Chapter 13 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY IN EUROPE

Chapter 13 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY IN EUROPE The key events of seventeenth century Europe were: the rise of the Dutch republic, the decline of Spain, and the Thirty Years War. After Holland gained its independence from Spain, its prosperity was founded on free enterprise at home and a world wide maritime trade. Throughout Europe there was a revolt against longestablished authority, especially in the field of science. Frances Bacon proposed an inductive approach to the physical sciences which was widely accepted by the end of the century. René Descartes freed Western philosophy from its dependence on Plato and Aristotle with a new theory of knowledge that led to the famous conclusion, I think, therefore I am. The visual arts, at first, did not keep up with these new thoughts; instead it coincided with the recovery of the Papacy from the Protestant Reformation. With the rise of academies for the arts came the growth of art collecting, both of old masters and contemporary works, making easel painting a prime importance. Key Terms: Caravaggism Baroque Learning Objectives: The blatant use of the arts and architecture by the French monarchy. The influence of Dutch art in England. The effects of the Protestant Reformation on the arts. The rise of still life and genre subject matter in Dutch painting. NEW BEGINNINGS IN ROME Caravaggio, Conversion of St. Paul (fig. 13.1) This painting does not use the usual symbolism of religious paintings. Page 129

Caravaggio approaches the subject of Paul s conversion by rejecting the idealism of the High Renaissance. Texture throughout the painting is rendered with illusionistic skill. As a means of attaining spiritual understanding Caravaggio relies on the senses instead of the intellect. This approach to painting was called Caravaggism and became a great influence throughout Europe in that the artists began to produce paintings of unidealized, boldly illuminated figures that were set against dark, mysterious backgrounds. Carracci, ceiling frescoes (fig. 13.2) Carracci broke away from the past as Caravaggio did. His ceiling frescoes are painted in a style inspired by Raphael and antique sculpture, and are evenly lit. Carracci rationalized Michelangelo s scheme in the Sistine Chapel and used skillful foreshortened figures. BAROQUE ART AND ARCHITECTURE The term Baroque was first used as a term of critical abuse coming from two words current in seventeenth century Italy: the Italian barocco referred to tortuous medieval pedantry and the Portuguese barrocco, which is a deformed pearl. Both words had to do with the deviation from a norm and to the eighteenth century theorists they applied to an art and architecture that appeared impure and irrational. Rubens and van Dyck Peter Paul Rubens age and social background set him apart from other artists. He was the son of a prominent lawyer and was given a Classical education. In 1609, Rubens was appointed court painter to the Habsburg regent of the Netherlands. Rubens, Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus fig. 13.4) Rubens robust sensuality and fertile imagination created a strong individual character in all of his works. This painting may have been inspired by Titian s Rape of Europa(fig. 11.48). The influence of Brueghel can also be seen in the background landscape. Page 130

Rubens introduced a new brand of female beauty: fullbreasted, broad-waisted, more of a woman than of a girl. The women in this painting are in complementary poses; one almost a mirror image of the other. Rubens rejected the traditional use of the pyramidal composition for a picture of intersecting diagonals with the twist and counter twist of the forms. Rubens, Landscape with Rainbow (fig. 13.8) Rubens made a fortune with his work and in 1635 bought a country estate whose surrounding country inspired a series of paintings. Though in the past Rubens had often sketched views of nature, it is only now that he depicts landscape for its own sake. A Flemish pride in land ownership may have prompted works such as this painting. van Dyck, Charles I with M. de St. Antoine (fig. 13.10) van Dyck was one of Rubens most notable assistant. Though he painted a variety of subject matters it was as a portrait painter that he excelled. Charles I is presented in the grand manner of Marcus Aurelius but is shown riding through a triumphal arch. van Dyck used a low viewpoint to create a sense of a divinely appointed monarchy. The Easel Painting in Italy Italian works of art were eagerly sought by collectors. Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes (fig. 13.11) Gentileschi was a follower of Caravaggio, but her canvases created a strong sense of violence not found in Caravaggio s work. In this painting, Judith is slowly carving off the head of Holofernes in vivid reconstruction of the story told in the Book of Judith. Gentileschi specialized in paintings depicting women in a dominant role. Some people attribute this to the fact that she was raped and that it was she who was tortured during the trial. Page 131

