The Baroque (2)

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Spanish Netherlands: Flemish painting under Spanish control(Modern Belgium-Flemish Baroque)

• Phillip II “Most Catholic King” of Spain repressive towards Protestants

• Netherlands splits between north (Protestant) and South-(Catholic)

• North is independent• South is ruled by Spanish

Empire

Spanish Netherlands Art

Similar to the Baroque art of SpainMajor Artists

Peter Paul Rubens 1577-1640

Learned and aristocraticAmbassadorAt home with princes and scholarsInfluenced by living in Italy

Anthony Van DyckStudent of RubensBecame court painter to King Charles of England

Peter Paul Rubens

• (1577-1640) Born in Germany, trained in Antwerp and studied in Rome

• Influenced by Michelangelo and Caravaggio

• Became synonymous with Flemish Baroque

• Combined portraiture and historical narrative for a cycle of 21 paintings dedicated to Marie de’Medici

• Unified the styles of northern and southern Europe

• Upon his return to Antwerp, built a house with a large studio that allowed his workshop to crank out works

Peter Paul RubensGreat work ethic, over 2,000 paintingsEducated, looks, well-traveled, happyENERGY – his life and art

Rose at 4am and worked until midnight

Price of work was equivalent to how much he actually paintedCreated thousands of sketches in his travels of famous artwork to study and use

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Elevation of the Cross, from Saint Walburga, Antwerp, 1610. Oil on wood, 15’ 1 7/8” x 11’ 1 1/2” (center panel), 15' 1 7/8" x 4' 11" (each wing). Antwerp Cathedral, Antwerp.

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632. Oil on canvas, 5’ 3 3/4” x 7’ 1 1/4”. Mauritshuis, The Hague.

JAN BRUEGEL THE ELDER and PETER PAUL RUBENS, Allegory of Sight, ca. 1617–1618. Oil on wood, 2’ 1 5/8" X 3’ 7”. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles, 1622–1625. Oil on canvas, 12’ 11 1/2” x 9’ 7”. Louvre, Paris.

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Garden of Love, 1630–1632. Oil on canvas, 6’ 6” X 9’ 3 1/2”. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

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PETER PAUL RUBENS, Consequences of War, 1638–1639. Oil on canvas, 6’ 9” x 11’ 3 7/8”. Palazzo Pitti, Florence..

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ANTHONY VAN DYCK, Charles I Dismounted, ca. 1635. Oil on canvas, 8’ x 11” x 6’ 11 1/2”. Louvre, Paris.

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The Golden Age of Dutch Art

The Dutch Republic was based on commerce and trade; merchant class held power, wealthNo royal court and officials and lacking Catholic church commissions, artists turned to merchant class for workPortraiture rose in popularity as did works showing their possessions and land

Still lifes, landscapes, genre scenes and portraits

The Dutch RepublicThe United Provinces of the NetherlandsNorth Region (Modern Holland)

Late 16th Century: Independence from SpainProtestant

1609 Bank of Amsterdam

Political power: urban merchants

Prosperous: wealthiest region of Europe

Moralistic

No King (no feudal land rights)

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ArbitrageThe practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets: striking a combination of matching deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market prices. In simple terms, it is the possibility of a risk-free profit at zero cost.

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sugar

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“Speculative Bubble”

Art of the Dutch Republic

• Merchant patrons• Realism

– Genre Scenes, still life– Little religious art– Moralizing– Landscapes that showed work ethic– Bourgeoisie portraits showed status without being ostentatious

• ArtistsFrans Hals: Portraits 1581-1666Rembrandt Van Rijin 1606-1669Jan Vermeer: 1632-75 Interior genre scenes of the bourgeoisie

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HENDRICK TER BRUGGHEN, Calling of Saint Matthew, 1621. Oil on canvas, 3’ 4” x 4’ 6”. The Hague.

Frans Hals

Brilliant portrait painterDifferent from Leonardo, Holbein, or Durer’s portraits of exactnessQuick brushstrokes capture the momentary smile and twinkle of an eye

Actually took a lot of time to capture spontaneity

Broke conventional ways of depiction

Pose, setting, attire, accessories

Typical conventions did not apply to middle class portraiture

Hals produced lively and relaxed imagesExcelled at group portraits

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FRANS HALS, Archers of Saint Hadrian, ca. 1633. Oil on canvas, approx. 6’ 9” x 11’. Frans Halsmuseum, Haarlem.

