ART HISTORY - BAROQUE ART

In fine art, the term Baroque describes a fairly complex idiom, originating in Rome, which flowered during the period c.1590-1720, and which embraced painting, and sculpture as well as architecture. After the idealism of the Renaissance (c.1400-1530), and the slightly 'forced' nature of Mannerism (c.1530-1600), Baroque art above all reflected the religious tensions of the age - notably the desire of the Catholic Church in Rome (as annunciated at the Council of Trent, 1545-63) to reassert itself in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Thus it is almost synonymous with Catholic Counter-Reformation Art of the period.

Many Catholic Emperors and monarchs across Europe had an important stake in the Catholic Church's success, hence a large number of architectural designs, paintings and sculptures were commissioned by the Royal Courts of Spain, France, and elsewhere - in parallel to the overall campaign of Catholic Christian art, pursued by the Vatican - in order to glorify their own divine grandeur, and in the process strengthen their political position. By comparison, Baroque art in Protestant areas like Holland had far less religious content, and instead was designed essentially to appeal to the growing aspirations of the merchant and middle classes.

Samson and Delilah (1609-1610) by Peter Paul Rubens, the great Flemish Baroque painter.

ART HISTORY - RENAISSANCE ART

During the two hundred years between 1400 and 1600, Europe witnessed an astonishing revival of drawing, fine art painting, sculpture and architecture centred on Italy, which we now refer to as the Renaissance. It was given this name (French for 'rebirth') as a result of La Renaissance - a famous volume of history written by the historian Jules Michelet (1798-1874) in 1855 - and was better understood after the publication in 1860 of the landmark book "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy", by Jacob Burckhardt (1818-97), Professor of Art History at the University of Basel.

Characteristics of the Renaissance :

In very simple terms, the Italian Renaissance re-established Western art according to the principles of classical Greek art, especially Greek sculpture and painting, which provided much of the basis for the Grand Tour, and which remained unchallenged until Pablo Picasso and Cubism.

From the early 14th century, in their search for a new set of artistic values and a response to the courtly International Gothic style, Italian artists and thinkers became inspired by the ideas and forms of ancient Greece and Rome. This was perfectly in tune with their desire to create a universal, even noble, form of art which could express the new and more confident mood of the times.

Detail showing The Son of Man from The Last Judgement fresco on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, (1536-41) by Michelangelo. One of the great works of Biblical art in the Vatican.

ART HISTORY - MEDIEVAL ART

The medieval period of art history spans from the fall of the Roman Empire in 300 AD to the beginning of the Renaissance in 1400 AD. In the Middle Ages, art evolves as humans continue addressing the traditional and the new, including Biblical subjects, Christian dogma, and Classical mythology. This article introduces a few concepts of three periods—Early Christian, Romanesque, and Gothic.

During the Early Middle Ages, the Catholic Church financed many projects, and the oldest examples of Christian art survive in the Roman catacombs, or burial crypts beneath the city. By 350 AD, the Church had two power centers, Rome in the West and Constantinople (the capital of the Byzantine Empire) in the East. Medieval artists decorated churches and works for public appreciation using classical themes. For example, Roman mosaics made of small stone cubes called tesserae offered Christian scenery. In about 350 AD, Rome’s Santa Costanza, a mausoleum built for Constantine’s daughter, included a vault decorated with mosaics. Nearby, in Santa Maria Maggiore, the mosaic called Melchizedek Offering Bread and Wine to Abraham was constructed 80 years later. Early Christian mosaics used muted colors like classical mosaics, but in the fourth century, mosaicists moved to brighter colors and patterns.

At the beginning of the eleventh century, Romanesque architecture symbolized the growing wealth of European cities and the power of Church monasteries. For example, Romanesque buildings, especially monasteries and churches, were marked by semi-circular arches, thick stone walls, and stable construction. In 1070 or 1077 AD, St. Sernin, located in Toulouse, France, was built with a stone barrel vault ceiling. St. Sernin is remembered as a model of the Romanesque “pilgrimage church.”

The Gothic style developed in the middle of the twelfth century and is named after the Goths who ruled France. Some contemporaries of the Goths thought the use of figures such as gargoyles was hideous, but Gothic cathedrals represent the most beautiful and timeless accomplishments of the period. For example, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has been added to many times since the twelfth century, but it still bears important Gothic features such as gargoyles and flying buttresses.

