Art 201: The Baroque Style: Part II

This online lecture is the second of two lectures that I have on the Baroque style. The first lecture covers Italian Baroque art, which is so incredible it deserves its own lecture. Now this is not to say that the other regions of Europe that work within the Baroque style are not as equally incredible, but Caravaggio did not come from Spain, France, or the Netherlands, so that is a little bit of a detriment to these regions. Now that is by the way what we're going to be looking at in this lecture, paintings produced in Spain, France, and the Netherlands. We start with the Spanish Baroque style. Now the Spanish Baroque style is somewhat similar to the Italian Baroque style in that they both share the context of the Counter-Reformation. Counter-Reformation is the Catholic Church's response to the Reformation, where they are creating artwork that is very traumatic and very emotional to appeal to the emotions of the viewer as a way to perhaps encourage them to give up on this nonsense that is the Protestant faith to come back to or remain with the Church. Now there is though one important difference that exists here and that has to do with the level of drama. The Spanish believe it or not try to take it one step further in terms of dramatic and emotional artwork and they do so through their choice of subject matter and the subject matter that they choose are martyrs. And you could see how this could really amp up the emotional appeal of the work because you're taking these people that are wrongfully killed because of their religious beliefs. Now here we have an example of a martyr painting coming from the Spanish Baroque period and this is a piece that is by the artist José de Ribera. Now Ribera is influenced by Caravaggio and honestly who isn't influenced by Caravaggio during the Baroque period? Okay there are some artists that aren't but most are. Caravaggio is incredible. We've already established this. Now the way in which we see a Caravaggio influence in this painting is not through tenebrism. A lot of people see dark shadows and they think oh tenebrism but actually not not quite, not quite. It's not the the pitch black with the forms emerging out. What is Caravaggio-esque about this painting is the naturalism and you may recall this this idea that with Caravaggio's naturalism that it's not simply true to life but more so showing people from lower class backgrounds that are wearing the same clothing that the contemporary viewer would be wearing as well. So things that people are wearing at that time they're seeing represented in the painting and this is very effective because this allows for this painting to have further appeal. The people that look at this painting essentially are looking at people within their peer group, people that they can relate to. These aren't like random people in togas from the classical period nor are these you know rich kings with fancy clothes on. These are people that look like them. It allows for the viewer to better identify with the subject which is again working well with counter-reformation aims of recruiting people back or you know encouraging people to stay within the church. Now with Ribera's work okay he creates these very naturalistic realistic images but there's a level of violence to him, a level of brutality and this was something that kind of made people uneasy. They weren't exactly used to seeing violent images and a lot of people argue though that it was appropriate that people were feeling like their faith was under attack and that it made sense for these images to be so violent and so gruesome. And this is this pretty pretty gruesome story the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew who was a guy who was martyred by having his skin removed from his body while he is still alive. So we see that about to happen where he's strung up and they're hoisting him up so that they can peel all of the skin off of his body. Now the choice of showing this moment is actually I think pretty smart on the part of the artist. By having the arms up in this manner creates these really bold diagonal lines which we know create a sense of tension. It works well and that this subject matter isn't something that really people should be feeling comfortable with. The other thing though is take a look at the body. Here we have a martyr who has his arms kind of raised up and sort of spread out. Does this remind you of anybody else? If you're thinking of Jesus you would be correct and this is really appropriate because Jesus is like the ultimate martyr and so when people see this image they think of Jesus and it really helps to create further sympathy for maybe this figure who is a bit more obscure this guy named Bartholomew. Now the other thing that is important to consider when thinking about the way that emotion is communicated within this work is the positioning of the figures. You'll notice that this figure really is the only one whose face can be seen in entirety. All of the other figures have our backs to us, maybe in profile, partially blocked face. You can kind of see these people from the front but they're in the background. They're not very that much visually prominent. By having this face here, it's at the center of the composition, we have implied lines that lead the viewer's eye. This becomes the focus and what we see when we look upon this face is something that's quite sad. How could you not feel sad for what we're looking at here? You see a man who is scared. You see a man who is really contemplating his death which will be happening in mere moments in an extremely painful way. Here's another example of a Spanish broke martyr painting. Now you can see that as with the previous painting that this one also exhibits an influence coming from Caravaggio. Now in this painting we do see the tenebrism. You do see that the black, black, black shadow with this illuminated figure that's emerging out. You could also make the argument that this features some of that Caravaggio naturalism as well. Now similar to the previous painting we do have a figure with arms raised. This maybe not as quite visually similar as the crucifixion but you could argue that perhaps this is meant to kind of subtly evoke this notion of Jesus crucified on the cross as well. Now in this image the artist has decided to take a little bit of a different approach here. This is really not quite as emotional or as dramatic as the previous painting and it could have been. Here's the story. So with this guy he went out and he was like being a missionary spreading the