Reni, Atalanta and Hippomenes (fig. 13.12) Reni adopted Caravaggio s dramatic chiaroscuro for his dramatic figures. In this painting Reni composed the figures like an antique relief. The figures are posed as if in a ballet and the drapery is rendered like fluttering ribbons. Bernini Bernini regarded himself primarily as a sculptor yet he was also a gifted architect. He was a fast worker with a demonic drive and dominated the artistic scene in Rome for half a century. Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Teresa (fig. 13.17) This sculpture is the centerpiece of a chapel commissioned by Cardinal Federico Cornaro. Bernini responded to St. Teresa s writings and did not minimize the body s great share in the spiritual experience. St. Teresa is shown with physical abandon, having just received communion and her miraculous transformation at the moment of her death. Borromini Borromini had a great knowledge of ancient Roman architecture and his work made more of a intellectual than emotional appeal. He was a stone carver by trade and at first was employed as a decorative sculptor and draftsman. Borromini, S Agnese in Piazza Navona (figs. 13.20; 21) Borromini s use of intersecting equilateral triangles and circles created a very unusual hexagonal central space. The purpose of the church was to provide suitable space for the preaching of sermons to students and this freed Borromini from the usual Counter Reformation church plan. The dome is unprecedented in concept in that it is formed simply by the continuation of the walls upwards and inwards until they meet in the circle of light beneath the lantern. Poussin and Claude Two of the most distinguished painters in Rome during the mid-seventeenth century were Poussin and Claude Lorraine. Page 132

In 1628 Poussin was commissioned to do an important altarpiece in St. Peter s but it was not well received, after which he concentrated on relatively small paintings for cabinets of collectors. Claude had no Classical training but was trained as a pastry-cook before he went to Rome, where he learned to paint as an assistant to a decorative artist. The Classical Landscape was virtually his creation and the idea of landscape as one of the higher art forms was largely due to him. Poussin, The Holy Family on the Steps (fig. 13.26) This painting shows Poussin s work at its most stoical severity. Every element has both a symbolic meaning and a pictorial function in the simple balance of the composition. Lorraine, Landscape with the Father of Psyche sacrificing to Apollo (fig. 13.27) Lorraine s landscapes represent the pastoral world of a Classical Golden Age which was a recurring theme in European literature and art. His inspiration was the countryside around Rome. His principal innovation was in the treatment of light emanating from the horizon towards the spectator and was reflected by the water showing his avoidance of the blaze of noonday light in favor of the diffused glow of morning and early evening. Velazquéz After visiting Rome twice, Velazquéz began to work in a style that was influenced by Caravaggio. In 1623, Velazquéz entered into the service of the Spanish king Philip IV in whose art collection Velazquéz was exposed to the works by Venetian painters. Velazquéz, Las Meninas (fig. 13.29) This painting is regarded as Velazquéz supreme achievement. By the end of the seventeenth century this painting was regarded as a painting about painting. All of the figures within the painting are members of the royal household. The figures are presented in a haphazard arrangement making the composition come across like a snapshot and not a formal painting. Page 133

This painting demonstrates the painter s unique power to represent life as it takes place before our eyes. DUTCH PAINTING The Dutch revolt against the Spanish king started out to regain their ancient privileges and soon included the struggle for religious as well as civic liberties. After the defeat of the Spaniards many Protestant sects were tolerated in Holland as well as giving asylum to Jews fleeing Spain. The Dutch republic was defensive, rather than aggressive in foreign policy with an economy based on commerce, instead of agriculture. Bankers, merchants, and shippers made up the upper class and under their patronage secular painting flourished as never before and as nowhere else. The Dutch brought easel painting with its varied subject matters to its height and there was little if no demand for altarpiece or even grandiose architecture or sculpture. Hals Hals is regarded as the founder of the Dutch school of painting, specializing in portrait painting. In his portrait like paintings of people from contemporary life, Hals was free to study expression and character. Hals, The Merry Drinker (fig. 13.30) The subject is presented with a bibulously flushed face, twinkling eyes and seems to be surprised by the viewer. The brushwork is spontaneous and gives the impression of instantaneous life and the jagged outline suggests sudden movement. Much of the animated spark comes from the highlights added as the final touch to the work. Rembrandt From the beginning of his career Rembrandt incorporated the spiraling compositions of Rubens and the strong chiaroscuro of Caravaggio. Rembrandt would always assimilate outside influences into his work. Page 134

