Download Three Baroque Artists - Caravaggio, Rembrandt and

Baroque Art
Three Baroque Artists - Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Rubens.
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Baroque Art
Three Baroque Artists - Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Rubens.
This paper discusses some aspects of three Baroque artists by reference to three of their
most significant paintings.
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The Blinding of Sampson, Rembrandt, oil on canvas, 236cm x 302cm, 1636.
This painting depicts the blinding of Sampson by the Philistines after his betrayal by
Delilah and prior to his captivity.. Samson is depicted almost centrally, his torso illuminated by
sunlight flooding the tent, with his shorn head partly in shadow.
He is held down, partly chained by two half armored figures, and a third, who has clearly
tackled him from behind. On the left, there is an almost Moorish figure almost silhouetted
against the light, threatening Samson with a spear, while in the background, Delilah flees from
the tent with an expression of relief on her face, clutching Samson’s hair in her left hand and a
pair of scissors in her right. Interestingly, the armor of the Philistines appears to be European
plate armor of the period, and the style of Delilah’s hair and the hem of her robe are similarly
contemporary. The intense chiaroscuro and almost heroic anatomy of the figures are
characteristic of the period. This was a prosperous and expanding mercantile society, secure in
it’s Calvinist Protestant ethos, much of which is reflected in the social realism of Rembrandt’s
work. According to Hurll, “ As Raphael has been surnamed "the divine," for the godlike beauty
of his creations, so Rembrandt is "the human," for his sympathetic insight into the lives of his
fellow men.” (Hurll, E.M.)
The Entombment of Christ, Carvaggio 1602-03.
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This is a highly naturalistic depiction of the crucified Christ being placed in the tomb.
The body of Christ and the stone of the tomb itself take up most of the foreground. The body
appears to have no trace of crucifixion wounds or wounds from the Crown of Thorns, a common
in Italian painting of the period. The Virgin Mary - unusually depicted as an older woman – in
a blue robe is partially obscured by a corpse bearer, while behind her, Mary Magdalen raises her
arms to heaven in grief. Caravaggio’s use of chiaroscuro, indeed tenebrism is typically Early
Baroque, as is his naturalistic, if somewhat heroic approach to the human figure.. He studiously
avoids idealization. His religious paintings were mainly a slightly populist response to the
Roman Catholic church’s post Council of Trent requirement for art that spoke to everyman.
He was impetuous, violent and profligate in habit, and this is reflected in his approach to
painting, to the extent that some of his more graphic depictions had to be toned down to obtain
approval.
It is said of him that “Inventing a new, radical kind of realism, he populated his
pictures with ordinary people, embracing their imperfections and weaknesses with a candor that
many of his contemporaries mistook for vulgarity”. (Janson, H.W., 2001)
Raising of the Cross, Reubens, 1610, oil on panels 460 x 640cm.
Depicting the crucified Christ on the Cross being raised into postion, this triptych
displays on the left St John, the Virgin Mary and a group of weeping women and children. The
main centre panel shows nine very muscular foreshortened figures struggling to lift the cross.
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The figure of Jesus is displayed in an intense half light in the centre, and it is notable that one of
the executioners wears Dutch plate armor of the period. The right hand panel depicts a mounted
Roman Officer observing proceedings while soldiers crucify two thieves. There is the
suggestion of an imminent eclipse of the sun.
The movement, voluptuousness (the woman in the left panel suckling the child) and
vitality of the painting, with its rich use of color and detail, and the typical chiaroscuro mark this
as an excellent example of the Baroque style. The painting of Christ on a diagonal rather than
the traditional upright on the cross was for the time a slightly risky departure from custom. It
seems clear that Rubens was not risk averse. He said of himself “My talent is such that no
undertaking, however vast in size... has ever surpassed my courage.” (Rubens, P.P.)
References.
Hurll, E.M. Retrieved from http://grandearte.net/rembrandt/rembrandts-character-artist
12 September 2009.
Janson HW, Janson AF. History of art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; 2001.
Rubens, P.P. Retrieved from
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/peterpaulr188432.html, 18 September
2009.