word. This right here is the symbol of the religious order that he belonged to and apparently people didn't really appreciate his you know missionary activity and he was kidnapped. He was tied to a tree which is what we're seeing here. Now here's where things start to get violent. So he's tied to a tree, he was tortured, and then he was murdered by being decapitated, having his head cut off. Now the artist could have chose any of these moments in the story. Very dramatic. And we've seen images of the broke period, Italian broke period, people getting their heads cut off. So we know that there's some dramatic potential within that subject matter but instead the artist has chosen to show him before the torturing and the decapitation occur where instead he looks very peaceful. He's kind of sleeping. It has almost a meditative quality. Now here we have this piece by the artist Diego Velasquez who easily is the most well known of the Spanish Baroque painters. And Velasquez is an artist who was an official court painter of the king, Philip IV. And I bring this in because you can't really talk about Spanish Baroque painting without mentioning Velasquez. But also I wanted to show you that not all Spanish Baroque paintings are overtly religious or they all have to do with martyrdom. That is an important and very strong vein within Spanish Baroque art production. But as I said there are other approaches such as the official work that Velasquez created while working for the king of Spain. Now this is probably Velasquez's most famous painting. And what makes it so famous is it's very ambiguous. That no art historians really have been able to concretely agree with what's going on here. There's a lot of debate. And this debate still goes on today where there's really not one kind of accepted interpretation of this painting. So let's take a look at at Las Meninas. So here here's a couple things we do know. Okay we do know that this is a self-portrait. So self-portraiture is a component of this painting. Here is Velasquez himself in the process of painting. This person right here this little one is the Infanta who is the daughter of the king. Velasquez has pictured himself standing on relatively the same spatial plane. A little bit behind because to be directly next to I think would be a little bit too bold. But pretty much on the same spatial plane. And what Velasquez is trying to do is he's trying to with the inclusion of his own image as well as showing a close physical proximity to the Infanta. He's trying to elevate the position of artists to suggest that artists are really important. It's a noble and respected profession. Look how close he gets to interact with the royal family. Okay that's all we know. So let's talk about conjecture and guessing. So we have Velasquez and he's painting this painting. What is he painting? Now it might seem pretty obvious. Oh he's painting the Infanta right here. He's taking a break. He's stepping back. He's assessing his work. Her ladies-in-waiting have come up to tend to her or do whatever they do. There's a problem though. The area where she stands this would not be the place that she would stand if he was painting her. If he was painting her she would want to be in the space that we're in the viewer. In front of or behind this canvas that we see here. So he's not painting the Infanta. Who is he painting? Is he painting us the viewer? And if so who are we? Now there's another kind of confusing thing here. Right here in the background. This actually is an image of Philip IV and his wife. Now the way that this is angled. This canvas. And looking at this which is so different from these paintings that we see on the wall. There's an illuminated part to it that almost looks like reflecting light. Like perhaps this is a mirror. Is the mirror reflecting what Velazquez is painting? Or is the mirror reflecting the space directly in front of the mirror? Which is spatially confusing but the space that we're standing in. Is he painting the royal couple? The king and queen? Are we the viewer supposed to be kind of taking on that persona of the king and queen? Don't know. Who's this guy? Don't know. So a very mysterious and complex painting. Let's look at one more example. Here we have an example of a portrait that Velazquez painted of Philip IV of Spain. This is a great example of royal portraiture. Because it actually makes very clear some of the things that artists have to do. To make these royal portraits functional. So what I mean by that is this. These royal portraits. This one. All of them. Their intent is to communicate one very important concept. Can you guess that concept? If you guess power you're correct. These images are meant to convey power. Now if you're Holbein and you're painting King Henry VIII. This is easy. Because Henry VIII was like this obese man that was like over six feet tall. He was huge. He exudes power. But what about Velazquez? He has to paint Philip IV who was a tiny guy. He was small in stature. He also had a lot of facial deformities. Philip IV was a member of the Habsburg monarchy. Which was a family that engaged in really hardcore in breathing. So there was all kinds of physical deformities as well. So how does Velazquez take this like ugly little man and make him look powerful? What I'd like for you to do is I would like for you to pause this video. To try and conduct a formal and an iconographical analysis. Try to determine what kind of tricks Velazquez uses. To convey power coming from a man that really doesn't exude a sense of power. So pause it. Do your analysis. And then when you're done turn the video back on. And compare it to the analysis that I will provide. All right let's talk about this painting. Now first of all we have a simple compositional space. This is important okay. Because there's a blank background. We're not comparing Velazquez to the size of other men. Which could be risky because they could be bigger than him. And would therefore convey more power. We don't compare Philip the fourth to people. Or horses which also are big and strong. Or trees or mountains or anything else that's big. The plain background also makes sure that our focus stays on this person. And that in itself focusing can be conveying power. Now look at the space. The relationship of shape to space. Philip the fourth takes up the majority of the compositional space. Which makes him look larger in size whether or not he actually is. We also have this idea of having him be kind of like looking down at the viewer. So he's looking down at the viewer. And that is conveying a sense of