The Baroque Period: Cultural Expressions Of The Age...An Artistic Movement
After 1600, European culture generated a new artistic style, known as the Baroque. Taken literally, the term means "irregular" and is applied generally to the dynamic and undisciplined artistic creativity of the seventeenth century.
At first, the Baroque style grew out of the Catholic pomp and confidence accompanying the Counter-Reformation. Later, as the style spread north, it became popular at royal courts, where it symbolized the emerging power of the new monarchies.
Wherever it showed itself, the Baroque approach was likely to exhibit some combination of power, massiveness, or dramatic intensity, embellished with pageantry, color, and theatrical adventure. Without the restraints of the High Renaissance or the subjectiveness of Manneristic painting, the Baroque sought to overawe by its grandeur.
Baroque painting originated in Italy and spread north. One of its Italian creators was Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1565-1609), whose bold and light-bathed naturalism impressed many northern artists. The Italian influence was evident in the works of Peter Paul Rubens (1557-1640), a well-known Flemish artist who chose themes from pagan and Christian literature, illustrating them with human figures involved in dramatic physical action.
Ruben also did portraits of Marie de Medicis and Queen Anne, at the French court of Louis XIII. Another famous Baroque court painter was Diego Velasquez (1599-1660), whose canvases depict the haughty formality and opulence of the Spanish royal household.
A number of Italian women were successful Baroque painters, including Livonia Fontana (1552-1614), who produced pictures of monumental buildings, and Artemesia Gentileschi (1593-1652), a follower of Caravaggio.
While the Baroque style profoundly affected the rest of Europe, the Dutch perfected their own characteristic style, which grew directly from their pride in political and commerical accomplishments and emphasized the beauty of local nature and the solidity of middle class life.
Dutch painting was sober, detailed, and warmly soft in the use of colors, particularly yellows and browns. Almost every town in Holland supported its own school of painters who helped perpetuate local traditions. Consequently a horde of competent artists arose to meet the demand for this republican art.
The term Baroque probably ultimately derived from the Italian word barocco, which philosophers used during the Middle Ages to describe an obstacle in schematic logic. Subsequently the word came to denote any contorted idea or involuted process of thought. Another possible source is the Portuguese word barroco (Spanish barrueco), used to describe an irregular or imperfectly shaped pearl, and this usage still survives in the jeweler’s term baroque pearl. (http://www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-period)
At first, the Baroque style grew out of the Catholic pomp and confidence accompanying the Counter-Reformation. Later, as the style spread north, it became popular at royal courts, where it symbolized the emerging power of the new monarchies.
Wherever it showed itself, the Baroque approach was likely to exhibit some combination of power, massiveness, or dramatic intensity, embellished with pageantry, color, and theatrical adventure. Without the restraints of the High Renaissance or the subjectiveness of Manneristic painting, the Baroque sought to overawe by its grandeur.
Baroque painting originated in Italy and spread north. One of its Italian creators was Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1565-1609), whose bold and light-bathed naturalism impressed many northern artists. The Italian influence was evident in the works of Peter Paul Rubens (1557-1640), a well-known Flemish artist who chose themes from pagan and Christian literature, illustrating them with human figures involved in dramatic physical action.
Ruben also did portraits of Marie de Medicis and Queen Anne, at the French court of Louis XIII. Another famous Baroque court painter was Diego Velasquez (1599-1660), whose canvases depict the haughty formality and opulence of the Spanish royal household.
A number of Italian women were successful Baroque painters, including Livonia Fontana (1552-1614), who produced pictures of monumental buildings, and Artemesia Gentileschi (1593-1652), a follower of Caravaggio.
While the Baroque style profoundly affected the rest of Europe, the Dutch perfected their own characteristic style, which grew directly from their pride in political and commerical accomplishments and emphasized the beauty of local nature and the solidity of middle class life.
Dutch painting was sober, detailed, and warmly soft in the use of colors, particularly yellows and browns. Almost every town in Holland supported its own school of painters who helped perpetuate local traditions. Consequently a horde of competent artists arose to meet the demand for this republican art.
The term Baroque probably ultimately derived from the Italian word barocco, which philosophers used during the Middle Ages to describe an obstacle in schematic logic. Subsequently the word came to denote any contorted idea or involuted process of thought. Another possible source is the Portuguese word barroco (Spanish barrueco), used to describe an irregular or imperfectly shaped pearl, and this usage still survives in the jeweler’s term baroque pearl. (http://www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-period)