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GERRIT VAN HONTHORST, Supper Party, 1620. Oil on canvas, 4’ 8” x 7’. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

RembrandtBased in Amsterdam (1606-1669), the financial center of EuropeBecame cities most-renowned portrait artist

Was well-established in creating group portraiture (“The Night Watch)

Held a range of interests, also was a master of etching and used drypoint technique later

RembrandtLeading Dutch painter of the timeDelved deeply into the psyche and personality of his sitters

He deviated even more from the traditional group portrait than Hals

Sitters not placed evenly across the picture plane

Use of light is a key element

Gradual transitions, no sharp edges

Fine nuances of lights and darks

Uses for psychological effect

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632. Oil on canvas, 5’ 3 3/4” x 7’ 1 1/4”. Mauritshuis, The Hague.

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq (Night Watch), 1642. Oil on canvas (cropped from original size), 11’ 11” x 14’ 4”. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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Night Watch

• Includes a girl with a chicken

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Return of the Prodigal Son, ca. 1665. Oil on canvas, approx. 8’ 8” x 6’ 9”. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

• Religious Protestant art vs. Religious Catholic art– Piety vs. emotional drama– Human contemplation vs.

theology– Humanity of Jesus vs.

triumph of the church

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Self-Portrait, ca. 1659–1660. Oil on canvas, approx. 3’ 8 3/4” x 3’ 1”. Kenwood House, London (Iveagh Bequest).

REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Self-Portrait, 1658. Oil on canvas, 4’ 4 5/8” X 3’ 4 7/8”. Frick Collection, New York.

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Intaglio (etching) and Engraving

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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN, Christ with the Sick around Him, Receiving the Children (Hundred Guilder Print), ca. 1649. Etching, 11” x 1’ 3 1/4”. Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.

How did the world wide mercantile system change the face of Europe?

• Trade affected social and political relationships

• New rules of etiquette and diplomacy

• Increase of disposable income

• More middle class patrons and commissions

• Painting becomes a commodity sought by middle class

• Landscape paintings become a subject worthy of artistic interpretation

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A Society of Consumption

http://www.nouveauriche.com/

Dutch relationship to the Land

• Generally not idealized or classical– Specific identifiable

scenes

• An individual relationship with the land– No feudalism– Reclaimed land– Show work at hand,

historical

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AELBERT CUYP, A Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows, and Other Figures, late 1640s. Oil on canvas, 5’ 1” x 6’ 4 7/8”. National Gallery, London.

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JACOB VAN RUISDAEL, View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen, ca. 1670. Oil on canvas, 1’ 10” x 2’ 1”. Mauritshuis, The Hague.

JACOB VAN RUISDAEL, Jewish Cemetery, ca. 1655–1660. Oil on canvas, 4’ 6” X 6’ 2 1/2". Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit (gift of Julius H. Haass in memory of his brother, Dr. Ernest W. Haass).

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Jan Vermeer

• Not much is known about his life, but he is considered one of the Dutch masters

• Typical paintings have light coming from source on left side, uses yellows and blues, subjects tended to be women

• Believed to have used the camera obscura, an instrument that created an image through a hole set inside a dark box

Vermeer Small, luminous, and captivating paintingsIntimate Dutch interiors of insignificant events (in other words, not religious)Classical serenity to his imagesShadows are not colorless

JAN VERMEER, The Kitchen Maid

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JAN VERMEER, Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1664. Oil on canvas, 1’ 3 7/8” X 1’ 2”. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Widener Collection).

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JAN VERMEER, Allegory of the Art of Painting, 1670–1675. Oil on canvas, 4’ 4” x 3’ 8”. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

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JAN VERMEER, The Letter, 1666. Oil on canvas, 1’ 5 1/4” x 1’ 3 1/4”. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

JAN VERMEER, The Girl With the Red Hat

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Camera Obscura

• A technical aid, widelv used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which consisted of a darkened box or tent containing lenses and a mirror. The artist could project the image of an object or landscape onto the oil painting surface and then trace it out in charcoal or graphite.

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JAN VERMEER, View of Delft, ca. 1661. Oil on canvas, 3’ 2 1/2” X 3’ 10 1/4”. Mauritshuis, The Hague.

