Introduction
Although the artistic representation may differ when it comes to style or artistic period, the ideas and the information transmitted might be very similar. The comparison between Antoine Watteau’s “Return from Cythera” and Fra Andreea Pozzo’s “Glorification of Saint Ignatius” include similarities and differences that will be treated in this essay. Hence, the main purpose of the current paper is to explore the cultural and stylistic similarities between the two paintings, mentioned above, which represent each a different artistic period and style. While Watteau’s painting belongs to Rococo, Fra Andreea Pozzo’s drawing represents the Italian Baroc style.
In order to properly compare the two paintings for finding the cultural and stylistic similarities, this essay should primarily discuss about the artistic styles to which the paintings belong. As such, the Italian Baroc and the Rococo will be briefly described before analyzing the similarities between the two examined paintings.
Therefore, for identifying the cultural similarities, there will be conducted a short review of the historical, politics, religion and social conduct of each period in which the examined styles have developed. The two paintings will be next analyzed, by identifying their subject and the central theme, in relation to the style and period that they belong to. Based on these information gathered, there will be further compared the elements specific to each painting and there will be extracted the similarities between the two of them, in terms of style and cultural connections.
Cultural, Political, Social, Religious Context
Italian Baroque
Italian Baroque developed in Italy starting with 16th century and it spanned until the 18th century. This period included various historical, political and cultural events that affected the development of the style. As such, as a response of the Protestant Reformation that occurred in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic religion initiated a very creative program, meant to restore the cultural values that were neglected or even abused by the Protestant cultural movement. Through Counter Reformation, the Roman Catholic religion strengthened the role of the religion in the society, by promoting religious subjects in art. The main expression of the Catholicism challenge to the Protestant art was made through the Council of Trent, an initiative from the 16th century, which used religion to determine the population to worship the biblical values and characters, involving like this the Italian society into appreciate the Catholicism as artistic representation. The purpose of this movement was to utilize religious – based images in art and architecture, in order to bring people closer to laity, exploring like this a didactic role (Kleiner 527).
Italian Baroque dominated the 17th century in art and it was itself influenced by the social, cultural and scientific discoveries of the time. As such, after Copernicus’ conception (according to which the Earth was not the center of the Universe and the other planets did not gravitate around our plane) was accepted around 1600, the artistic representations of those times started to reflect to the spirit of humanity, and the paintings for instance, represented devoid human figures (Sullivan, “Baroque”).
The style is characterized through “dynamism, theatricality, and elaborate ornamentation”, and it includes spectacular effects, meant to generate grandeur (Kleiner 527) and to attract the art lovers through the emotional load that the religious paintings reflected (Sullivan, “Baroque”).
Rococo
Rococo is considered to be an extension of Baroque style, as a prove being the fact that Antoine Watteau is a proponent of the Rococo movement, including in his works Baroque elements. Actually, the 18th century is when Baroque was still a choice for the artists, but the Rococo knew an emphasis in this period.
The strange thing is that Rococo appeared as a criticism to Baroque, considering it too grandiose, too sharp, too dramatic and theatrical. As a result, it explored some playful shapes, unregulated, very detailed forms and ornamentations, representing animals, or geometrical shapes (“The Rococo” 212).
The style mainly developed as a response to the Versailles Palace, which was the exponent of the Baroque style in France. The style developed very well in France and it was characterized by an “impure” approach towards religion. Although this subject was still represented in the Rococo style (architecture, sculpture and mostly panting), the artists created a more human approach to it, precisely as a response to Baroque, which was the expression of Catholicism’s rigors and grandeur (“The Rococo” 212).
The characters are more playful, more animated, and the colors more dynamic and more sophisticated and the art itself was considered capricious, sensual and delicate. These were actually the specificities that brought its criticism, as Honour and Fleming observe (599).
Rococo developed in France when, under the reign of Louis XIV there were brought to the royal court more playful and opened artists, to reverse practically the Versailles Castle’s style. The easiness seems to be the main characteristic of this style, representing the specificities of a society in itself.
Significance of the Paintings
The Italian Baroque is the artistic style in which Fra Andreea Pozzo developed his “Glorification of Saint Ignatius”. The drawing represents a religious subject, with grandeur and drama, meant to capture and to spell the population. Saint Ignatius is represented as moving upwards, towards the sky and the heaven opens for him, as he meets with Jesus Christ for his glorification. The grandeur of the painting comes not solely from the subject, but also from the artistic technique. The drawing includes many characters that surround Saint Ignatius on his initiation road to glorification, as to capture, or to guide him through this very important stage of his existence.
The painting has a square exposure, and from each corner or the square there are the four cardinal points of the earth that sustain and help Saint Ignatius to reach out in Heavens. The painting is very full, many characters “dance” around Saint Ignatius, as they carry him around to his moment of glorification. The painter succeeded in creating an illusory representation of a dynamic moment, in which all the characters seem to go up. The colors of the painting are abundant, but the drawing exhibits very rigid and strict elements, such as the buildings, the sculptures and everything that surrounds the characters. They are illustrating an estate of piety and are all ascending for a right, virtuous purpose.
Symbolically, the painting transmits the idea of chastity, of the miracle of purity and the divine reward for good deeds and for being a noble Christian. Like this, the Roman Catholicism aims to convert people to a life of piety without sin, which will bring them the open skies, in which Jesus Himself will wait for them, with the open door to Heaven and His Kingdom.
Watteau painted “Return from Cythera” in the Rococo style. This style developed in the 18th century and Watteau painted the tableau in 1717. The painter is French and he is one of the main representatives of Rococo style (Kleiner 527).
In his painting, “Return from Cynthera”, he illustrates an aristocratic group which, as the name implies, comes back from a journey and stay for a while on the fields and talk some more. This estate of sitting around illustrates the manners of the 18th century society, very entrenched in appearances, small talks and a careless life. The painting created a specific style of Rococo, entitled “fete galante”, which best surprised the characteristics of the French society (Kleiner 587).
Comparison – Similarities and Differences
The author of this painting illustrates its characters down to earth, expressing at a symbolical level the essence of humanity, which is the “carpe diem”, the opposed of the sharpness of the Baroque style. Unlike Saint Ignatius who is being carried to the skies, in order to reach heaven for his glorification, Watteau’s characters are captured in their worldly activity of entertaining one another with small society talks.
However, the painting does contain similarities with the one of Father Fra Andreea Pozzo. Although the subject is not religious, Watteau’s drawing illustrates a mythological scene, referring to the Cupids, who fly to the skies, in the second plan of the drawing.
The painting first catches the eyes with the scene that happens in the second plan, which is the dynamism of the four Cupids, who seem to be responsible for the good joy and transient happiness. This aspect is similar with Fra Andreea Pozzo’s artistic representation. The Cupids are the support group of the society, just as the cardinal points (from “Saint Ignatius Glorificatin”) maintain the world in equilibrium.
This artistic element is the expression of the fact that Rococo is a style that emerged from Baroque, as it maintains its technique of creating an illusory image that the characters move into the sky.
Conclusion
Art is the expression of the society in which it develops and evolves. From the rigor and the strictness of the Baroque style that imposed the biblical elements as artistic values of the 16 – 18th century to the 18th century Rococo style, which captured the sensuality of the French fete galante in painting, the art is a reflection of the social norms, believes and conceptions.
This essay analyzed two paintings belonging to different artistic styles, respectively Italian Baroque (Fra Andreea Pozzo – “Saint Ignatius Glorification”) and Rococo (Antoine Watteau – “Return from Cythera”) and discovered that there are differences between the two styles. These differences appeared as a result of the fact that Rococo was specifically elaborated as a reaction of the grandeur and the strictness of the Baroque. However, because Rococo emerged from Baroque, it still includes common feature, which are visible in the two analyzed paintings.
Works Cited
Honour, Hugh & Fleming, John. A World History of Art. London, Laurence King Publishing Ltd. 1982. Print.
Kleiner, Fred, S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: the Western Perspective. 13th ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 2006. Print.
Sullivan, Edwards, J. Baroque, accessed on 11 June 2012, retrieved from http://www.uib.no/ped/baroque.html. N.d. Web.
The Rococo. Ulrich Weisstein, Indiana University. Bobbs – Merril Company, Inc. 1972. Print.
