24: the baroque in italy and spain

Italian Baroque characteristics

- High contrasting rich colors - Heavy doses of theatricality, drama - Rich ornamentation - Diagonal, spiral or serpentine compositions - Themes: saints, restatement of Catholic doctrine - implied movement, turbulent motion - dramatic use of light - preference for organic forms

Caravaggism

17th C. painting style imitative of Caravaggio.

Baroque Italy Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) - San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane façade, two views1638-1641 fig. 24-8

Although Carlo Maderno incorporated sculptural elements in his designs for the facades of Santa Susanna ( FIG. 24-2 ) and Saint Peter's ( FIG. 24-3 ), those church fronts still develop along relatively lateral planes, the traditional approach to facade design. By contrast, Francesco Borromini rethought the very nature of a church facade. In his design for San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane ( FIG. 24-8 ) in Rome, he set the building's front in undulating motion, creating a dynamic counterpoint of concave and convex elements on two levels (for example, the sway of the cornices). He enhanced the three-dimensional effect with deeply recessed niches. Borromini's facade therefore stands in sharp opposition to the idea, which has its roots in antiquity, that a facade should be a flat frontispiece that defines a building's outer limits. In Borromini's hands, the church facade became a pulsating, engaging screen inserted between interior and exterior space, designed not to separate but to provide a fluid transition between the two.In fact, San Carlo has not one but two facades, underscoring the functional interrelation of the building and its environment. The second facade ( FIG. 24-8 , left), a narrow bay crowned with its own small tower, turns away from the main facade ( FIG. 24-8 , right) and, following the curve of the street, faces an intersection.end sidebar

Baroque Spain Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664) St. Serapion 1628 fig. 24-27

Another prominent Spanish painter of dramatic works was Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), whose primary patrons throughout his career were rich Spanish monastic orders. Many of his paintings are quiet and contemplative, appropriate for prayer and devotional purposes. Zurbarán painted Saint Serapion ( FIG. 24-27 ) as a devotional image for the funerary chapel of the monastic Order of Mercy in Seville, which was founded to aid Christians who had been taken prisoner by the Moors. The saint, who participated in the Third Crusade of 1196, suffered martyrdom while preaching the Gospel to Muslims. According to one account, the monk's captors tied him to a tree and then tortured and decapitated him. The Order of Mercy dedicated itself to self-sacrifice, and Serapion's membership in this order amplified the resonance of Zurbarán's painting. In Saint Serapion, the monk emerges from a dark background and fills the foreground. The bright light shining on him calls attention to the saint's tragic death and increases the dramatic impact of the image. In the background are two barely visible tree limbs to which his arms are tied at the wrists. A small note next to the saint identifies him for viewers. Like Ribera's Saint Philip, the features of Zurbarán's Spanish monk are coarse, not idealized (Serapion had not yet been declared a saint at the time Zurbarán portrayed him), no doubt evoking empathy from a wide audience.

Baroque Italy Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) - David 1623 fig. 24-6