Rembrandt, The Night Watch (fig. 13.32) This is the traditional name of a painting that is really a group portrait of a militia company. Rembrandt presented this group as they leave their headquarters for a ceremonial parade enabling him to present an insignificant incident as a grand historical spectacle. Rembrandt wanted to create a thrilling atmosphere with the use of contrasts of light and shade, brilliant and drab color, a variety of poses, gestures and facial expressions. Rembrandt, Return of the Prodigal Son (fig. 13.38) The paintings done in Rembrandt s later years were intensely private. In this painting Rembrandt used somber colors which have an interior warmth. Rembrandt emphasizes the relationship between the father and the kneeling son by using a light that also catches the hands and face of the elder brother. Rembrandt does not use emotion or gestures but the meaning of the parable is visible in the image of humble repentance and tender fatherly forgiveness. Landscape After the founding of the Dutch republic a new way of representing the featureless Dutch local scene began to appear in paintings. The new representation of landscape was never meant for Biblical or mythological stories. Landscape paintings were rarely commissioned by individual patrons. Rather they were usually painted on speculation for a wide public, sold on the open market and bought by town dwelling merchants. It was believed that the Bible and nature were twin sources of divine understanding and the recurrence in paintings of the towers of medieval churches was a reminder of the Protestant origin and providential protection of the republic. Most of the landscape paintings were manifestation of contemporary scenes. van Goyen, View of Rhenen (fig. 13.39) van Goyen is regarded as one of the most gifted Dutch landscape painters. Page 135

This painting depicts shipping on the river, three men on a punt on a backwater in the foreground and foot travelers on the right. These elements and the use of medieval walls are absorbed into a vision of peace and harmony. As in many Dutch landscapes two-thirds of the canvas is devoted to the sky. van Ruisdael, Windmill at Wijk (fig. 13.30) van Ruisdael adopted a less restricted palette than van Goyen. In this painting, van Ruisdael exaggerated the size of the mill and has replaced the town wall with the figures of three women. He did include the church and gave prominence to the palings reinforcing the river bank and protected the land from floods. Still Life and Genre Nearly all of the Dutch artists at this time specialized in a particular subject matter and were sometimes even more selective like a still life painter restricting himself to a single class of objects. Scenes of ordinary everyday indoor life vied with landscape and still life for the favors of the Dutch art buying public. These small paintings with sharp detail represented the familiar world and were easily adapted for the living rooms of the middle class houses. Kalf, Still Life (fig. 13.43) Kalf was one of the most gifted still life painters of the seventeenth century who depicted luxury objects such as Turkish rugs and Chinese porcelain bowls with oranges and lemons. This painting demonstrated his illusionistic skill which enabled him to create sumptuous colors, textures, reflections and transparencies. Leysster, The Proposition (fig. 13.46) The realism of these paintings was not the main reason for their popularity, most if not all of them originally carried a moral message. Page 136

Many of them alluded to sexual transgression which was presented in such a manner that they offered the viewer the choice of merely enjoying the painting. Vermeer He also specialized in moralizing genre pictures but he produced very few paintings. Vermeer stands apart from other painters of his time on account of his extreme, sensitivity in the rendering of light. His method of capturing the sparkle of light in minute pearl like dots beyond the contours of objects is unique. Vermeer, The Art of Painting (fig. 13.48) The painter here is dressed in sixteenth century costume and the model is posed with the attributes of the Muse of History. The drapery resembles that used in official portraits and on the wall is a recently printed Dutch map of the Netherlands. ENGLAND AND FRANCE There was a close cultural link between the Dutch republic and England. English books were translated into Dutch but in the visual arts the influence was in the opposite direction. