BAROQUE
1600 -1750

Theories & Interpretations

• Baroque emerged by the strong influence of the Catholic church in the Counter-Reformation, aiming to inspire devotion through dramatic, emotional religious art (Italy and Spain)

• Art glorified Church saints and biblical stories with dramatic effect

• Northern Protestant regions declined religious art and replaced it with secular themes like landscapes, portraits, and still lifes; moral symbolism was embedded in everyday scenes

• French Baroque focused on monarchs to glorify their rule and project absolute power (political propaganda)

• Baroque can be interpreted as a reaction to Renaissance Classicism, rejecting harmony, symmetry, order in favor of asymmetry and drama

Style Characteristics

• characterized by dramatic movement, intense emotions, and dynamic compositions

• Dramatic Lighting (tenebrism & chiaroscuro) - strong contrasts between light and dark to create a theatrical effect; figures often emerge from darkness; typically 1 strong light source (often seen coming from a window for natural light)

• Dynamic Compositions and Movement - figures are arranged in ways that create diagonal implied lines (angled arms, legs, toros, etc.) to create energy and drama; figures are almost always in "action", creating sense of movement

• faces and gestures are highly expressive

• Masters of perspective and foreshortening, creating the sens of depth; illusionistic ceiling paintings w/ extreme perspectives

• often uses deep rich colors; textures are very realistic