Bernini's baldacchino is a masterpiece of the sculptor's craft even more than the architect's. In fact, although Bernini achieved an international reputation as an architect, his fame rests primarily on sculptural commissions, such as his Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ( FIG. 24-1 ). The biographer Filippo Baldinucci (1625-1696) observed: "[T]here was perhaps never anyone who manipulated marble with more facility and boldness. He gave his works a marvelous softness . . . making the marble, so to say, flexible." * Bernini's sculpture is expansive and theatrical, and the element of time usually plays an important role in it, as in his David ( FIG. 24-6 ), which predates both his Saint Teresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria and the baldacchino in Saint Peter's.Bernini surely knew the Renaissance statues of the biblical hero fashioned by Donatello ( FIG. 21-11 ), Verrocchio ( FIG. 21-12 ), and Michelangelo ( FIG. 22-13 ). His David differs fundamentally from all of them, however. Michelangelo portrayed David before his encounter with his larger-than-life adversary, and Donatello and Verrocchio depicted David after his triumph over Goliath. Bernini chose to represent the combat itself and aimed to capture the split-second of maximum action. Bernini's David has his muscular legs firmly planted, straddling his lyre. (David is here psalmist as well as hero.) The body armor at David's feet is the protection that King Saul offered him but that David rejected because he placed his faith in the Lord.In Bernini's statue, David begins the violent, pivoting motion that will launch the stone from his sling. (A bag full of stones is at David's left hip, suggesting that he thought the fight would be tough and long.) Unlike Myron, the fifth-century bce Greek sculptor who froze his discus thrower ( FIG. 5-40 ) at a fleeting moment of inaction, Bernini selected the most dramatic of an implied sequence of poses, requiring the viewer to think simultaneously of the continuum and of this tiny fraction of it. The suggested series of movements imparts a dynamic quality to the statue. The energy that is confined in Michelangelo's figures ( FIGS. 22-14 and 22-15 ) bursts forth in Bernini's David. The Baroque statue seems to be moving through time and through space. This kind of sculpture cannot be inscribed in a cylinder or confined in a niche. Its unrestrained action demands space around it. Nor is it self-sufficient in the Renaissance sense, as its pose and attitude direct attention beyond it to the unseen Goliath. Bernini's David moves out into the space surrounding it, as do Apollo and Daphne in the marble group ( FIG. 24-6A ) he carved for the same patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1576-1633). Further, the expression of intense concentration on David's face contrasts vividly with the classically placid visages of Donatello's and Verrocchio's versions and is more emotionally charged even than Michelangelo's. The tension in David's face augments the dramatic impact of Bernini's sculpture.

Baroque Italy Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) - Baldacchino in St. Peter's Basilica 1624-1633 fig. 24-5

Bernini's colonnaded piazza in front of Saint Peter's was neither his first nor his last project for the Vatican. For Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-1667) he tackled the difficult problem of designing a stairway in the papal palace, the Scala Regia ( FIG. 24-4A ). Within the great basilica itself, he erected a gigantic bronze baldacchino ( FIG. 24-5 ) directly beneath Giacomo della Porta's dome ( FIG. 22-25 ). Completed between 1624 and 1633, the canopy-like structure ( baldacco is Italian for "silk from Baghdad," such as for a cloth canopy) stands almost 100 feet high (the height of an average eight-story building) and serves both functional and symbolic purposes. It frames the high altar in the nave and marks the location of the tomb of Saint Peter beneath the basilica, and also provides a dramatic, compelling presence at the crossing, visually bridging the marble floor and the lofty vaults and dome above. Its 66-foot-tall columns also serve as a frame for the elaborate sculpture representing the throne of Saint Peter (the Cathedra Petri) at the far end of the nave ( FIG. 24-5 , rear).On a symbolic level, the baldacchino's decorative elements speak to the power of the Catholic Church and of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-1644). Partially fluted and wreathed with laurel, the structure's four spiral columns are Baroque versions of the comparable columns (said to have been brought to Rome by Constantine from Solomon's temple in Jerusalem) of the ancient baldacchino over the same spot in Old Saint Peter's, thereby invoking the past to reinforce the primacy of the Church of Rome in the 17th century. At the top of Bernini's bronze columns, four colossal angels stand guard at the upper corners of the canopy. Forming the canopy's apex are four serpentine brackets that elevate the orb and the cross. Since the time of Constantine ( FIG. 7-79 , right; compare FIG. 9-2 ), the orb and the cross had served as symbols of the Church's triumph. The baldacchino also features numerous bees, symbols of Urban VIII's family, the Barberini. Bernini's design thus effectively gives visual form to the triumph of Christianity and to the papal claim to supremacy in formulating Church doctrine.The construction of the baldacchino was itself a remarkable feat. Each of the bronze columns consists of five sections cast from wood models using the lost-wax process (see " Hollow-Casting "). Although Bernini did some of the work himself, including cleaning and repairing the wax molds and doing the final cleaning and chasing (engraving and embossing) of the bronze casts, he contracted out much of the project to experienced bronze-casters and sculptors. The superstructure is predominantly cast bronze, although some of the sculptural elements are brass or wood. The enormous scale of the baldacchino required a considerable amount of bronze. On Urban VIII's orders, workmen dismantled the portico of the ancient Roman temple of all gods, the Pantheon ( FIG. 7-49 ), to acquire the bronze for the baldacchino—an ideologically appropriate act highlighting the Church's rejection of polytheism.The concepts of triumph and grandeur permeate every aspect of the 17th-century design of Saint Peter's. Suggesting a great and solemn procession, the main axis of the complex traverses the piazza (marked by the central obelisk; FIG. 24-4 ) and enters Maderno's nave. It comes to a temporary halt at the altar beneath Bernini's baldacchino ( FIG. 24-5 ), but it continues on toward its climactic destination at another great altar in the apse.

