We spent this class discussing Baroque art in Flanders and Holland. We started off by discussing the religious differences in the Southern Spanish controlled Netherlands (Belgium), which was Catholic, and the Northern Dutch Republic, which was Protestant. We first looked at the work of Peter Paul Rubens, who was heavily influenced by Caravaggio, and spent the majority of his career in Antwerp. The first work of his that we looked at was the Elevation of the Cross from 1611. The painting was done in the old-fashioned style of a triptych. This choice was probably made by the commissioner of the painting to bring viewers back to a time before the Reformation. The painting implements the Baroque theme of taking a snapshot of a scene, evidenced by the straining of those lifting the cross. The contrast between light and dark which draws eyes to the diagonals in the painting, highlights Caravaggio’s influence. We also discussed the concept of group portraits, using Frans Hals’s Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Militia as an example. Hals was able to create a snapshot of a group dinner to create a dynamic group portrait.
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Today in class we looked at Baroque art in Flanders and Holland, a region collectively known as the Low Countries. Beginning in southern Flanders and Antwerp, Peter Paul Rubens was a famed artist heavily influenced by Caravaggio who interacted with high society. He directed a large studio that produced many paintings and had many artists working for him. Rubens’ large triptych altarpiece, Elevation of the Cross, depicted the scene of Christ being raised with the cross as he’s nailed to it. This religious scene was consistent with the Catholic views of Flanders and with the Baroque style. The raising of the cross is frozen mid-action, creating an instantaneous snapshot of the scene. The painting also contains many powerful diagonals emphasized with the contrast between light and dark, and muscled characters similar to those from the Sistine Chapel. Anthony Van Dyck worked in Ruben’s studio as a portraiture. He became known for his portraits of kings, including Charles I of England Hunting. The seemingly casual portrait depicts the king off his horse, but his position on a hill above the viewer and horse bowing his head still give him an air of authority.
In northern Holland, the region was Protestant and as a result, artwork had a more secular influence. Rembrandt, for instance, was fascinated with self-portraits and explorations of self-representation at varying points of life. He also tackled the group portraits such as The Night Watch where he painted an entire militia company assembled for a parade. Influenced by Caravaggio as well, he used tenebrism to enhance the mood of the scene and illuminate his central point.
During the Baroque Art period in Flanders and Holand, each country was choosing sides with the reformation or the counter reformation. The Netherlands was intensely Catholic and showed this through the creating of many churches. Peter Paul Rubens came from a rich family. He grew up to learn many different languages and achieved great success in his lifetime. He eventually had his own sort of company with many people working for him. His work, Elevation of the Cross, depicted Christ nailed to the cross being hoisted up by a group of people. On the left frame his followers are looking onto the scene with fear and sadness while on the right soldiers are looking with satisfaction. The musculature of the people hosting the cross is similar to Michaelangelo’s depiction of people in the Last Judgment. Throughout this work there are diagonals created through the contrast of light and dark. The work is an old-fashioned type of work showing an allegiance to tradition.
The next group of works we looked at showed a continuation of many of the artistic qualities of Elevation of the Cross, such as works by Anthony Van Dyck, who was a student of Rubin who started by working in his studio painting portraits. His style was very similar because of this. Also, Rembrandt van Rijin’s use of light and dark contrast.
Lastly the little masters were artists who focused on a singular subject. This helped build their brand leading to a more profitable Carrer. This seems to still be a pattern in the artwork today as artist who stick to a certain niche have more success than those who bounce around.
In class on Wednesday we visited the Colby Museum of Art to learn about and view different forms of printmaking. The two primary forms of printmaking were relief (woodcut) and intaglio (including etching, drypoint, and engraving). We were able to look closely at the works by talented printmakers which are held within the museum, including those made by Rembrandt and Dürer. Our ability to get close to the prints, even looking at them under a magnifying glass, allowed us to further understand and differentiate the different printmaking styles and the techniques attributed to different styles.
With the expansion of the Protestant Reformation, modern day Holland split into a Protestant north and a Catholic south. With Protestantism taking hold in the north, the south became militantly Catholic, especially in regard to their art and iconography. The Baroque ideals of coextensive space, audience interaction, and the incredible extent of Caravaggio’s influence culminate in painters like Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens, much like Leonardo, embodies the modern painter in the 17th century. His step into dynamic compositions, innovative colors, and commitment to capturing an instant within a larger action goes on to define and influence the rest of the period.
Frans Hals in particular developed a painterly application of paint that was distinguishable as his own. After painting something, Hals would go over it with his ‘handwriting,’ a style of painting that makes the paint application look rapid and fluid. This style is an example of artists making themselves recognizable within a secular, open market. Hals also specialized in group portraits such as the St. George Civic Guard. Paulus Potter almost exclusively painted cows in landscape. Catering to the open market without a nobility to rely on forced artists to separate themselves from other artists.
