17th Century Northern European Art and Architecture

Spain, 1600-1700 Baroque

- Although the power of the Habsburg kings of Spain declined over the course of the 17th century, the royal family, which was devoutly Catholic, continued to spend lavishly on art. Spanish artists eagerly embraced the drama and emotionalism of Italian Baroque art. Scenes of death and martyrdom were popular in Spain during the Counter-Reformation. - The greatest Spanish Baroque painter was Diego Velazquez, court painter to Philip IV (r. 1621-1665). Velazquez painted a wide variety of themes ranging from religious subjects to royal portraits and historical events. His masterwork, Las Meninas, is extraordinarily complex visually and mixes true spaces, mirrored spaces, pictured spaces, and pictures within pictures. It is a celebration of the art of painting itself

England, 1600-1700

- In 17th century England, architecture was the most important art form. Two architects who achieved international fame were Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren, who harmonized the architectural principles of Andrea Palladio with the Italian Baroque and French classical style

Flanders, 1600-1700

- In the 17th century, Flanders remained Catholic and under Spanish control. Flemish Baroque art is more closely tied to the Baroque art of Italy than is the art of much of the rest of Northern Europe - The leading Flemish painter of this era was Peter Paul Rubens, whose work and influence were international in scope. A diplomat as well as an artist, he counted kings and queen among his patrons and friends. His paintings of the career or Marie de Medici exhibit Baroque splendor in color and ornament, and feature Ruben's characteristic robust and foreshortened figures in swirling motion

Dutch Republic, 1600-1700

- The Dutch Republic received official recognition of its independence from Spain in the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648. Worldwide trade and banking brought prosperity to its predominantly Protestant citizenry, which largely rejected church art in favor of private commissions of portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, and still lifes - Frans Hals produced innovative portraits of middle class patrons in which a lively informality replaced the formulaic patterns of traditional portraiture. Jacob van Ruisdael specialized in landscapes depicting specific places, not idealized Renaissance settings. Pieter Claesz, Willem Kalf, and others painted vanitas still lifes featuring meticulous depictions of worldly goods and reminders of death - Rembrandt, the greatest Dutch artists of the ages, treated a broad range of subjects, including religious themes and portraits. His oil paintings are notable for their dramatic impact and subtle gradations of light and shade as well as the artist's ability to convey human emotion. -Jan Vermeer specialized in painting Dutch families in serenely opulent homes. Vermeer's convincing representation of interior spaces depended in part on his employment of the camera obscura. He was also a master of light and color and understood that shadows are not colorless

France, 1600-1700

- The major art patron in 17th century France was the Sun King, the absolutist monarch Louis XIV, who expanded the Louvre and built a gigantic palace-and-garden complex at Versailles featuring sumptuous furnishings and sweeping vistas. Among the architects Louis employed were Charles Le Brun and Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who succeeded in marrying Italian Baroque and French classical styles - The leading French proponent of classical painting was Nicholas Poussin, who spent most of his life in Rome and championed the grand manner of painting, which called for heroic or divine subjects and classical composition with figures often modeled on ancient statues - Claude Lorrain, whose fame rivaled Poussin's, specialized in classical landscape rendered in linear and atmospheric perspective. His compositions often incorporated ancient ruins