Baroque Italy Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) - Façade of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza begun 1642 fig. 24-11

Borromini carried the unification of interior space even further in Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza ( FIG. 24-11 ), the little church dedicated to Saint Ives, the patron saint of jurists, at the east end of the courtyard of the "Sapienza," the 17th-century seat of the University of Rome ( sapienza means "wisdom" or "learning" in Italian). In his characteristic manner, Borromini played concave against convex forms on the upper level of the chapel's exterior. The arcaded courtyard, which frames the lower levels of the chapel's facade, had already been constructed when Borromini began work, and he adjusted his design to achieve a harmonious merging of the new and older parts of the college. Above the concave lower two stories of the church rises a convex drumlike structure that supports the dome's lower parts. Clusters of pilasters restrain the forces that seem to push the bulging forms outward. Buttresses above the pilasters curve upward to brace a tall, ornate lantern topped by a spiral that, screwlike, seems to fasten the structure to the sky.The centralized plan ( FIG. 24-12 ) of the interior of Sant'Ivo is that of a hexagonal star with rounded points and apses on all sides. Indentations and projections along the angled, curving walls create a highly complex plan, with all the elements fully reflected in the interior elevation. From floor to lantern, the wall panels rise in a continuously tapering sweep halted only momentarily by a single horizontal cornice ( FIG. 24-13 ). Thus the dome is not a separate unit placed on a supporting block, as in Renaissance buildings. It is an organic part that evolves out of and shares the qualities of the supporting walls, and it cannot be separated from them. This carefully designed progression up through the lantern creates a dynamic and cohesive shell that encloses and energetically molds a scalloped fragment of space. Few architects have matched Borromini's ability to translate extremely complicated designs into masterfully unified structures.

Baroque Italy Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (1573-1610) - Conversion of St. Paul c. 1601 fig. 24-17A

Caravaggio painted Conversion of Saint Paul ( FIG. 24-17A ) for the Cerasi chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. As in the artist's Calling of Saint Matthew ( FIG. 24-17 ), a piercing ray of light illuminates a world of darkness and bears a spiritual message. Here, Caravaggio depicted the saint-to-be at the moment of his conversion, flat on his back with his arms thrown up. In the background, an old groom seems preoccupied with caring for the horse. At first inspection, little in the canvas suggests the momentous significance of the unfolding spiritual event. The viewer could be witnessing a mere stable accident, not a man overcome by a great miracle. Although many of his contemporaries criticized Caravaggio for departing from traditional depictions of religious scenes (see " Giovanni Pietro Bellori on Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio "), the eloquence and humanity with which he imbued his paintings impressed many others.To compel worshipers' interest and involvement in Paul's conversion, Caravaggio employed a variety of ingenious formal devices. Here, as in the slightly later Entombment ( FIG. 24-17B ), he used perspective and lighting to bring viewers as close as possible to the scene's space and action, almost as if they were participants. The low horizon line adds to the sense of inclusion. Further, Caravaggio designed Conversion of Saint Paul for its specific location on the chapel wall, positioned at the line of sight of an average-height person standing at the chapel entrance. The sharply lit figures emerge from the dark background as if illuminated by the light from the chapel's windows. The lighting resembles that of a stage production and is comparable to the rays in Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ( FIG. 24-1 ). In Conversion of Saint Paul, the dramatic spotlight shining down on the fallen Paul is the light of divine revelation converting him to Christianity.end sidebar

