ITALY AND SPAIN,1600-1700GARDNER CHAPTER 24-2PP. 657-665

ITALIAN BAROQUE PAINTING

ANNIBALE CARRACCI ANNIBALE CARRACCI, Flight into Egypt,

1603–1604. Oil on canvas, approx. 4’ x 7’ 6”

Carracci and Caravaggio are among the two most notable Italian Baroque painters

Based on the biblical narrative -> here the pastoral setting takes precedence over the narrative of Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child wending their way slowly to Egypt

Carracci’s landscapes idealized antiquity and the idyllic/pastoral life

LOVES OF THE GODS

CARRACCI – LOVES OF THE GODS

ANNIBALE CARRACCI, Loves of the Gods, ceiling frescoes in the gallery, Palazzo Farnese, Rome, Italy, 1597–1601

Painted on the shallow curved curve of Palazzo Farnese gallery

Arranged the mythological scenes in a format called QUADRO RIPORTATO = transferred frame paintings -> a simulation of framed easel paintings on a wall

Flanking pictures are seated nude youths and standing Atlas figures painted to resemble marble statues -> cf. Sistine Chapel

Rich colors inspired by the Venetians

CARRACCI

The one-eyed giant Polyphemus, an unusually appealing Cyclops, plays his pan-pipes on the rocky shore, serenading the sea-nymph Galatea. The arch of rose-pink drapery over her head is an attribute of Aura, Roman goddess of the air. There are no moral lessons being drawn, just an implicit analogy between the beauty and transforming power of the gods and the painter’s mastery of illusion and aesthetic power

CARRAVAGGIO Michelangelo Merisi ->called Caravaggio, went

to Rome in 1592

Few artists in history have exercised as extraordinary an influence as this tempestuous and short-lived painter

Caravaggio was destined to turn a large part of European art away from the ideal viewpoint of the Renaissance to the concept that simple reality was of primary importance. He was one of the first to paint people as ordinary looking.

Painting in the “shadowy manner”, using violent contrasts of light and dark, as in the work of Caravaggio, is called tenebrism. The term derives from tenebroso, Italian for “shadowy.”

Caravaggio naturalized both religion and the classics, reducing them to human dramas played out in the harsh and dingy settings of his time and place

His style became increasingly popular & his combination of naturalism and drama led to his followers often being referred to as “Carravaggisti”

THE CARDSHARPS Caravaggio, The Cardsharps (I Bari), c.1594-1595. Oil on canvas

Example of Caravaggio’s naturalism -> everyday human drama of a swindle

Caravaggio had outspoken disdain for the classical masters

He was denounced as the “anti-Christ of painting”

CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL

CARAVAGGIO, Conversion of Saint Paul, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, Italy, ca. 1601. Oil on canvas, approx. 7’ 6” x 5’ 9”

In his naturalistic treatment of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Caravaggio employs dramatic chiaroscuro effects (called tenebrism) with sharply lit figures seen emerging from a dark background. The dramatic spotlight-like light illuminates the figure of Saint Paul and at the same time serves as the divine source of his conversion

CALLING OF SAINT MATTHEW

CARAVAGGIO, Calling of Saint Matthew, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Italy, ca. 1597–1601. Oil on canvas

A piercing ray of light illuminating a world of darkness and bearing a spiritual message

Stark contrast of light and dark was a key feature of Caravaggio’s style

TENEBRISM Christ cloaked in mysterious shadow

almost unseen -> summons the disbelieving Roman tax collector Levi who will convert and become Saint Matthew

Commonplace setting -> tavern with unadorned walls -> typical of Caravaggio

EMTOMBMENT

CARAVAGGIO, Entombment, from the chapel of Pietro Vittrice, Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome, Italy, ca. 1603. Oil on canvas, 9’ 10 1/8” x 6’ 7 15/16”

Gave visual form to the doctrine of transubstantiation -> painting was behind the altar so it appeared as the body was being lain on the altar -> the body and blood of Christ

This work includes all the hallmarks of Caravaggio’s distinctive style

1. The plebeian figure types2. Stark use of darks and lights3. Invitation to the viewer to participate in the scene

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI

ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI, Judith Slaying Holofernes, ca. 1614–1620. Oil on canvas, 6’ 6 1/3” x 5’ 4”

Followers of Caravaggio’s style in the 17th century, like Gentilischi, who imitated his use of tenebrism are often referred to as Caravaggisti

Tenebrism and gory details Dramatic lighting, emotional pathos Face of Judith -> self portrait -> she

identified w/heroic old testament females Gentileschi was raped by a male patron ->

an event that went to trial -> highly unusual

GUIDO RENI GUIDO RENI, Aurora, ceiling fresco in the Casino Rospigliosi, Italy, 1613-1614 Classicist trend in painting -> scene of Dawn leading Apollo’s chariot derives

from ancient Roman reliefs -> cupid and the Seasons dance about the heavenly car

Quadro riportato Influence of Raphael and Carracci

PIETRO DA CORTONA

PIETRO DA CORTONA, Triumph of the Barberini

di sotto in su

Symbols of the Barberini family include bees and laurel wreaths

Divine Providence, in halo of light, directs Immortality, holding a crown of stars, to bestow eternal life on the family of Pope Urban VIII

GIOVANNI BATTISTA

GAULLI GAULLI, Triumph of the Name of Jesus,

ceiling fresco with stucco figures on the nave vault of il Gesu, Rome, Italy, 1676-1679

Dazzling spectacle of a ceiling fresco Impresses on worshippers the glory and

power of the Catholic Church -> Italian Baroque is the art of the Counter-Reformation

Painted in the nave of il Gesu, the mother church of the Jesuits -> the stormtrooper of the Counter-Reformation

Ceiling seems to open up and offer a view of heaven

Figures painted on 3-D stucco extensions that project outside the painting’s frame

ITALIAN BAROQUE = drama and theatricality + the fusion of architecture, sculpture, and painting

FRA ANDREA POZZO

FRA ANDREA POZZO, Glorification of Saint Ignatius, ceiling fresco in the nave of Sant’Ignazio, Rome, Italy, 1691–1694

Roof seems to be lifted off and heaven and earth commingle