SECULAR AND ROYAL BAROQUE study guide
What is the significance of Francis Bacon's work? Provide a brief summary of his ideas.
.Francis Bacon is often called the champion of the empirical method, which means the scientific steps. One of his ideas was that people's sensory experiences provided the best possible means of making sense of the world. Because humans could incorrectly interpret anything they saw, heard, smelled, tasted, or felt, Bacon insisted that they must doubt everything before assuming its truth. Bacon also insisted that experiments must be consistently repeated before truth can be known: a scientist must show that patients exposed to a specific variable more frequently got sick again, and again, and again.
What is genre painting? Provide an example from this week's art.
A Genre painting is a scene from everyday life and a example is the Feast of Saint Nicholas.
What is an absolute monarch? From where did Louis XIV claim to get his authority to rule?
Absolute Monarch is when the King/Queen makes all governmental and political decisions for the country. The claim that Louis XIV got was that he was the next son in line for the throne and he had the Divine Right or sovereignty to govern his people.
Versailles
Artist: Charles le Brun Style: Royal Baroque Facts: 1. The ceilings were painted to place Louis in the company of the Greek gods, busts of him in a huge formal curly wig staring at you wherever you go. 2. The king's official state bedroom is one, where the incredibly detailed lever (rising) and coucher (going to sleep) rituals would be performed each day. 3. The most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors, which runs along the entire length of the central building.
Las Meninas
Artist: Diego Velázquez Style: Royal Baroque Facts: 1. In this painting, Velázquez is painting the painting that we are looking at. 2. This painting was meant for the study of the king of Spain. 3. Some art historians have said that this painting is in part a way for the artist to promote himself and to show his importance to the court.
Louis XIV
Artist: Hyacinthe Rigaud Style: Royal Baroque Facts: 1. Louis, as the focal point, stands in the center of the canvas, his body angled slightly while his face is turned to meet the viewer with the confidence and directness expected from a king. 2. ouis' pose, like Charles' before him, allows him to literally look down on the viewer, despite both monarchs being quite short. 3. Louis' hair cascades down his royal robes—representing a still youthful and robust king.
Feast of Saint Nicholas
Artist: Jan Steen Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. In this painting, Jan Steen captures the joys of a family gathering together in their home to celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas, still one of the most important holidays on the Dutch calendar. 2. Steen incorporates many of the Feast of St. Nicholas traditions in his painting while also expertly representing the actions and expressions of the children in this middle-class family as they react to the morning's events. 3. In the painting, the toddler hugs a gingerbread version of St. Nicholas, which is a reminder of who is being honored on this joyous occasion.
Girl Holding a Balance
Artist: Jan Vermeer Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. The woman in this painted was dressed in fine clothes which meant that she was apart of the upper merchant class in Holland in the 17th century. 2. There is nothing holding the balance up and it's as if she is waiting for the balance to come to rest. 3. Behind the women is a painting that shows that shows the image of Christ at the last judgment.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Artist: Jan Vermeer Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. This painting was the centerpiece of a film and a novel. 2. This painting is sometimes referred to as the Dutch's Mona Lisa. 3. This painting is a tronie, which is a representation of a character or a particular type of person.
The Proposition
Artist: Judith Leyster Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. This painting is an enigmatic painting with an ambiguous subject. 2. This was painted by one of the few well-known female artists working in the Dutch Republic, its subject matter is unusual in Dutch art, though it has strong ties to several visual and symbolic traditions. 3. Another name for this paining is "Man Offering Money to a Woman by the Mauritshuis Museum".
Et in Arcadio Ego
Artist: Nicolas Poussin Style: Royal Baroque Facts: 1. The drapery looks back to ancient Greece and the Classical period. 2. The tomb in the paining isn't new and has been harmed over time. 3. This painting is a bridge back in time. Poussin was really interested in the archeology of the past and he wanted to show that in his painting and that is what the viewer sees here in this one.
The Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseilles
Artist: Peter Paul Rubens Style: Royal Baroque Facts: 1. The painting was one of a cycle that showed the life of one of the most powerful women in Europe at the time. 2. This painting marks the beginning of her destiny as queen of France. 3. The sea Gods below are holding up the ship fast to the land
Flower Still Life
Artist: Rachel Ruysch Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. Flowers Still Life depicts a profusion of scientifically accurate floral details. 2. Flower Still Life depicts a lush variety of different flowers, from popular common European blooms to rare overseas species. 3. In Flowers Still Life, some flowers wilt and die while insects have eaten holes in the leaves.
The Night Watch
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. Night Watch is not a night scene at all; it actually takes place during the day. 2. Rembrandt's Night Watch is an example of a very specific type of painting that was exclusive to the Northern Netherlands, with the majority being commissioned in the city of Amsterdam. 3. While a number of different weapons are included in the painting, the most prominent weapon is the musket, the official weapon of the Kloveniers.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn Style: Northern Baroque Facts: 1. This scene that Van Rijn is showing in this painting is from a lecture in 1632. 2. This painting was a group portrait, which was an important type of painting in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. 3. Artists during this time looked to professional and the middle class for patronage, which we see in this painting.
In what ways is Royal Baroque similar to the Baroque style produced by the Roman Catholic Church?
Both, the Royal Baroque and Baroque style produced by the Roman Catholic Church, used diagonals, bright colors, moments in action. They were both commissioned by people who have a lot of money and they used light and dark in their works.
What geographical areas are associated with the Northern Baroque and Royal Baroque styles?
France and Spain.
What are the common subjects depicted in Northern Baroque art? Provide examples.
One of the common subjects that was shown was Still life and some examples are flowers or indoor décor. Another common subject were People in their homes. Some examples of this were girl holding a balance, flower still life, and girl with a pearl earring
It is said that Louis understood the importance of propaganda. What is propaganda and how might we understand his portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud to be an example?
Propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. We understand this by the Portrait by Rigaud in which the painting showed that he had power, wealth, and that he was strong in all aspects.
What is a still-life? Why is the one by Rachel Ruysch considered an example of vanitas? What does that mean?
Still-life is a painting of something that is still such as flowers or décor. Artists used this a practice. A Vanitas painting is a vanity painting in which it reminds us that beauty fades due to the wilting flowers on the outside
Describe how patronage (funding sources for art) is different in the Protestant North and why. How does this impact the art produced? Who are the patrons of Northern Baroque art, Baroque art (covered last week), and Royal Baroque art?
The Patrons of the Northern Protestants were the middle-class merchants. The impact that it had on the art that was that the middle class were eager to express its status, and its new sense of national pride, through the purchase of art. The Royal Baroque art patrons were the royal families. The Baroque art patrons were the church and the high church members. The Northern Baroque art patrons were the middle-class merchants.
How did the printing press aid the Protestant Reformation and Scientific Revolution?
The printing press helped spread new ideas faster, helped the success of the Protestant Revolution and it cut down prices of books.
How to the advances in science and philosophy appear to impact works of art in the Northern Baroque style? Provide a detailed example.
These advances appear in the way that it embodies intellectual fervor of the age and it opposes lavish excess of Church Baroque in Rome. An example is Vernacular, which is art reflected in the actual time and place in the artist lived.