Baroque Italy Guido Reni (1575-1642) Aurora 1613-1614 fig. 24-21

Caravaggio was not the only early-17th-century painter to win a devoted following. Guido Reni (1575-1642), known to his many admirers as "the divine Guido," trained in the Bolognese art academy founded by the Carracci family. The influence of Annibale Carracci and Raphael is evident in Aurora ( FIG. 24-21 ), a ceiling fresco in the Casino Rospigliosi in Rome. Aurora (Dawn) leads Apollo's chariot, while the Hours dance about it. Guido conceived Aurora as a quadro riportato, following the format of the paintings in Carraci's Loves of the Gods ( FIG. 24-16 ), but in the Casino Rospigliosi, the frame is real gilded stucco, not fresco painting. The composition exhibits a fluid motion and soft modeling, and is an intelligent interpretation of Raphael's style, but without the Renaissance master's sculpturesque strength. Consistent with the precepts of the Bolognese academy, Guido also looked to antiquity for models. The ultimate sources for the Aurora composition were Roman reliefs (for example, FIG. 7-42 ) and coins depicting emperors in triumphal chariots accompanied by flying Victories and other personifications.

Baroque Italy Artemisia Gentileschi (c. 1593-1683) Judith Slaying Holofernes c. 1614-1620 fig. 24-19

Caravaggio's revolutionary combination of naturalism and drama appealed to other artists as well as his patrons, and he had many followers. Among them was the most celebrated woman artist of the era, Artemisia Gentileschi (ca. 1593-1653), whose father, Orazio (1563-1639), her teacher, was himself strongly influenced by Caravaggio. The daughter's successful career, pursued in Florence, Venice, Naples, and Rome, helped disseminate Caravaggio's style throughout the peninsula.In Judith Slaying Holofernes ( FIG. 24-19 ), Gentileschi adopted the tenebrism and what might be called the "dark" subject matter that Caravaggio favored. Significantly, she chose a narrative involving a heroic woman, a favorite theme of hers. The story, from the book of Judith, relates the delivery of Israel from the Assyrians. Having succumbed to Judith's charms, the Assyrian general Holofernes invited her to his tent for the night, but having drunk too much, he soon fell asleep, whereupon Judith beheads him. In this version of the scene (Gentileschi produced more than one painting of the subject), Judith's maidservant helps hold down the awakened Holofernes, while Judith steadies his head as she wields a long sword. Blood spurts everywhere, and the tension and strain are palpable. The controlled highlights on the action in the foreground recall Caravaggio's work (compare FIG. 24-18 ) and heighten the drama here as well.

Baroque Italy Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) Loves of the Gods from the Palazzo Farnese 1597-1601 fig. 24-16

Carracci's most notable works are his frescoes ( FIG. 24-16 ) in the Palazzo Farnese ( FIGS. 22-26 and 22-27 ) in Rome. Cardinal Odoardo Farnese (1573-1626)—a wealthy descendant of Pope Paul III, who built the palace in the 16th century—commissioned Annibale to decorate the ceiling of the palace's gallery to celebrate the wedding of the cardinal's brother. Appropriately, the title of the iconographic program is Loves of the Gods—interpretations of the varieties of earthly and divine love, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses.Carracci arranged the scenes in a format resembling framed easel paintings on a wall, but in the Farnese gallery, the paintings are frescoes, not oils, and they cover a shallow curved vault. The term for this type of simulation of easel painting for ceiling design is quadro riportato ("transferred framed panel"). Many other Italian artists emulated Annibale's innovation in succeeding decades.Flanking the framed pictures are polychrome seated nude youths, who turn their heads to gaze at the scenes around them, and standing Atlas figures painted to resemble marble statues. Carracci derived these motifs from the Sistine Chapel ceiling ( FIG. 22-17 ), but he did not copy Michelangelo's figures. Notably, the chiaroscuro of the Farnese gallery frescoes differs for the pictures and the figures surrounding them. Carracci modeled the figures inside the panels in an even light. By contrast, light from beneath illuminates the outside figures, as if they were tangible three-dimensional beings or statues lit by torches in the gallery below. This interest in illusion, already manifest in the Renaissance, continued in the grand ceiling compositions of the mature Baroque (see " How to Make a Ceiling Disappear "). In the crown of the vault, the long panel, Triumph of Bacchus, is an ingenious mixture of Raphael's drawing style and lighting and Titian's more sensuous and animated figures. Carracci succeeded in adjusting their authoritative styles to create something of his own—no easy achievement.

