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Unit 1 Essay
There are many differences in theatricality between the Catholic Baroque in Italy and the Protestant Baroque in Northern Europe. To illustrate this statement two artworks will be examined. One form the Catholic Baroque in Italy and one form the Protestant Baroque in Northern Europe. The painting that will be used to illustrate the differences for the Catholic Baroque Era is Caravaggio’s The Crucifixion of Saint Peter. This is a painting that was finished in 1601 and portrays Saint Peter being nailed to a cross. Not only does the actual painted image differ from paintings of the Protestant Baroques in Northern Europe, but also by how it was painted and the thoughts behind it. To understand and compare the differences for the Protestant
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Baroque in Northern Europe I will use the painting Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. In this painting (“The artist has brought to life the moment when the wayward son of the parable (Luke 15:11-32), having returned home in rags kneels humbly before his father to beg for forgiveness. Fiero, 2011, p.106). While both of these images are tied to religion and both are painted in the same style there are many subtle differences that show different struggles and concepts of where and when they were painted. If you were to look at these two paintings without education and research on when, where, and by whom painted them, they look very similar.
They both show the typical characteristics of The Baroque style, (“Asymmetric compositions, strong contrasts of light and dark, vigorous brushwork, and bold illusionistic effects.” Fiero, 2011, p. 46) The differences begin to show when you start to study the time frame and location of when they are painted. The artists background also has a role to play with how they were painted, but the main differences that will be looked at are going to be from the differences in location. Caravaggio’s The Crucifixion of Saint Peter was painted in 1601 in Italy. Italy was where the Baroque style originated from and all other styles branched out from here. During this time art was a resemblance of rulers and the religious beliefs of the Catholics. Art was encouraged to teach those who observed about the bible and Catholic word. This shows in Caravaggio’s painting. He paints St. Peter that is nailed to a cross as three other men began to stand the cross up and crucify him upside down. Art of the Protestant Baroques in Northern Europe portray religious beliefs as well, but differ from the art of the Catholic Baroques in Italy. The way that religion was worshiped was much more humble in Protestant Baroques in Northern Europe. They were against the extravagant way that the Catholics worshiped. They defaced or destroyed many forms of art because of this and worshiped stories humbly. This is show shown in Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. In Rembrandt’s painting religion is portrayed, however it differs form the Caravaggio’s painting as paintings of the Protestant Baroques in Northern Europe illustrated more stories of morals, knowledge and instruction rather than images of idolatry. While the two paintings illustrate moments in religion the two are separated in which Italy wanted to have Jesus illustrated and the Protestants in the
North were against idolatry because of the reformation that was taking place. In Rembrandt’s religious works, (“He often chose subjects that were uncommon in Catholic art , focusing on the human, and even intimately personal, aspects of the Old and New testament.” Fiero, 2011, p. 46). This shows in his painting, as even though the art is of religious nature he looks more into the personal aspect of a father and a son. This differs from Italy as he wants to portray a less known image of religion and use this on a more personal level. This can be contributed to the reformation that was happening in the Northern Europe. Every major piece of religious artwork was being torn down, painted over or destroyed while in Italy it was overly encouraged to have murals of Jesus and god like figures. In conclusion Catholics Baroque in Italy and the Protestant Baroque in Northern Europe had drastically different views on religion. The Catholics Baroque in Italy wanted to teach and mesmerize its people about Jesus and the stories of the bible. They did this with art. Paintings, sculptures and other various forms of art all had a way that promoted the religious beliefs of Catholics and the way that the Catholics worshiped god. In Northern Europe they wanted religion to be more subtle religious followings and more personal lessons from religion. The two different ways of beliefs have been shown in various forms, one of which being art. The two paintings used as examples both give insight and examples of what was happening in those areas. In Caravaggio’s The Crucifixion of Saint Peter a Saint is being displayed and a story of religion is being taught. This shows the Catholics mindset of worship compared to the painting The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt where the mindset is not of extravagant worship but looking into the personal aspects of the Old and New Testament stories. This shows the humbled style of worship of the Protestants.
By most accounts, the year 1500 was in the midst of the height of the Italian Renaissance. In that year, Flemmish artist Jean Hey, known as the “Master of Moulins,” painted “The Annunciation” to adorn a section of an alter piece for his royal French patrons. The painting tells the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to deliver the news that she will give birth to the son of God. As the story goes, Mary, an unwed woman, was initially terrified about the prospects of pregnancy, but eventually accepts her fate as God’s servant. “The Annunciation” is an oil painting on a modest canvas, three feet tall and half as wide. The setting of the painting is a study, Mary sitting at a desk in the bottom right hand corner reading, and the angel Gabriel behind her holding a golden scepter, perhaps floating and slightly off the canvas’s center to the left. Both figures are making distinct hand gestures, and a single white dove, in a glowing sphere of gold, floats directly above Mary’s head. The rest of the study is artistic but uncluttered: a tiled floor, a bed with red sheets, and Italian-style architecture. “The Annunciation” was painted at a momentous time, at what is now considered the end of the Early Renaissance (the majority of the 15th Century) and the beginning of the High Renaissance (roughly, 1495 – 1520). Because of its appropriate placement in the Renaissance’s timeline and its distinctly High Renaissance characteristics, Jean Hey’s “Annunciation” represents the culmination of the transition from the trial-and-error process of the Early Renaissance, to the technical perfection that embodied the High Renaissance. Specifically, “Annunciation” demonstrates technical advancements in the portrayal of the huma...
