1. Summarize the goals and interests of the Counter-Reformation, and explain the impact of the Council of Trent on Italian artists working in its wake. It may be helpful to look back to Chapters 20 and 21 in forming your answer.
Basically, the Counter-Reformation was the Catholic church and the Pope trying to quell the religious revolution that was Protestantism. They were trying to initiate church reforms and educate people about Catholicism to placate the Protestants, and hopefully turn them back to the Pope. The Council of Trent was convened to basically approve what could and couldn’t be painted, and even destroyed some works that didn’t fit in with what they’re vision was. They defined Catholic dogma, initiated disciplinary reforms, and regulated the training of clerics. This also meant that a lot of religious art made a surprising comeback, and the Classical style started to make a small revival as well.
2. Discuss how Bernini and Caravaggio established the Baroque style in sculpture and painting respectively. Locate the defining traits of the period style in at least one work from the chapter by each of these artists.
Bernini was, in my opinion, the finest sculptor whose works I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. He defined Baroque style with his sculptures in their lifelike quality, and that they twisted and could be viewed from all sides. They entered the viewers space. Also, Bernini gave emotion to the faces of the people he sculpted, instead of giving them the Classical easy smile. For a good example of this, look to Bernini’s David. Caravaggio introduced incredibly frank realism and dramatic, theatrical lighting to Baroque art. He invented tenebrism, in which forms emerge from a dark background into strong light. For an example of this, look to Caravaggio’s The Conversion of St. Paul.
3. Trace the influence of Caravaggio’s painting style by demonstrating how specific stylistic features that he pioneered were adopted by artists in other parts of Europe. Discuss at least one Spanish artist and at least one Northern European artist in your answer.
One of Caravaggio’s most copied technique was tenebrism, which I mentioned above. It can be found in many Spanish paintings, but is most recognizable in Diego Velazquez’s Water Carrier of Seville. The background is intensely dark, with the man in the front being heavily lit and the boy beside him partially lit while is dark shirt melds with the background. A Northern European artist who emulated Caravaggio in some aspects was Frans Hals. In his portrait of Catharina Hooft and Her Nurse, he employs tenebrism and theatrical lighting, as well as the realism familiar with Caravaggio’s works.
4. Determine how Poussin’s landscapes depart from other stylistic currents at the time. What is meant by the term “Classicism” in relation to Poussin’s style? Comment on its importance for the future of French art.
Poussin, a French artist who worked in Italy, was influenced not by Caravaggio, but by his contemporary, Carracci. Most artists at the time were followers of Caravaggio, so Poussin’s idealized landscapes were incredibly different from most paintings being produced. “Classicism” refers to the fact that Poussin idealized the landscapes he drew, and added in Roman and Greek ruins as well, to give the feeling of being in an ancient myth. These paintings were among the first works of the new style of rigorously ordered and highly idealized Classical landscapes with figures, which became quite popular later in French art.
5. Choose two paintings of monarchs in this chapter and explain how the artists who painted them embodied the ruler’s prestige and power. Are the strategies of these painters different from those employed by painters of powerful people in the sixteenth century?
So, first I guess, is Hyacinthe Rigaud’s Louis XIV, which the king liked so much he refused to give it to Philip V of Spain, for whom it was originally painted. The power here is in the rich brocade and fabrics, and in the sable clock thrown over King Louis’ shoulder. It’s in his stance and his demeanor. The prestige is the velvet fleur-de-li brocade, representing the French royalty. Also the thing is Then there is Diego Vazquez’s Las Meninas, which I’ve talked about previously. This is a lot more subdued, but the power and prestige is still there. It’s in the finely tailored clothing and the calm demeanor of the child, in the gorgeous and spacious room and also this one is also gigantic. I think the strategies are just a little different. They try and give some humanity back to their subjects, instead of making them austere, and they are brighter, and more sumptuous as well.
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