Portraiture 3 Baroque- Rococo Portraits

The Baroque is the period of art in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (in the past often referred to as "late Baroque") and Neoclassical styles.

It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture, art, and music, though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well.

The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep colour, grandeur, and surprise to achieve a sense of awe.

Baroque painters worked deliberately to set themselves apart from the painters of the Renaissance and the Mannerism period after it. In their palette, they used intense and warm colours, and particularly made use of the primary colours red, blue and yellow, frequently putting all three in close proximity. They avoided the even lighting of Renaissance painting and used strong contrasts of light and darkness on certain parts of the picture to direct attention to the central actions or figures. 

In their composition, they avoided the tranquil scenes of Renaissance paintings, and chose the moments of the greatest movement and drama. Unlike the tranquil faces of Renaissance paintings, the faces in Baroque paintings clearly expressed their emotions. They often used asymmetry, with action occurring away from the centre of the picture, and created axes that were neither vertical nor horizontal, but slanting to the left or right, giving a sense of instability and movement. They enhanced this impression of movement by having the costumes of the personages blown by the wind, or moved by their own gestures. The overall impressions were movement, emotion and drama. 

Another essential element of baroque painting was allegory; every painting told a story and had a message, often encrypted in symbols and allegorical characters, which an educated viewer was expected to know and read.

It is often suggested that Annibale Carracci was an early exponent of the Baroque. His work is looser and freer than that of Mannerist art. For his portrait of the head of an old man in 1592, the paint is loosely and quickly applied . There is a sense of direct painting and mark making.

In the ink drawing of the lute player, he applies the ink vigorously with a pen and with a brush. The individual marks are visible as he builds the ink up, stroke after stroke. The image feels dense, so that it feels as though the ink has drenched the paper. This mass of the worked surface gives the drawing strength and conviction. It charges the face of the individual with a personality. Compare the detailed intensity of the face against the background. Look how he has built up the quick, assured and sketched in image. Think how her has used rigorous crosshatching and open brushstrokes.

The drawings of the heads by Carracci, are full of life. He heightens the drawing with a gentle white wash of paint. The lines are then drawn over with vigour. The personality of the boy is clear. So too is the idea that his attention is caught elsewhere. Carracci captures his identity with conviction and strength. 

The man with the elegant beard seems to be caught up in deep concentration. He is working on something that we can't see. In both works, the drawing is carefully and patiently built up. Throughout both, Carracci uses marks, hatching, and crosshatching.