Baroque Italy Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) - Dome of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane 1638-1641 fig. 24-10

Concave-convex: intrudes the public's space and subsequently draws them into the church.Four Corinthian non-fluted columns: frames the relief sculptures (central figure is San Carlo) and the portico - leads the upwards to God and creates dynamism. There is an enhanced verticality due to the symmetrical columns on the upper-level.Three relief sculptures: Above the main entrance, cherubs frame the central figure of Saint Charles Borromeo (by Antonio Raggi) and to either side are statues of St. John of Matha and St. Felix of Valois, the founders of the Trinitarian Order. Believed to show the religious order of the Trinitarians, with two triangle bases placed together and forming the floor plan - an oval drawn around the outside and inside each of the triangles - forming the triad of the Holy Trinity. Lines intersect these ovals and cause the undulations that we see in person. This creates a mathematical scheme that may be a relation to Galileo's views of nature and geometry being inseparably connected.Shows the architect's artistic freedom that he was allowed due to not being paid to work for the build. Sixteen corinthian columns, in the same style as the exterior, support a continuous entablature. This creates an undulating effect which is enhanced by the variation of the bays between the columns with niches that show paintings and frame doors. Forces the eye upwards to the entablature and the dome.An oval entablature frames the dome. There is a variety of geometrically shaped coffering (squares, Trinitarian cross, hexagons and octagons) which recede in size to create the illusion of a larger dome. The dome has a lantern placed centrally at the highest point, inside is a guilted image of the Holy Trinity - relating back to the religious order. Windows are placed equally parallel to each other around the dome - seemingly invisible to eye - to maximise natural light. Creates a divine light and a gateway to Heaven.Details of foliage and roundels below the entablature create dynamism and theatricality, whilst a purely white coloured marble - with the varied detailing of gold - maintains a serenity within the bustling city. Parish church Who commissioned the build? Cardinal Francesco Barberini Why? The church was dedicated to an order dedicated to the freeing of Christian slaves. When did Cardinal Francesco Barberini commission the church? 1634 What happened to this patronage? The Cardinal became uninterested in the build and removed his commission.

Baroque Italy Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (1573-1610) Calling of St. Matthew c. 1597-1601 fig. 24-17

Del Monte's home in Rome was next to the church of San Luigi dei Francesi (Saint Louis of the French), and the cardinal was instrumental in obtaining for Caravaggio the commission to provide paintings honoring Saint Matthew for the Contarelli chapel in the left aisle near the apse of the church. Calling of Saint Matthew ( FIG. 24-17 ) is one of them. The painting is characteristic of Caravaggio's mature style and displays all the qualities for which he became famous—and for which he received scathing criticism (see " Giovanni Pietro Bellori ").In Calling of Saint Matthew and his other religious paintings ( FIGS. 24-17A , 24-17B , and 24-18 )—Caravaggio injected naturalism into the representation of sacred subjects, reducing them to human dramas played out in the harsh and dingy settings of his time and place. The unidealized figures that he selected from the fields and the streets of Italy, however, were effective precisely because of their familiarity. The commonplace setting of Calling of Saint Matthew—a tavern with unadorned walls—is typical of Caravaggio's mature canvases. Into this mundane environment, cloaked in mysterious shadow and almost unseen, Christ, identifiable initially only by his indistinct halo, enters from the right. With a commanding gesture, he summons Levi, the Roman tax collector, to a higher calling (see " Early Christian Saints "). The astonished Levi—his face highlighted for the viewer by the beam of light emanating from an unspecified source above Christ's head and outside the picture—points to himself in disbelief. Although Christ's extended arm is reminiscent of the Lord's in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam ( FIG. 22-18 ), the position of his hand and wrist is similar to Adam's. This reference was highly appropriate, because the Church considered Christ to be the second Adam. Whereas Adam was responsible for the fall of humankind, Christ is the vehicle of its redemption. The conversion of Levi (who became Matthew) brought his salvation.

