Class 12
Today in class we discussed Baroque art in Flanders and Holland. The Netherlands we know now was divided. The north was protestant and the south portion was Catholic this created a strong catholic pride along the border creating a strong concentration of churches along the northern border of the southern region. Peter Paul Rubens was a distinguished artist from Antwerp at age 13 he learned to live in high society while being a page for the windowed countess. He then traveled to Rome where he learned and observed Caravaggio he was a very learned person, studying archeology, the study of coins as well as knowing 5 languages. He painted religious and non-religiously with dynamic body and spatial movement.
Frans Hals paints the jolly topper and dynamic non-graded like group portraits from studies and wax figures. He would go back through after completing the complex spontaneous-looking compositions and add brush marks that looked like they were applied with a heist to create the illusion of how quickly the paint was made. He called them his writing, as this move was a signature.
Rembrandt paints many self-portraits and portraits. He shows an element of self-exploration.
A new idea is the specification of painters. Some would focus on one subject and perfect that to create a niche in the open art market for themselves.