Baroque, derived from the Portuguese 'barocco' meaning, 'irregular pearl or stone') describes a fairly complex idiom, originating in Rome, which flowered during the period c.1590-1720. It also embraced sculpture, panting 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 enunciated at the Council of Trent, 1545-63). Baroque Art is less complex, more realistic and more emotionally affecting than Mannerism. Baroque art had a wide array of styles and genres with complexity and drama. It embraced dynamism, theatricality and elaborate ornamentation. As mentioned, Renaissance and mannerism are precursor to the style seen in Baroque. In addition, new techniques of Tenebrism; the use of extreme contrasts of light and dark in figurative compositions to heighten their dramatic effect, and stronger Chiaroscuro; a technique employed in the visual arts to represent light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects, to enhance the atmosphere.
Visual characteristics of Baroque art were dramatic, exuberant, exaggerated, ornate and it had a sense of Artistic sensationalism. Italian baroque art developed a new dynamic and spectacular style that is characterised by dramatic theatricality, grandiose scale and elaborate ornateness. Baroque art, one of the great periods of art history, was developed by Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, and Gianlorenzo Bernini, among others. This was also the age of Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Vermeer. In this essay i will be comparing two artists from the same era, Baroque, starting off with Caravaggio followed by Diego Velazquez.
Assault, Murder, Consorting with the devil. The notorious and mischievous succès-de-scandale of the 17th century, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was accused of all of these and more during his turbulent career. Condemned as the "antichrist of painting’’ Caravaggio was as controversial for his revolutionary artworks as he was for his infamous temper and a long history of police records. Michelangelo Merisi, known to history as Caravaggio, which was the name of his native village near Bergamo, was believed to have been born on the autumn of 29th September 1571 and died on the 18th July 1610. His christian name of Michelangelo suggests that his exact birth date was as mentioned, 29th September, the feast day of Archangel Michael. Merisi was an Italian painter who was active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily from the early 1950s to 1610. Merisi was orphaned at the age of only 11 and apprenticed with a painter, Simone Peterzano, in Milan; specializing in still-lives. In 1592, he takes to Rome, the spiritual capital of the Italian peninsula, changing his subject matter to street life and young boys. His paintings carries a combination of realistic observation of the human state in both physical and emotional, followed by a dramatic use of lighting. His work then became popular for the tenebrism technique that he used, which used shadows to emphasize lighter areas of his paintings. Amongst all of Caravaggio’s painting, the one that caught my eye was the spectacular “Madonna of the Rosary”.
The rosary as an object, elucidates as a string with beads. It is not unique to Catholicism and is a prayer technique used in the ancient times. It is claimed that, during a vision, the beads were handed over to Saint Dominic (d. 1221, founder of the Dominican Order) by the Virgin Mary. Caravaggio’s Madonna of the Rosary, like many of his other works, differs from convention. The first thing that i notice whenever i look at this painting is the central placement of the poor men’s dirty feet. Equally eye catching are the sheer number of hands that reach up, almost desperate looking, for one of the rosaries Saint Dominic holds. The painting is framed by a red curtain, the Madonna and Child sit enthroned and elevated above the crowd. Mary is seen to be motioning hand gestures to Saint Dominic while carrying the adorable, chubby Christ child in one hand. The christ child is glaring over his shoulder to his right; looking toward Dominican friar Saint Peter Martyr, whose head bleeds, recalling his violent death when he took an axe to his head. Saint Dominic holds out rosary beads to a diverse population of people as seen in the painting. The people include three apparent beggars with dirty feet and are showing desperate gestures, reaching up for the rosaries. A woman and a child are also depicted in the painting, followed by a wealthy looking gentleman, who is kneeling as he looks out to the viewer while his hands supports Saint Dominic’s robe, conjuring Saint Dominic’s protection. To the right of painting stands a hooded Dominican friar.