Ch. 24
Tenebrism
Caravaggio's use of dark settings that envelop their occupants—which influenced European art, especially in Spain & the Netherlands—tenebrism, from Italian word tenebroso, or "shadowy" manner. In Caravaggio's work, tenebrism also contributed to the essential meaning of his pictures. In Calling of Saint Matthew, the beam of light directing the viewer's attention to the seated tax collector is the divine light beckoning him to join the Son of God in his earthly mission.
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI, Judith Slaying Holofernes, ca. 1614-1620. Oil on canvas, 6 6 1/3 x 5 4 .
Narratives involving heroic women were a favorite theme of Gentileschi. In Judith Slaying Holofernes, the dramatic lighting of the action in the foreground emulates Caravaggio's tenebrism.
GIANLORENZO BERNINI, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy, 1645-1652.
The passionate drama of Bernini's depiction of Saint Teresa correlated with the ideas of Ignatius Loyola, who argued that the re-creation of spiritual experience would encourage devotion and piety.
CARAVAGGIO, Calling of Saint Matthew, ca. 1597-1601. Oil on canvas, 11 1 x 11 5 .
The stark contrast of light and dark is a key feature of Caravaggio's style. Here, Christ, cloaked in mysterious shadow, summons Levi the tax collector (Saint Matthew) to a higher calling.
Order of Santiago
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.
Pope Urban VIII
Triumph of the Barberini / In this dramatic ceiling fresco, Divine Providence appears in a halo of radiant light directing Immortality, holding a crown of stars, to bestow eternal life on the family of Pope Urban VIII.
Monogram IHS
Triumph of the Name of Jesus / 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.
DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor), 1656. Oil on canvas, approx. 10 5 x 9 . Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Velázquez intended this huge and complex work, with its cunning contrasts of real, mirrored, and picture spaces, to elevate both himself and the profession of painting in the eyes of Philip IV.
Counter-Reformation
firmly resisted Protestant objections to using images in religious worship, insisting on their necessity for teaching the laity ("The Council of Trent"). Baroque art and architecture in Italy, especially in Rome, embodied the renewed energy of the Counter-Reformation and the papacy's zeal to communicate the Catholic message to the populace.
Bellori
the most influential critic of the age and an admirer of Annibale Carracci, believed that Caravaggio's refusal to emulate the models of his distinguished predecessors threatened the whole classical tradition of Italian painting that had reached its zenith in Raphael's work.
