Baroque - Overview - Goodbye-Art Academy

the Baroque period an art has a rather fascinating beginning during the mid 1500s the Catholic Church was feeling threatened by the increasing conversion of the population to Lutheranism the church convened the Council of Trent which took place from 15 45 to 15 63 at the Council of Trent religious reforms were being questioned proposed and reconsidered Martin Luther's scathing criticism of the church found supporters everywhere as a response the church launched an advertising blitz reiterating and reaffirming its fundamental teachings to combat the Protestant criticisms that were turning the public away from the Catholic Church since winning over the few educated intellectuals who were able to read at the time would not make a big difference in maintaining the power of the Catholic Church the uneducated masses were targeted since the majority of people could not be reached via the written word to inspire them to stay loyal the Catholic Church and its teachings would require a medium that did not require literacy the answer to this was clear the church embarked on a systematic religious advertising campaign using art this marked the beginning of the baroque era in the 1600s the Baroque style became prevalent among artists in Rome and Italy and baroque works filled with religious grandeur spread to other parts of Europe until the 1750s artists were now being actively encouraged to express their faith through grand and beautiful artworks Baroque art celebrated intense personal visions conversions religious visions death and even martyrdom the images baroque artists created were realistic intense and extravagant vivid use of color was becoming a more dramatic feature and the different elements and figures of a composition could be overlapped instead of being isolated in the center of the work in his early years the term baroque was actually derogatory to call something baroque meant that it was considered overly exaggerated and filled with unflattering details like warts and wrinkles this offended viewers in critics who were used to the painstaking realism of the Renaissance Baroque paintings show a wide range of styles and artistic influences they are dramatic and offer rich details beautiful deep shades of color and honest realism baroque artists typically painted pictures that capture the ultimate dramatic moments that showed unfolding events taking place in real time you were no longer left to imagine what took place during a battle these scenes were being depicted in excruciating ly realistic detail in fact you might even think of many baroque paintings as theatrical snapshots that were shown from the perception of each individual artist a number of artists were able to establish their reputations during the Baroque years among these are famous names such as Rembrandt Rubens pusong Caravaggio Vermeer and Velazquez Rembrandt was a true master of Baroque art techniques you can observe his exceptional use of light and shadows and Philosopher's and meditation or descent from the cross today his brilliant brushstrokes in key 9 can be seen when looking at any of the masterpieces that he created during the 17th century Poussin's religious paintings were didactic in nature they were meant to teach moral lessons to students and persuade them of the importance of biblical and classic mythological events the adoration of the Magi depicting the three kings bearing gifts to the baby Messiah and the adoration of the golden calf illustrating a celebration of worshipers dancing around a false idol were two of Pisans best-known biblical paintings meant to help viewers contemplate lessons of Christian righteousness and sin Poussin's work is noted for its vivid backgrounds which include both natural landscapes and mathematically precise architecture he is also credited with developing the theory of modes which advises artists to use forms and methodology specific to the work at hand Caravaggio's crucifixion of st. Peter is a classic example of how baroque artists use the medium of art to skillfully tell an entire story they evoked a spiritual response and reinstated faith in one fell swoop without making any of this overtly evident the piece depicts the scene where st. Peter impaled on the crucifix is being lifted by three Romans after his request to be positioned upside-down the eloquent body language depicted in each of the figures in this masterpiece speaks volumes about the artists skill the strain of lifting Peter is very evident in the stance of the three men showing that the sheer magnitude of their crime is weighing them down Saint Peter's face is bathed in divine light glorifying him without impinging on the drama and emotion of the scene one thing is very clear when you look at the artwork created by these baroque masters their objective was to evoke the spirituality within to encourage the viewer to connect with the scene that was depicted and to cement belief in God's compassion for mankind they sought to create a scene that was larger than life spiritual and capable of evoking a sense of awe all of it was done with one goal to communicate in a grandiose glamorous manner a strong religious message to the masses the Rococo movement also known as late baroque gradually gained momentum and in the 1700s this movement replaced the Baroque period Rococo art preserved many aspects of baroque technique but opted for less political themes softer and brighter colors and a more lighthearted tone although the apex of the Baroque art period is now reconciled to the pages of history books it is important to remember that these ideas and techniques continue to exert power and influence in the art of our modern world you

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Keywords: Baroque (Art Period/Movement), rubens, caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens (Illustrator), Drawing, Painting, Fine Art (Literary Genre), goodbye art

Id: CUOMENNS0EI

Length: 7min 12sec (432 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 16 2014