1. The Baroque Era in the Arts

2. The Baroque Era in the Arts
“Baroque” was not a compliment – it originally meant overdone – too many notes in music, too much color in painting, and too grand in architecture; excess, in contrast to Renaissance rationality (discard the “boundaries” of Renaissance art)
From Spanish “barroco” (“imperfect pearl”)
It has come to include the following definitions:
Elaborate ornamentation, ornate
Dramatic effects; deep, rich colors in painting
Appealing to the spirit through the senses
Heightened sensuality combined with spirituality
Naturalistic rather than ideal, emotional rather than rational
Conflict, paradox and contrast, heightened spirituality, lively sensuality
Powerful lighting effects; intense chiaroscuro

3. Historical Background
Post-Reformation: Catholic church seeks to emphasize & glorify spirituality
Absolutist monarchs emphasize power & grandeur
Three broad periods
Early ( )
Middle ( )
Late ( )
Musically, it begins with Monteverdi & the birth of opera, ends with deaths of Bach & Handel

4. The old style: Mannerism
El Greco

5. Caravaggio
Amor Vincit Omnia (“Love Conquers All”)
Light to display drama; chiaroscuro

6. Bacchus
Not afraid to use “pagan” Greek & Roman figures in art

7. The Calling of Saint Matthew 1599-1600

8. The Conversion of St. Paul
Where is the light coming from? 

9. The Crucifixion of Saint Peter

10. The Decapitation of Saint John the Baptist

11. Judith Beheading Holofernes c. 1598

12. The Female Caravaggio: Artemesia Gentileschi
Recall she worked in father’s studio
Was violently raped by another painter her father had hired to tutor her (Orazio)
Paints many scenes of violence with women on both sides
She was tortured with thumbscrews during the trial to assure she was telling the truth; the only reason he was even brought to trial was because she was a virgin; recall our earlier discussion that in the Renaissance era, rape was not considered particularly significant, more a crime against property

13. Comparison

14. Susanna & the Elders

15. “Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob” Diego Velazquez, 1630

16. Many baroque artists painted portraits for royalty and the wealthy.
Velazquez’s Las Meninas is a famous example.
Mirror reflects King & Queen (being painted)
Rated by some art historians as “best painting in the world”
Madrid palace of King Philip IV, centers on infanta Margarita; Velasquez self-portrait at canvas

18. Rembrandt – Protestant of the Dutch Realism Movement

19. Rembrandt
How does this painting depict the art and culture of its day (past AP Euro question)?

20. Rubens is a name to know – “fleshy” subjects – especially women!)

21. “The Elevation of the Cross” by Peter Paul Rubens 1610-11

22. Daniel in the Lions’ Den, 1615

23. Judgment of Paris, 1635

24. Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus 1618

25. French Baroque (Begins “Neoclassical Era in Art History)
Poussin
Neoclassicism is a “return” to the rationality of Renaissance painting, reaction to baroque (which also leads to Rococo, later); “Sabine” is men of Rome taking women for wives from neighboring Sabines
Abduction of the Sabine Women

26. Bernini
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa
Considered too erotic for the Vatican

27. The Rape of Proserpina
Rape by Hades

28. Bernini’s “David”
Note “action pose!”

29. “A Bust of Cardinal Richelieu” by Bernini

30. “A Bust of Louis XIV” by Bernini

31. Music of the Baroque Era
Composers use mixed groups of instruments to perform works of great complexity
Music was no longer only functional, it was made to be enjoyed
Composers began to search for inspiration for their compositions in not only the church, but in nature
Baroque music is very similar to jazz in it’s use of improvisation

32. Baroque Furniture

33. A Baroque Room

35. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City by Gialorenzo Bernini

36. Church of Santiago de Compostella, Spain