viewer is forced to walked completely around piece to experience the sculpture.

Caravaggio  Developed new, dramatic lighting effects compared to the chiaroscuro from the later Renaissance, tenebrism.  Was a specialist at an early age painting still life, specifically fruit and vegetables.  Early work included still life, cardsharps, fortune-tellers (gypsies), and hobo’s.  Figures set close to the picture plane, brightly lit.

 Boy With a Basket of Fruit, oil on canvas,  Notice the attention to the fruit and foliage.  Lack of background heightens focus on figure.  Type of painting is known as “half-figures”

 Sick Bacchus, oil on canvas,  What can you tell me?  1.  2.  3.  4.  5.

 In groups of two/one of three, visit this website and INDIVIDUALLY choose one Caravaggio painting from his “Music and Youth” or “Cardsharps and Fortune Tellers” section and describe why you chose it.  What parts of the painting are you specifically interested in, and what does the Kimball Curator have to say about it?

 The Calling of Saint Matthew, , oil on canvas.  1 st public commission for Contarelli Chapel, Jesus is seen pointing at a tax collector.  High in naturalism, but influenced by Renaissance master’s (Michelangelo)

See any similarities?

 Entombment,  Oil on canvas  Emotional and expressive, this relatively symmetrical grouping is mourning the descent from the cross.  Slab of stone is angled to depict DEPTH (as opposed to LINEAR)  Void of the background is tenebristic which heightens the moment of this very scene.

Followers of Caravaggio: Caravaggisti 1. Artemisia Gentileschi – Italy 2. Georges de la Tour – France 3. Jusepe de Ribera – Spain/ Italy 4. Diego Velázquez - Spain

Artemisia Gentileschi  Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes  1625, oil on canvas  Baroque naturalism and tenebrism  Judith hides the light of the candle so the maidservant can stuff Holofernes’ head in a sack.

George de la Tour  Magdalen with Smoking Flame, 1640, oil on canvas.  Simplified setting vs. Caravaggio’s naturalism  Known for single dramatic candle light source. It conveys the mood for painting  Hand on skull= contemplating frailty and vanity (emptiness) of human life.

Jusepe de Ribera  Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, 1634  Oil on Canvas  Church was aiming to draw people back to Catholicism, commissioned artists to depict epic, dramatic, heroic martyrs.  Gets skinned alive.  Tenbristic effects with intensely realistic aged face.  Martyr looks heavenward

Diego Velásquez  Water Carrier of Seville, 1619  Well-known water seller  Contrasting textures, shiny vs. matte  Velásquez = greatest artist to emerge out of Caravaggesque school in Seville  Entered Seville painter’s guild in 1617  Influenced by Caravaggesque tenebrism and naturalism

 “Velázquez's Las Meninas has long captivated viewers by its effect of naturalism. Nineteenth century critics saw it as anticipating the invention of the camera with its effect of capturing a "snapshot" of a moment in time and space. Contemporary critics have emphasized the calculated control Velázquez employed to construct this effect of naturalism. Rather than as a snap-shot, a transparent window, or a spotless mirror of the world, Las Meninas is today seen to be more about the nature of painting, the artist's control over representation, and the status of Velázquez as a court artist. “

 Viewer/ Viewed  Control of Artist  Anticipation of camera?  “snap-shot” effect  Status of artist:  Order of Santiago on his chest  Who is the main character depicted here?

 Choose one image and write a 8 minute response. You should use appropriate language and vocabulary.