power as well. That he looks down and that makes us look up. The looking down is an act of dominance. The looking up that we are doing is an act of submission. So that makes him seem powerful as well. Now let's talk about the clothing. The clothing itself creates a point of contrast between the plain background. The background is plain. The clothing is intricate and fancy. That grabs our attention. The clothing is red which is a warm color that pops out. Grabs the viewer's attention. Creates a nice contrast between the background. That also is going to give us a point of focus as well. Really looking at this guy. Now the clothing is fancy. All kinds of embellishments, fancy threads, silver, beautiful cloth. That conveys wealth. Wealth is connected to power. This also is a military uniform. This also conveys power because it shows that he leads the army. When we think about warfare, think about it. It is brutal and it's violent and you're active and you're fighting. These are all very masculine things. And masculinity very often is conceptualized as power. He carries a sword. This means he stabs people. So that makes him tough and strong. And then we have this. Some sort of rod. I don't really know what it is. But what I do know is it's a very obvious phallic symbol. We have this rod that is angled straight towards Philip IV's crotch. And he kind of holds on to it in this sort of almost suggestive way. So that it's just this like huge erect phallus. And of course, again, this also is a reference to masculinity. All right. The French Baroque style. Now the French Baroque style is different than the Spanish and the Italian counterparts. And what makes the French Baroque style different is it's much more faithful to the classical aesthetic. Even more so than the Italian Baroque style. It's very classical. Now this is a great painting for us to look at. Because it has some of the classical features in terms of like the really tight, crisp brushwork. It also has classical subject matter as well. So everything is classical about this. So this is perfect. Now in this image, what we're looking at is we're looking at a pastoral landscape. Now what this means is that it is a type of landscape where man and nature are shown in harmony. Perfect, beautiful harmony. Man does not overshadow nature. Nature does not overshadow man. A beautiful balance. Nature is shown as beautiful, picturesque, ideal. Which means perfect. And we can see that here. This is gorgeous, right? Beautiful sky with nice sunlight. Dramatic clouds. Not storming though. That would not be pastoral. Everything's beautiful and wonderful. Here's an example. You have these structures in the background that are all classically inspired. The boxy appearance of these structures, almost as well as the use of color, makes this almost look like a rocky outcropping. Blending the architecture with the landscape. Man does not dominate nature. Nature does not dominate man. Again, balance. Now what we're looking at is we're looking at a burial of a general. And this general was, he was kind of like in a way martyred. He was charged with treason and he was killed. It was kind of a political thing. And so in a way he was kind of killed for his political beliefs. This is very appropriate classical subject matter. Classical period, particularly Greece, was very concerned with this idea of ethics and morals and being of politically sound character. And so it kind of goes along with that idea. And I want you to think about that when we get to neoclassicism, which is going to be coming up somewhat shortly in our studies. Because neoclassicism, which comes out of France, also has that classical aesthetic to it. And it also has kind of these more politically moralizing themes as well. One other thing to mention that creates a difference between the French Baroque and the Italian and Spanish Baroque styles is that, and I hope you can see this, that the French Baroque style is more emotionally restrained. That there's really not drama or like crazy emotions. And there could be. Here's this guy killed for the wrong reasons. He's getting buried. This totally could be an opportunity for people to be like crying and gesturing and mourning and all of that sort of thing. But instead, again, it's very restrained. And again, that's typical of the French Baroque style. And we'll end with the Dutch Baroque style. The Dutch Baroque style is paintings that are produced in the Netherlands. And the Dutch Baroque style is more affiliated with the Reformation. Artwork that comes out of Northern Europe tends to be affiliated with the Reformation and the Protestants. Southern Europe is Counter-Reformation and the Catholics. With the Dutch Baroque style, we don't really have overtly religious subject matters. The Protestants didn't really feel comfortable creating overtly religious works of art. Now, this is not to say that the Dutch Baroque style does not feature religious artwork. It's just communicated in a more sort of subtle or subliminal way, which actually is the case in this painting. This is a good example of this. Now, this painting is by the artist Jan Vermeer, who is probably the most famous of the Dutch Baroque painters. And Vermeer, he's very typical Dutch Baroque in that, like other Dutch Baroque paintings, his paintings tend to be rather heavy and dark. This is highly typical of the Dutch Baroque, heavy and dark. Vermeer celebrated for creating these images of women, these quiet moments within domestic spaces. Now, this type of painting that Vermeer creates is called a genre. And this is a very confusing term because it has two meanings. Now, one meaning of genre is a type of painting. So like a landscape is a type of painting, a genre. Portraiture is a type of painting, a genre. History painting is a type of painting, a genre. Now, here's where it gets confusing. Another type of genre is genre. This is the second definition. Genre is a type of painting that depicts everyday people, everyday situations, like we see here. So here we have this Dutch Baroque painting. Highly typical in that, again, it's rather dark with these kind of dark heavy forms, but then the subliminal symbolism referencing religious messages. She holds a balance. This is a very old symbol for judgment. This dates all the way back to ancient Egypt. A primarily this idea of judging people as to determine whether or not they're worthy to enter into the afterlife. So judging. And we can kind of locate this within the last judgment. And then here, you may or may not have noticed, we have the last judgment in the background.