Baroque Spain José de Ribera (1591-1652)Martyrdom of St. Philip c. 1639 fig. 24-26

In the 17th century, Spain maintained its passionate commitment to Catholic orthodoxy, and, as in Counter-Reformation Italy, Spanish Baroque artists sought ways to move viewers and encourage greater devotion and piety. Scenes of death and martyrdom had great appeal in Spain. They provided artists with opportunities both to depict extreme emotion and to elicit passionate feelings. Spain prided itself on its saints—Saint Teresa of Ávila ( FIG. 24-1 ) and Saint Ignatius Loyola ( FIG. 24-24 ) were both Spanish-born—and martyrdom scenes appear frequently in Spanish Baroque art.As a young man, José (Jusepe) de Ribera (1591-1652) emigrated to Naples and fell under the spell of Caravaggio, whose innovative style he introduced to Spain. Emulating Caravaggio, Ribera made naturalism and compelling drama primary ingredients of his paintings, which often embraced brutal themes, reflecting the harsh times of the Counter-Reformation and the Spanish taste for stories showcasing courage and devotion. Ribera's Martyrdom of Saint Philip ( FIG. 24-26 ) is grim and dark in both subject and form. Scorning idealization of any kind, Ribera represented Philip's executioners hoisting him into position after tying him to a cross, the instrument of Christ's own martyrdom. The saint's rough, heavy body and swarthy features express a kinship between him and his tormentors, who are similar to the types of figures found in Caravaggio's paintings. The patron of this painting is unknown, but it is possible that Philip IV commissioned the work, because Saint Philip was the king's patron saint.

Baroque Spain Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) - Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) 1656 fig. 24-31

More generally, Las Meninas is Velázquez's attempt to elevate both himself and his profession. As first painter to the king and as chamberlain of the palace, Velázquez was conscious not only of the importance of his court office but also of the honor and dignity belonging to his profession as a painter. Throughout his career, Velázquez hoped to be ennobled by royal appointment to membership in the ancient and illustrious Order of Santiago (Saint James). Because he lacked a sufficiently noble lineage, he gained entrance only with difficulty at the very end of his life, and then only through the pope's dispensation. In the painting, Velázquez wears the order's red cross on his doublet, painted there, legend says, by Philip IV. In all likelihood, Velázquez painted it. In the artist's mind, Las Meninas might have embodied the idea of the great king visiting his studio, as Alexander the Great visited the studio of the painter Apelles in ancient times. The figures in the painting all appear to acknowledge the royal presence. Placed among them in equal dignity is Velázquez, face-to-face with his sovereign.The location of the completed painting reinforced this act of looking—of seeing and being seen. Las Meninas hung in Philip IV's personal office in another part of the palace. Thus, although occasional visitors admitted to the king's private quarters may have seen this painting, Philip was the primary audience. Each time he stood before the canvas, he again participated in the work as the probable subject of Velázquez's painting within the painting and as the object of the figures' gazes. In Las Meninas, Velázquez elevated the art of painting, in the person of the painter, to the highest status. The king's presence enhanced this status—either in person as the viewer of Las Meninas or as a reflected image in the painting itself.The paintings that appear in Las Meninas further reinforce this celebration of the painter's craft. On the wall above the doorway and the mirror, two faintly recognizable pictures are copies made by Velázquez's son-in-law, Juan del Mazo (ca. 1612-1667), of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens. The paintings depict the immortal gods as the source of art. Ultimately, Velázquez sought ennoblement not for himself alone but for his art as well.end sidebar

Baroque Italy Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) - Aerial view of St. Peter's, Piazza 1656-1667 fig. 24-4

Old Saint Peter's had a large forecourt, or atrium ( FIG. 8-10 , no. 6), in front of the church proper, and in the mid-17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who had long before established his reputation as a supremely gifted architect and sculptor ( FIGS. 24-5 , 24-6 , and 24-6A ), received the prestigious commission to construct a grand colonnade-framed piazza ( FIG. 24-4 ) in front of Maderno's facade. Bernini's design had to incorporate two preexisting structures on the site—an obelisk the ancient Romans had brought from Egypt (which Pope Sixtus V had moved to its present location in 1585 as part of his vision of Christian triumph in Rome) and a fountain Maderno had constructed in front of the church. Bernini's solution was to co-opt these features to define the long axis of a vast oval embraced by two colonnades joined to Maderno's facade. Four rows of huge Tuscan columns make up the two colonnades, which terminate in classical temple fronts. The colonnades extend a dramatic gesture of embrace to all who enter the piazza, symbolizing the welcome the Roman Catholic Church gave its members during the Counter-Reformation. Bernini himself referred to his colonnades as the welcoming arms of Saint Peter's.Beyond their symbolic resonance, the colonnades served visually to counteract the natural perspective and bring the facade closer to the viewer. Emphasizing the facade's height in this manner, Bernini subtly and effectively compensated for its extensive width. Thus a Baroque transformation expanded the compact central designs of Bramante and Michelangelo into a dynamic complex of axially ordered elements that reach out and enclose spaces of vast dimension. By its sheer scale and theatricality, the completed Saint Peter's fulfilled the desire of the Counter-Reformation Church to present an awe-inspiring and authoritative vision of itself.end sidebar

