Download ITALY AND SPAIN, 1600-1700

ITALY AND
SPAIN,
1600-1700
GARDNER CHAPTER 24-2
PP. 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 types
2. Stark use of darks and lights
3. 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, 16131614

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, 16761679

Dazzling spectacle of a ceiling fresco

Impresses on worshippers the glory and
power of the Catholic Church -> Italian
Baroque is the art of the CounterReformation

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,
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
FRA
ANDREA
POZZO