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JAN STEEN, The Feast of Saint Nicholas, ca. 1660–1665. Oil on canvas, 2’ 8 1/4” x 2’ 3 3/4”. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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CLARA PEETERS, Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels, 1611. Oil on panel, 1’ 7 3/4” x 2’ 1 1/4”. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

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PIETER CLAESZ, Vanitas Still Life, 1630s. Oil on panel, 1’ 2” x 1’ 11 1/2”. Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg.

• vanitas: literally ‘worthlessness’ refers to death and the emptiness of life. Vanity of personal possessions

• Calvinist Moral standardswork ethicscientistscollected art and

curious objects• Northern artists loved the

detail

William Claesz Heda, Still Life with Oysters, Rum Glass, and Silver Cup

• Accumulated material wealth

• Symbolic references to death?– Fruit– Oysters– Broken glass

tipped over cup• A presence has

disappeared

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WILLEM KALF, Still Life with a Late Ming Ginger Jar, 1669. Oil on canvas, 2’ 6” x 2’ 1 3/4”. Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis.

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RACHEL RUYSCH, Flower Still Life, after 1700. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5 3/4” x 1’ 11 7/8”. The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo

The Rise of France

• France really shifted the center of European art and culture away from Italy– Italy began to dominate art in

the 1300’s with the return to the classics

• When Louis XIV took over in France in 1661, everything changed

• He reigned for 54 years, established France as the leading superpower

• From 1661-1789 French art took prominence

French Society 1600-1700

• King Louis XIV– Obsessive control determined

the direction of society and culture

– Created the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture Largest and most powerful European country of 17th century

– Not as wealthy as Dutch society

• After Reformation, Protestants challenged royal authority– 1598 King Henry IV issued

the Edict of Nantes• Granted religious freedom,

but Protestants were still driven from the country

The “Sun King”

• Louis XIV (1661-1715) defined his era• All life “revolved” around him, he envisioned

himself as Apollo• Oversaw the construction of Versailles –

palace and gardens were unfortified• Style emphasized glory; lavish and luxurious• At 63, most famous portrait not just for the

opulence of his position, but also the vanity of his legs!

French Baroque

• No motion or emotive gesture

• Calm, classical repose• Even Lighting• Lacking surface detail• Simplified body volumes• Organized picture plane• Grand Theme-no genre

scenes

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NICOLAS POUSSIN, Et in Arcadia Ego, ca. 1655. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’ 10” x 4’. Louvre, Paris.

• Even in Arcadia, I am present

• Precursors?– Titian – Raphael

• Female spirit of death• How Classicizing?

– Moderation– Grouping-orderly– Bodies: classical

statuary– Reserved, thoughtful

mood– Idealized landscape– Even lighting

“The Arcadian Landscape”

• Landscape painting began with the backgrounds of Venetian paintings

CLAUDE LORRAIN, Landscape with Cattle and Peasants, 1629.

GIORGIONE and/or TITIAN, Pastoral Symphony, 1508

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The Arcadian LandscapeArcadia is a mountainous region in the heart of the Peloponesse, Greece. Due to its inaccessibility, Arcadia was isolated in the ancient times and its people, away from civilization, were living a pastoral life.

The concept of a pure life in accordance to the nature was praised in the Hellenistic era poems of Theocritus and in the bucolic ones of Horatius and it became very popular among the elites during the late antiquity.Classicism in the 17th century revived this love towards nature.

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NICOLAS POUSSIN, Burial of Phocion, 1648. Oil on canvas, 3’ 11” x 5’ 10”. Louvre, Paris.

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CLAUDE LORRAIN, Landscape with Cattle and Peasants, 1629. Oil on canvas, 3’ 6” x 4’ 10 1/2”. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

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LOUIS LE NAIN, Family of Country People, ca. 1640. Oil on canvas, 3’ 8” x 5’ 2”. Louvre, Paris.

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GEORGES DE LA TOUR, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1645–1650. Oil on canvas, approx. 3’ 6” x 4’ 6”. Louvre, Paris.

• Classical Influence?– Calmness– No motion – No surface detail

• Light: influences and effects?– Caravaggio– Material light( precise

shadows), not spiritual• Style:

– synthesis of classic composure, spirituality, genre realism

• Hardship: 30 years war

• Stoic• Feeling of the

picture?– Dignity– Similar to Dutch

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JACQUES CALLOT, Hanging Tree, from the Miseries of War series, 1629–1633. Etching, 3 3/4” x 7 1/4”.