The artists of the Baroque had a remarkably different style than artists of the Renaissance due to their different approach to form, space, and composition. This extreme differentiation in style resulted in a very different treatment of narrative. Perhaps this drastic stylistic difference between the Renaissance and Baroque in their treatment of form, space, and composition and how these characteristics effect the narrative of a painting cannot be seen more than in comparing Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter from the Early Renaissance to Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul from the Baroque.Perugino was one of the greatest masters of the Early Renaissance whose style ischaracterized by the Renaissance ideals of purity, simplicity, and exceptional symmetry of composition. His approach to form in Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St.Peter was very linear. He outlined all the figures with a black line giving them a sense of stability, permanence, and power in their environment, but restricting the figures’ sense of movement. In fact, the figures seem to not move at all, but rather are merely locked at a specific moment in time by their rigid outline. Perugino’s approach to the figures’themselves is extremely humanistic and classical. He shines light on the figures in a clear, even way, keeping with the rational and uncluttered meaning of the work. His figures are all locked in a contrapposto pose engaging in intellectual conversation with their neighbor, giving a strong sense of classical rationality. The figures are repeated over and over such as this to convey a rational response and to show the viewer clarity. Perugino’s approach to space was also very rational and simple. He organizes space along three simple planes: foreground, middle ground, and background. Christ and Saint Peter occupy the center foreground and solemn choruses of saints and citizens occupy the rest of the foreground. The middle distance is filled with miscellaneous figures, which complement the front group, emphasizing its density and order, by their scattered arrangement. Buildings from the Renaissance and triumphal arches from Roman antiquity occupy the background, reinforcing the overall classical message to the
Both Jan van Eyck and Fra Angelico were revered artists for the advances in art that they created and displayed for the world to see. Their renditions of the Annunciation were both very different, however unique and perfect display of the typical styles used during the Renaissance. Jan van Eyck’s panel painting Annunciation held all the characteristics of the Northern Renaissance with its overwhelming symbolism and detail. Fra Angelico’s fresco Annunciation grasped the key elements used in the Italian Renaissance with usage of perspective as well as displaying the interest and knowledge of the classical arts.
As the late Baroque period morphed into the new period known as the classical period, technological advances and new compositional techniques and ideas created new opportunities for the musicians of the period. The changes allowed for new performance techniques, forms, performance venues, and newly available compositional orchestrations to be improved and evolved into something new and improved for the new period.
While the Flemish were proficient in oil painting, Italian Renaissance artists continued their predecessor’s use of tempera. Furthermore, the paintings were ultimately created for different purposes and separate viewers. Although both works are centered on the defining moment of the annunciation, The Merode Altarpiece incorporates this scene into a secular setting, therefore differing from Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation which was painted for a monastery. Finally, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings differ in levels of realism. Although the Flemish painters were skilled in portraying realism of physical forms, they lacked a full understanding of linear perspective. In contrast, the Italian Renaissance artists were well versed in linear perspective but lacked a complete grasp of the natural
The baroque has been called a theatrical style, one that deals in spectacle, grandeur, and dramatic contrast. Test these concepts in an essay that discusses the baroque as an expression of the Catholic Reformation, Protestant devotionalism, the Scientific Revolution, and the Age of Absolutism. Define your general statements with specific examples. The following essay will discuss the baroque period and how the Catholic Reformation, Protestant devotionalism, and the Scientific Revolution influenced it. The Baroque period generally refers to the years 1600 to1750. Classicism of the Renaissance has been replenished during the Baroque period. During the Baroque artistic period, the exploration of the fundamental components of human nature and the realm of senses and emotions were very crucial. The Baroque era was a very dynamic time that showed an abundance of radiance and color. Artists of this time were passionate and sensual. Their works were many times considered to have an overpowering emotional effect. The superficial form of light was fascinated during this period due to the thoughts of godlike sun or the truth of the Holy Spirit. The Baroque naturalism maintains the religious themes in content. The elements of perception in the Baroque art are how we perceived the natural human figures are in motion through space, time, and light. We present and analyze the extent of human actions and passions in all its degrees of lightness, darkness, and intensity. The scientific revolution also had a tremendous impact on art during this time. Scientists started to study the earth and it’s positioning in the universe. This was a time when the people started take more of an interest in astronomy and mathematical equations. During the time of the Catholic Reformation artists began to challenge all the rules that society has set for artistic design. Artist starting with Parmigianino, Tintoretto, and El Greco began to add a wide variety of colors into their paintings, challenging the way things have been done in the past. These artists also added abnormal figures or altered the proportions in paintings. This is displayed in Parmigianino’s painting, Madonna of the long neck. During this time the Catholic Church was in a transition period moving from their recent reputation and becoming a well-respected organization. During this reform, an autobiography written by Layola about Saint Teresa of Avila set a new tone for Catholics to follow. This influenced people to have a more spiritual outlook on life.