Today we focus on the Baroque Art in Flanders and Holland. We broke down the Netherlands into the south and north and elaborated on the popular use of Baroque in each place. In the North Netherlands, Peter Paul Rubens was influenced by Caravaggio when he traveled to Rome in the 17th century. We talked about his art pieces like the Elevation of the Cross and the Portrait of Marie de Medici. Both art pieces have diagonals that are being created by how the artists use the contrast of light and dark. We also noticed that he uses instantaneous movements to allude movement of the figures. We then elaborated on how Ruben and Nicolas Poussin became symbols in the 17th century and battled to see who was the most contemporary artist. We then shift our attention to one of Rubens’s students Anthony van Dyck. His work is very similar to Rubens’s because he had to learn to blend like his mentor when they worked together. The mentee then went on to paint for Charles I of England. We then move to the South of the Netherlands. We start with Frans Hals and his portrait of The Jolly Topper. We analyze how he creates the rushed effects and uses highlights and shadows in the painting. We then also look at his Banquet Portrait and conclude that in the South group portraits were popular. We also see Rembrandt van Rijn create almost 100 portraits of himself which demonstrates his exploration of himself. He also creates the Night Watch and The Hundred Guilder Print. One art piece is experimental with drypoint and the other is an influence of Caravaggio and Baroque art.
We picked up on the continuation of the Baroque Art Period by introducing Gianlorenzo Bernini. He was a playwright and architect, which played a part in his art style. He created a sculpture of David out of marble in Rome. we realized that the sculpture showed two movements that show the development of the drama. He shows an instantaneous pose to engage the audience in the sequence of David killing Goliath. We then looked at his other sculptures like The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, in which we then elaborated on that the illustration of the figures moving was a part of the Baroque art style. We then shifted to analyzing Ignatius of Loyola’s practice of spiritual exercise that played a part in Berini’s art. After understanding the spiritual influence on Berini we looked at Baldacchino a marker for St. Peter. We also broke down the Piazza before St. Peter and Francesco Borromint San Carlo which have elliptical strictures and allude its height to viewers. After we then turned our attention to Spain and Juan Sanchez Cotan. He painted still-life portraits like The Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber. Also Jespe de Ribera and his portrait of a boy with a club foot. We wrap up class with the theory of painting and its use in Spanish art.
In class, we focused on the North of Europe during the High Renaissance. We started discussing the artist Pieter Bruegel who created many pieces of art such as the blind leading the blind. While analyzing the blind leading the blind we concluded he based the art off a verse from Matthews, the showcase of diagonals, and mannerism. We then talked about his other works like The Return of the Hunters which also had diagonals and the art seeps into our real world. We then turn our focus to the Italian Baroque Art Period which took place during the 17th century. The style was thriving during the counter-reformations and when art was used as an advertising against the catholic church. We also noticed how the Carracci family created an academy that repelled mannerisms. We continued to analyze some of the Carracci family art pieces until we looked at Artemisia Gentileschi who was a Caravaggist. We analyzed how her replica of Judith which was a derivative of Caravaggio’s style and artwork.
We focused today on Baroque art from Flanders and Holland, who despite being neighbors, created drastically different art. The Northern part of the Netherlands, known then as the Dutch Republic or now as Holland, was Protestant. While the southern part of the Netherlands, the Spanish Netherlands or Belgium, remained staunchly Catholic. Also the great trade and shipping empire created by the Dutch Republic lead to the development of a wealthy middle class that was able to purchase art from the open market. This is not as much a feature seen in the South where art was based on commission.
The most influential painter from this area was Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens had traveled to Italy and was greatly influenced by the works he saw from artists such as Titan, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio. When he returned to Flanders he incorporated a lot of the distinctive features of these artists into his own works. The Elevation of the Cross features a traditional triptych design, similar to the Merode Triptych which was made almost 200 years prior, and is ment to harken back to the “good ol days” of the Catholic Church before the Reformation. The scene shows a true snapshot image of the moment as Christ, after being nailed to cross, is raised up. The men lifting him strain their muscles dramictly and twist their bodies in Michelangelo like contortions. The left panel contains the friends and followers of Christ, who are contrasted by the right panel which shows the soldiers and thieves that are also being crucified with Christ.
As we did with our discussion of the Renaissance, we started our discussion off in Italy than slowly made our way up North. For today’s class, we focused specifically on the seventeenth century art of the Low Countries.
We started off with some historical context, focusing on how the reformation and subsequent counter reformation affected the Catholic Belgium (particularly Flanders) and the Protestant Dutch. It’s hard to imagine how culturally significant the Protestant Revolution was, and how it had humongous ripple effects in everything from geopolitics to art.
We started off with a discussion of the Flemish master Pieter Paul Rubens. I like when Professor Plesch gives us short biographies of the artists we discuss. Like the Baroque ideals, it really brings their identities into the classroom in a way that makes it easier for us to understand their works and the influences on their style. I think Rubens’ paintings look a lot like any other Baroque painter, but I saw some aspects of Northern tradition like the detail-oriented Naturalism visible in the depictions of Roman soldiers in the Raising of the Cross. Rubens’ Marie de Medici Landing in France didn’t do much for me, though I appreciate the creativity required for the allegorical representations of France and showing mythical figures at the service of the queen.
We then moved on to discussing the United Provinces of the modern day Netherlands. It was cool that the growing middle class were the primary patrons of Dutch artists — it really seems to have opened the door for many more secular images that I personally prefer to religious ones. I think Frans Hals is a really good painter, his visible brushstrokes and colorful images capture the feelings and personalities of figures in a less literal, yet certainly more impactful way.