FRIDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2012

   Today, we have corrected the scheme about Baroque art. This period lasted from the 17th to the 18th century. Mónica has read the main features of Baroque art: it was exuberant and exaggerated, there was predominance of movement (use of curved lines, concave and convex) and artists used light and colour more than drawing and they were interested in surprising the audience. They represented complexity and realism as well.
   There were many differences between Renaissance and Baroque art, and Paqui has shown us a Power Point presentation showing us these differences.
Baroque art was a reflection of society, so it was the art of Absolute Monarchy, because monarchs wanted to show their power with magnificent buildings, such as big palaces and it was also the art of Counter-Reformation, because the Catholic Church wanted to reaffirm their power with impressing works of art. Furthermore, in the Protestant countries bourgeois commissioned Baroque works of art.
   Then, we have talked about architecture. The main purpose of architects was to give movement to the buildings, using curved lines, spirals, Solomonic columns, games of lights and shadows... The main architect was Bernini, who built Saint Andrea all Quirinale and the Square and colonnade of Saint Peter of the Vatican, among others. Paqui has explained that the last building is so big because Bernini wanted to strike the audience.
Another important architect was Francesco Borromini, who built the Church of San Carlo alle quattro Fontane and the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri.

The Colonnade of Saint Peter's Square

   Paqui has shown us photos about the Versailles Palace, a Baroque building, built by Luis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and André Le Nôtre. It is a royal château since Louis XIV moved to Versailles, leaving the Louvre Palace. The teacher has showed us photos of the gardens of the palace or the Hall of the mirrors which was built to shock Louis XIV's visitors.

Versailles Palace

Ecstasy of Santa Theresa

   Afterwards, we have described the main characteristics of Baroque sculpture: sulptors wanted to represent movement, capture fleeting movements and provoke emotion and surprise, so they used curved lines and represented cloth folds with great detail. Among the main artists were Nicola Salvi, who sculpted Fontana di Trevi and Bernini, the most important sculptor in Baroque style. He did Apollo and Daphne, trying to capture the moment in which Daphne converted into a tree, The Fountain of the Newt, The Fountain of the Four Rivers... Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, a Bernini's sculpture, created many polemics between the clergy. Paqui has explained that it represents a religious scene, but, like some members of the clergy had a dirty mind, they saw a sexual scene.

Apollo and Daphne

   Then, we have talked about painting. Painters used oil painting and complex compositions, like foreshortened figures, asymmetry and curved lines, in order to shock the audience Moreover, there was a predominance of colour over drawing and a supremacy of movement and realism over Renaissance's balance and idealism.

The crucifixion of St. Peter

Michelangelo Caravaggio is an Italian painter. He painted The 

crucifixion of Saint Peter in 1601, which represents the martyrdom of Saint Peter, who was crucified upside down, because Saint Peter didn't consider himself as important as Jesus Christ. The picture was painted on oil on canvas. The insistence in the diagonals like in the cross, in Saint Peter's positions and the soldiers confirm that it is a Baroque painting. The man backwards in the foreground is a foreshortened figure, which is another Baroque feature, together with the contrast between light and shadows.

    Other Caravaggio's paintings were The Conversion of St Paul, which represents St. Paul after he fell down of a horse after he saw a bright light, but in a different way: the horse takes up most of the space and there is a light that illuminates St, Paul, but not the servant or the horse (this light represents the presence that St.Paul noticed) or The Calling of St. Matthew, which represents Christ's call to Matthew.

Caravaggio also painted Death of the Virgin, which represents the Virgin Mary dead in a bed. Surrounding the Virgin are overcome Mary Magdalen and apostles. The painting caused a stir and was rejected by the parish, which accused Caravaggio of modelling a prostitute as the Virgin, and because the woman was pregnant and young.

The death of the Virgin

The Calling of St. Matthew

The Conversion of St. Paul

     Peter Paul Rubens was another Baroque painter, who painted The Duke of Lerma, the Adoration of te Magi and the Three Graces, which represents a sensual beauty and the ideal of Baroque women.

At last, the teacher has shown us some paintings of Rembrant Van Rijn, such as his Self Portraits, among them 22 years old, With two circles and 63 years old and Anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.

    Paqui has written on the blackboard some words: foreshortened figure (escorzo), which means "represent as having less depth or distance than in reality, so as to convey an effect of perspective"; overelaborated (decoration), recargado/a; to shock, impactar; fleeting, fugaz and laurel, laurel.

Here you have some links about some Baroque artists:
-Michelangelo Bounarroti

-Peter Paul Rubens

-Gian Lorenzo Bernini
And if you want to know more about the Versailles Palace, you can click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles or go to the official website
http://www.chateauversailles.fr/homepage