Baroque Italy Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) - East façade of St. Peter's, Vatican City 1606-1612 fig. 24-4

The drama inherent in Santa Susanna's facade appealed to Pope Paul V (r. 1605-1621), who commissioned Maderno in 1606 to complete Saint Peter's in Rome. As the symbolic seat of the papacy, the church that Constantine originally built over the first pope's tomb was the very emblem of Western Christendom. In light of Counter-Reformation concerns, the Baroque popes wanted to conclude the already century-long rebuilding project and reap the prestige embodied in the mammoth new church. In many ways, Maderno's facade ( FIG. 24-3 ) is a gigantic expansion of the elements of Santa Susanna's first level. But the compactness and verticality of the smaller church's facade are not as prominent because the enormous breadth of Saint Peter's counterbalances them. Special circumstances must be taken into consideration when assessing Maderno's design, however. Because Maderno had to match the preexisting core of an incomplete building, he did not have the luxury of formulating a totally new concept for Saint Peter's. Moreover, the facade's two outer bays with bell towers were not part of the architect's original design. Hence, had the facade been constructed according to Maderno's initial concept, it would have exhibited greater verticality and visual coherence.Maderno's plan ( MAP 24-1 ) also departed from the Renaissance central plans for Saint Peter's designed by Bramante ( FIG. 22-22 ) and, later, by Michelangelo ( FIG. 22-24 ). Paul V asked Maderno to add three nave bays to the earlier nucleus because Church officials had decided that the central plan was too closely associated with ancient temples, such as the Pantheon ( FIG. 7-49 ). Further, the spatial organization of the longitudinal basilican plan of the original fourth-century church ( FIG. 8-10 ) reinforced the symbolic distinction between clergy and laity and also was much better suited for religious processions. Lengthening the nave, however, pushed the dome farther back from the facade, and all but destroyed the effect Michelangelo had planned—a structure pulled together and dominated by its dome. When viewed at close range, the dome barely emerges above the facade's soaring frontal plane. Seen from the great piazza ( FIG. 24-4 ) added later by Bernini (see " Completing Saint Peter's "), Maderno's dome appears to have no drum. Visitors must move back quite a distance from the front ( FIG. 24-3 ) to see the dome and drum together. Today, visitors to the Vatican can appreciate Michelangelo's design only by viewing Saint Peter's west end ( FIG. 22-25 ).

Baroque Italy Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) - Santa Susanna façade 1597-1603 fig. 24-2

The facade ( FIG. 24-2 ) that Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) designed at the turn of the century for the Roman church of Santa Susanna stands as one of the earliest manifestations of the Baroque spirit in architecture. In its general appearance, Maderno's facade resembles Giacomo della Porta's immensely influential design for Il Gesù ( FIG. 22-58 ), the church of the Jesuits in Rome. But the later facade has a greater verticality that concentrates and dramatizes the major features of its model. The tall central section projects forward from the horizontal lower story, and the scroll buttresses connecting the two levels are narrower and set at a sharper angle. The elimination of an arch framing the pediment over the doorway further enhances the design's vertical thrust. The rhythm of Santa Susanna's vigorously projecting columns and pilasters mounts dramatically toward the emphatically stressed central axis. The recessed niches, which contain statues and create pockets of shadow, heighten the sculptural effect.