they first started up this new style, so when the french took in the Italians
One of the characteristics of the Italian Baroque is the realistic depiction of human figures, vivid use of color and foreshadowing techniques, especially in the paintings. In addition, the figures of the paintings seem to emerge from the background, giving huge differences between light and dark. The Italian baroque structure has a sense of movement and that of energy when in static form. The sculptures make the observers to have multiple viewpoints. The Baroque architecture has characteristic domes, colonnades, giving an impression of volume and void.
In this research paper I will be looking at two different artworks by the same artist. The two I will be looking at are the Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508-1512) and The Last Judgment (1534). Both of these painting are painted in the Sistine chapel which is located in the Vatican. I am going to attempt to evaluate these two pieces of art painted by Michelangelo and explain the cultural and religious aspects of them. I will also look to other scholars to get their perspective and their reactions to the paintings. The last step of my research will be to formulate a theory about the relationship between culture and religion and use my topic to help defend my theory.
While on the other end, Caravaggio’s artwork was a building up of genre painting to represent real people in religious settings. His technique, while not the traditional idea of genre panting, used elements of the definition to help create realistic portraits of religious models, which made them look like the average person you would see around Rome. He did not sketch, but would paint from life and transform these people into figures of Jesus, John, and others as in his Supper at Emmaus, were even Jesus looks like a person you could find on the streets along with the men surrounding him. Not only that, but Caravaggio was a man of details, and made even the food on the Supper at Emmaus table look as if you could take it off the painting and eat it. Carracci and Caravaggio developed techniques and twists in their artistic career to push realism, and the human experience into their artwork to evolve the Baroque period into an inspirational pool of learning from the Renaissance artists before them, and pushing different ideas
The Baroque period is often thought of a period of revolution where the ideals of the Renaissance were changed. Important figures like Martin Luther who “began by criticizing the selling of indulgences, insisting that the Pope had no authority over purgatory and that the Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in the gospel.” By the time of the 1600’s when the Baroque period officially started music was more expressive; drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur were some of the elements that describe the art of this period. In addition, in the history of Western art it has been said that the transition from Renaissance to Baroque started in Europe in Italy. Important composers were born during this era; Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and the most well-known even in this era Johann Sebastian Bach.
... the way that the artwork is resembled in the religious background of the gospel but reconstructed in to a celebrating impression. Throughout the fresco painting it depicts the myth of the Christ’s three fold temptations relating back to the article that “distinction between fresco and panel painting is sharp, and that painters are seen as competitors amongst themselves discriminating also, between the difference in genuine attempts in being better then the other.” Baxandall, “Conditions of Trade,” 26. in relation, the painting concerns the painter’s conscious response to picture trade, and the non-isolation in pictorial interests.
Michelangelo and Caravaggio at some point in history were the most famous artists in Rome, Italy. Michelangelo a prominent architect, poet, sculptor, and painter found his success in Italy during the High Renaissance period (1490-1527). While Caravaggio was the most popular painter in Rome and spearheaded the Baroque period (1650-1750). Artists like Caravaggio in the Baroque period turned to a powerful and dramatic realism, intensified by bold contrasts of light and dark. Michelangelo’s reputation as a painter fluctuated during the High Renaissance, but his devotion to his art and his genius undoubtedly influenced artists such as Caravaggio during the Baroque Period. However, each artist had incredibly different styles, and utilized different mediums in their most popular works of art. Despite that there are also many similarities which indicate Michaelangelo’s heavy influences on Caravaggio and Baroque Period art. The comparison will be between Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, Rome, Fresco. c. 1508-1512 and Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Oil
Peter Paul Ruben’s art is a combination of the traditional Flemish realism with the classicizing tendencies of the Italian Renaissance style. Peter Paul Rubens had the cunning ability to infuse his own incredible vigor into a potent and extravagant style that came to define Baroque art movement of the 17th century. “Baroque art characterized by violent movement, strong emotion, and dramatic lighting and coloring.” The figures in his paintings create a permeating sense of kinetic lifelike movement, while maintaining the appearance of being grand in stature yet composed.
Additionally, the styles changed; from Rococo, which was meant to represent the aristocratic power and the “style that (…) and ignored the lower classes” (Cullen), to Neoclassicism, which had a special emphasis on the Roman civilization’s virtues, and also to Romanticism, which performs a celebration of the individual and of freedom. Obviously, also the subject matter that inspired the paintings has changed as wel...