There are plenty of ways to analyze 900 years of medieval art, including examining decorations inside churches. Human forms such as the Madonna and Baby Jesus evolve from large heads on small bodies in Early Christianity to abstract forms in the Romanesque era. In the Gothic era, the Madonna and Child are more naturalistic with tall, bony figures. Even the facial features of the Madonna and Child changed over 900 years. By the Gothic era in France, Mary had an approachable, warm countenance, signaling the Church’s recognition that images should attract people instead of intimidating them. In the Renaissance, artists would become bolder about exploring the themes of Christianity even in works commissioned by the Church.

The Fuller Brooch is an Anglo-Saxon silver and niello brooch dated to the late 9th century, which is now in the British Museum, where it is normally on display in Room 41.

Material       :  Silver
Size             :  11.4 cm in diameter
Created       :   Late 9th Century AD

ART HISTORY - ROMANTICISM ART

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, also known as Wanderer above the Mist or Mountaineer in a Misty Landscape, is an oil painting c. 1818 by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich.

Artist             :  Caspar David Friedrich

Dimensions  :   95 cm x 75 cm

Location       :   Kunsthalle Hamburg

Created        :  1818

Periods         :  Romanticism, German Romanticism

The Romanic movement originated in Germany, then it spread to England, France and the rest of Europe. Across the Atlantic, America had its own version of Romanticism, the Hudson River School, which was the first truly American school of art.

The mid-1600s ushered in the Age of Enlightenment (or “Age of Reason”), which was a period that glorified rational thinking, secularism and scientific progress. The first operational steam engine, built in 1712, could be regarded as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution which later swept the Western hemisphere. Steam engines and cotton mills symbolized that Industrial Revolution. Industrialization transformed economies of Western Europe and North America, driving them from dependence on agriculture to manufacturing. However, at the turn of the 19th century, not everyone believed that science and reason could possibly explain everything. Their reaction against the ongoing industrialization became a comprehensive movement – Romanticism. They looked beyond reason, and sought inspiration in intuition and imagination. Being emotionally engaged was the ultimate aim of their artwork.

Here are two French philosophers who held and defended opposing worldviews that eventually brought the Romantic man up against the Enlightened man: While the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire (1694 – 1778) preached progress and rationality, his bitter rival Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778), a forerunner of the Romantic movement, advocated a “return to nature.” Going against the tide, Romanticism and its emphasis on the emotional experience fiercely challenged the dominant approach of rational thinking of the preceding 150 years, established by the Enlightenment. Even though religion was treated with little reverence, it was still fascinating to them. No traditional religious art was produced, but biblical stories and religious imagery continued to be sources of inspiration, similar to folk tales. Romanticism wasn’t embraced by only painters, but also poets, composers, novelists and philosophers. The conflict between what was disdained as a dehumanized and mechanical world versus a nostalgic yearning for a simpler life and an appreciation for nature is still alive in our culture today.

Despite the ongoing urbanization, Romantic art depicted villages rather than expanding cities. While large numbers left rural areas and settled in the city, the Romantics longed for life in the country. Rather than machines and factories, they put rural landscapes on display. That signaled a comeback for landscape paintings which were very popular during the Baroque period. However, nature does not only provide a setting for the painting, but also its main subject matter, so much so that people are not present or minuscule in comparison to the setting. It’s not unusual to see only one or two small figures against an overwhelming rural background. Previously, nature was seen as subordinate to humans, a view heavily influenced by a Christian outlook, but that had changed as Europe became more secular during the Age of Enlightenment. It was a time when many felt that, with industrialization and new technologies, they acquired unprecedented power over nature. Romantic paintings served as a reminder that humans were still at the mercy of Mother Nature.

The French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote, “Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor exact truth, but in the way of feeling.” In light of feeling and individual experience, there was no place here for what tradtionally had influenced art; religion, reason, morality and civic virtues. Recurrent themes were human vulnerability and isolation; stunning landscapes and morbid subject matter. Romanticism was directed by the opposite of rationality – passion, intuition and the mysterious. The paintings showed strong emotions through facial expressions like anguish, intense pain, anger or fear.

To borrow a word from contemporary culture, Romantic art was “gothic.” It was dark, macabre and grotesque. Interestingly, it would still be accurate to associate the original meaning of “Gothic,” (that is “medieval”) in describing this art style because the artists revived cultural elements from the Middle Ages such as folklore and fairy tales, and stories of witches and angels. For many generations, since the start of the Enlightenment period, the educated classes looked down on that period and labelled it the “Dark Ages.” They had long admired the grandeur of the Greek and Roman cultures. Nonetheless, the Romantic artists viewed that pre-Renaissance era with admiration: they believed the educated generations that followed couldn’t produce a culture that matches that of the uncultivated, common people of the Middle Ages.