Baroque Spain Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) - Water Carrier of Seville c. 1619 fig. 24-29

The foremost Spanish painter of the Baroque age—and the greatest beneficiary of royal patronage—was Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). An early work, Water Carrier of Seville ( FIG. 24-29 ), reveals Velázquez's impressive command of the painter's craft when he was only about 20 years old. In this genre scene that seems to convey a deeper significance, Velázquez rendered the figures with clarity and dignity. His careful depiction of the water jugs in the foreground, complete with droplets of water, is especially convincing. The commonplace characters and the contrast of darks and lights again reveal the influence of Caravaggio, whose work Velázquez had studied.Like many other Spanish artists, Velázquez produced religious pictures—for example, Christ on the Cross ( FIG. 24-29A )—as well as genre scenes, but his renown in his day rested primarily on the works he painted for King Philip IV (see " Velázquez and Philip IV "). After the king appointed Velázquez court painter, the artist largely abandoned both religious and genre subjects in favor of royal portraits ( FIG. 24-30A ) and canvases recording historical events.

Baroque Spain Claudio de Arciniega (c. 1520-1593) et al. Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, Mexico City, 1537-1817 fig. 24-33

The largest building constructed anywhere in New Spain during the colonial period was Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ( FIG. 24-33 ) in Mexico City. The project began shortly after the victory of Hernàn Cortès over the Aztec Empire on the site of the Templo Mayor ( FIG. 36-3 ), the ceremonial and religious center of the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán ( MAP 36-1 ). The cathedral building campaign lasted nearly three centuries, completed only in 1817. Most of the present enormous (360-foot-long and 179-foot-wide) structure dates to the 17th century and follows the plan drawn by Claudio de Arciniega (ca. 1520-1593) in 1569. Construction commenced in 1573, using stones from the Aztec pyramid-temple of Huitzilopochtli. Dominating the wide facade are twin cupola-capped towers dating to the 18th century. The articulation of the lower facade, erected during the second half of the 17th century, reflects the style of the churches of Baroque Rome.

Baroque Italy Giovanni Battista Gaulli (1639-1709) Triumph of the Name of Jesus from Il Gesù Church 1676-1679 fig. 24-23

Triumph of the Name of Jesus ( FIG. 24-23 ) in the nave of Il Gesù ( FIG. 22-59 , left) vividly demonstrates the dramatic impact that Baroque ceiling frescoes could have in ecclesiastical contexts. As the mother church of the Jesuit order, Il Gesù played a prominent role in Counter-Reformation efforts. In this gigantic fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (1639-1709), gilded architecture opens up in the center of the ceiling to offer the faithful a stunning glimpse of Heaven. Gaulli represented Jesus as a barely visible monogram (IHS) floating heavenward in a blinding radiant light. By contrast, sinners experience a violent descent back to Earth. The painter glazed the gilded architecture to suggest shadows, thereby enhancing the scene's illusionistic quality. To further heighten the illusion, Gaulli painted many of the sinners on three-dimensional stucco extensions projecting outside the painting's frame.

baldacchino

a canopy-like structure over an altar; it means "silk from Baghdad" in Italian

Bolognese Academy

first institution predicated on the assumption that art can be taught, through the study of art from the past and applied study of anatomy and life drawing. It was founded by the members of the Carracci family in Bologna.

quadrature (sing. quadratura)

illusionistic paintings of the 16th-18th century that appear to extend the actual architecture of an interior, usually on ceilings, sometimes on walls

Baroque Italy Fra Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709) Glorification of St. Ignatius 1691-1694 fig. 24-24

in his fresco ( FIG. 24-24 ) for the ceiling of the nave of the Roman church honoring Saint Ignatius, created the illusion of Heaven opening up above the congregation. To accomplish this, in addition to employing standard pictorial devices such as perspective and foreshortening, Pozzo painted an extension of the church's architecture into the vault so that the roof seems to be lifted off. As Heaven and Earth commingle, Christ receives Saint Ignatius in the presence of figures personifying the four corners of the world. A disk in the nave floor marks the spot where the viewer should stand to gain the whole perspective illusion. For worshipers looking up from this point, the vision is complete. They find themselves in the presence of the heavenly and spiritual, the ultimate goal of Italian Baroque ecclesiastical art and architecture.end sidebar

tenebroso

source for our word tenebrous, Italian for the "shadowy" or "dark" manner, refers to emphatic use of high contrasting value of dark and light in Baroque painting.

Caravaggisti

those painters who imitated the tenebrous style of Caravaggio. Also called "night painters".