Baroque Artworks

The Topper at Eumaeus is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio. It was secured in 1601 and now in London. Originally, this painting was commissioned and paid for by Sir Iaco Mate, brother of Cardinal Girolamo Mate. He first appears as a travelling man on a journey to the town of Eumaeus, not recognized as Christ. It is only at dinner, when he breaks bread, that the disciples recognize him as Christ. Caravaggio painted another version of the Topper at Eumaeus in 1606. By comparison, the gestures of the figures are far more restrained, making presence more important than performance. The Conversion of St. Paul, painted in 1601 for the Serrati Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. The painting depicts this moment recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. Except Caravaggio has Saul pulling up a horse on the road to Damascus, seeing a blinding light and hearing the voice of Jesus. For Saul, this is a moment of intense religious ecstasy. He is lying on the ground, supine, eyes shut, with his legs spread and his arms raised upwards, as if embracing his bishop. This is the entombment of Caravaggio's most monumental and admired altarpiece in 1603-1604. It was painted for the Chapel of the Pietà in Cirganova, the Church of Santa Maria in Valicella, Rome, which was built for the Congregation of Priests, founded in 1561 by St. Philip Mary. The painting consists of a tightly compact figurative group consisting of six people, including the dead Christ. The upper half of Christ is being supported by John the Evangelist, his right hand in the Virgin Tree fingering Christ's dead womb. The lower half is carried supported by St. Nicodemus, who traditionally removed the nails from Christ's feet on the cross. The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, 1647-1652 A depiction of a mystical experience of the great Spanish Carmelite reformer Teresa of Avila in representing Teresa's vision, during which an angel pierced her heart with the fiery arrow of divine love, Bernini followed Teresa's own description of the event. The sculptured group, showing the transported saint swinging in the void, covered by cascading drapery, is revealed in celestial light within a niche over the altar, where the architectural and decorative elements are richly joined and articulated. St. Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome. The open space which lies before the basilica is redesigned by Gian Lorenzo Bernini from 1656-1667 under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt designed so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessings, either from the middle of the façade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace. Samson and Delilah is a painting by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, which is displayed in the National Gallery. It dates from about 1609-1610. The painting was originally commissioned by Nicolas Rocox, Lord Mayor of Antwerp, Belgium, for his Rocox House. The painting depicts an episode from the Old Testament story of Samson and Delilah. Samson was a Hebrew hero known for fighting the Philistines. Having fallen in love with Delilah, who has been bribed by the Philistines, Samson tells her the secret of his great strength, his uncut hair. Without his strength, Samson is captured by the Philistines. This view shows the medieval tower situated at the back of the house. There is a second version of this composition in Berlin, which seems to have been used as a study for a large composition of tournament in front of the castle. Helena Forment was the second wife of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. She was the subject of a few portraits by Rubens and also modeled for other religious and mythological paintings. The painting bears witness to Rubens' technical skill in the rendering of the texture and use of the black satin dress, the balanced harmony of the striking volume, the elegance and the smooth flesh tones, and the audacious and triumphant plasticity of the forms. The low line of the horizon accentuates the monumental verticality of the figure. Who wears a black satin dress and a broad-brimmed hat wearing an ostrich feather? This is a Baroque style mythological painting dated back in 1639 by famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. In this anthology, there are three main goddesses, namely the goddess of flesh and charm, the goddess of type of all deeds, and the goddess of gratitude. Rubens presents the three races as beautiful, voluptuous virgins, who are completely naked except for the fine, transparent fabrics adorning their legs partially. The backdrop comprises the sky, trees, flowers, and the landscape of a typical garden. Self-portrait at the age of 63 is a self-portrait by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, one of three dating to 1669. It was one of the last in his series of around 80 self-portraits, painted in the months before his death in October 1669. Despite the closeness of his death and the concentration on his aging face, Rembrandt makes an impression of a self-assured and confident artist. It was bought by the National Gallery London in 1851. This is a painting by Diego Velázquez. It was completed during the year 1634 by the Genoese-born Spanish general who conquered Breda on June 5, 1625. The painting depicts the change of the key of Breda from the Dutch possessions to the Spanish. Las Meninas is Spanish for The Ladies in Waiting is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Its complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures depicted. Because of these complexities, Las Meninas has been one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting. Portrait of the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain is a 1653 portrait by Diego Velázquez of Maria Teresa of Spain This painting is probably one of three portraits sent to potential suitors of Maria Teresa, the daughter of Spain's King Philip XIV and ultimately the wife of Louis XIV of France. In portraying the royal family, Velázquez generally painted a bust-length portrait from life, which he and his assistants would use as a model in creating full-length versions. The freshness of the colors and the brushwork in this painting stress the desirability of the 15-year-old princess and suggest that Velázquez was closely associated with its production.