Introduction:
The Baroque period was an important one for artists and architects since the aspect of perspective came into being. Perhaps one of the greatest exponents of baroque architecture was Bernini with his incredible work in the design of the Vatican dome and churches in the vicinity. The link between God and humanity is thus immediately apparent especially in the works which we see at the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo surpassed himself especially in what can be termed as his greatest painting work which is The Creation of Adam and which has been immortalized the world over (Bazin, 1964, p 35).
Comparison between Renaissance and Baroque
The Renaissance was a period where symmetry was the order of the day and even architectural styles were conformant to that design philosophy. One can take as a typical example the Duomo of Florence which is sparse and bare inside, a very sober experience as purposefully designed by the architect Giotto. When one compares this church with the splendid opulence of Bernini’s design forSt Peter’s, the differences are obvious (Hills, 2011). Here we have the grand manner in all its full glory with a feeling of vastness and space yet at the same time, an incessant glory which glorifies man’s communion with God. The sculptures which adorn St Peter’s especially the Michelangelo Pieta’s are full of that expressive wonderment and beauty which takethe artisticfirmament that one step further.
Further artistic statements in the Renaissance continue to confirm the difference between symmetry and perspective which was perfected in the baroque period. Paintings by Masaccio and Cimabue demonstrate an almost strict and rigorous style of painting where the two dimensional aspect is reinforced and the realism of the figures is not present in any way. The Madonna and Child or other religious themes such as Christ were popular ways of manifesting religious art but again, the perspective was very much focused on symmetry and rigid linear values. Although colour was used profusely there was little effort to make this realistic with the end result that these paintings appear quite cold and distant to the untrained viewer (Kitson, 1966).
In fact, the Baroque period simply set out to conform what had been proposed in the famous Council of Trent which called for a more open approach to the arts, something which should have increased populism. The brief for artists was that paintings and sculpture as well asarcitectural design should be understood by those with the very rudiments of education and not be elitist. Artists such as Caravaggio and AnnibaleCaracci took this populist streak to the letter and experimented with their bold paintings that depicted starkly sexual and at times rabidly violent scenes; cases in point are Caravaggio’s brilliant painting, ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist’ and ‘St Jerome’ where darkness and violence prevail (Martin, 1977).
Baroque style also emphasized the use of perspective and apt communication as it developed from theMannerist art view. Although Michelangelo cannot exactly be described as a baroque artist per se, hiswork included some important ideas which can also be termed as being in the baroquespirit. The main appeal of the baroque was to the inner senses of the human being, rather described as a sort of enlightenment and communion with God, who although on a higher level than man was inherently munificent (Gardner, Kleiner, Mamiya, 2005).
In The Calling of St Matthew by Caravaggio, one can immediately sense that we are on a different artistic level here. To begin with the figures are etched in the present and not in the past and the lifelike portrayal of the same figures are quite striking to say the least. Caravaggio’s extensive use of the chiaroscuro element in this work is also extremely important as it brings out certain aspects of the darkness associated with moneylenders which in those days was seen as an intrinsically bad profession (Lambert, 2004). The shades of light which permeate the piece are a personification of Christ’s calling of St Matthew to become one of his apostles and the whole piece is quite striking. It exemplifies Baroque art to the full especially when compared to the rather static Massaccio which is simple in its execution.
One could also argue that baroque was eventually superseded by the Rococo style by the early 18th century although the grand designs of palaces such as Versailles and El Escorial largely relied on fundamental baroque principles. Architects of churches such as the one dedicated to St Nicholas in Prague demonstrate the perspective techniques of the baroque which shine out and here ChristophDietzenhofer certainly surpassed all expectations in the way the dome is designed and how it speaks to the public (Palisca, 2001). Another typical example where baroque style was used in a perspective manner was the Palace of Caserta in Naples which although constructed after 1752 still retained Baroque elements together with Neoclassic influences since architects decided to go back to the classical past for their inspiration (Panofsky, 1997).
The way domes were decorated is also important to understand especially in the context of the grand manner. One typical statement of baroque painting would be the series of works which the Catholic Princess Marie de Medici commissioned from the great Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens. Here we have the full mix of elements which define the baroque period such as the concept of an almost God-like monarchy and iconography as well as the subtle handling of painting techniques. In fact although Baroque art did not really describe the life of people, there was quite an inextricable link between the deep questions of the catholic faith as well as the glorification of power and influence which demonstrated the vast power wielded by the Church (Wofflin, 1964).
Another important aspect of the link between humanity and God is made with the work for the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria delleVittorie just outside Rome. Here Bernini certainly surpassed himself with the inclusion of sculpture, architecture and drama into one indelible concept especially in the sculpture titled ‘St Theresa in Ecstacy’. Baroque eventually developed into what can be termed as the Rococo style while there was also a secular aspect to Baroque art which was perfected by the Dutch school with painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer with the latter experimenting with the much vaunted ‘camera oscura’ technique(Gardner, Kleiner, Mamiya, 2005).
French classical painting can also be seen to have some baroque elements in it especially in the paintings by Poussin and Boucher although the erotic nature of the latter would not really fit the religious art label very well. The decorations of churches in Catholic France were rather more flamboyant and dressy perhaps although they also attempted to find a link between man and God.
References:
Bazin, Germain, 1964. Baroque and Rococo.Praeger World of Art Series. New York: Praeger. (Originally published in French, as Classique, baroque et rococo. Paris: Larousse. English edition reprinted as Baroque and Rococo Art, New York: Praeger, 1974)
Hills, Helen (ed.). 2011. Rethinking the Baroque. Farnham, Surrey; Burlington, VT: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6685-1.
Hortolà, Policarp, 2013, The Aesthetics of Haemotaphonomy.SantVicentdelRaspeig: ECU. ISBN 978-84-9948-991-9.
Kitson, Michael. 1966. The Age of Baroque. Landmarks of the World's Art. London: Hamlyn; New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lambert, Gregg, 2004. Return of the Baroque in Modern Culture.Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-6648-8.
Martin, John Rupert. 1977. Baroque. Icon Editions. New York: Harper and Rowe. ISBN 0-06-435332-X (cloth); ISBN 0-06-430077-3 (pbk.)
Wölfflin, Heinrich. 1964. Renaissance and Baroque (Reprinted 1984; originally published in German, 1888) Berlin, The classic study.ISBN 0-8014-9046-4
Fargis, Paul (1998). The New York Public Library Desk Reference (third ed.). New York: Macmillan General Reference, New York. p. 262. ISBN 0-02-862169-7.
Helen Gardner, Fred S. Kleiner, and Christin J. Mamiya,Gardner's Art Through the Ages (Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005), p. 516.
OED Online.Accessed 6 June 2008.
"Baroque". Encyclopædia Britannica 1911. London,Retrieved 20 April 2011.
Panofsky, Erwin (1995). "What is Baroque?". Three Essays on Style.The MIT Press. p. 19
"Baroque". VocabolarioEtimologicodella Lingua Italiana di OttorinoPianigiani. Rome, Retrieved 26 July 2012.
Diogo Mayo (1967-09-15). "Scale Regia". Scalaregia.blogspot.ca. Rome,Retrieved 2013-04-20.
Claude V. Palisca, "Baroque". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001).
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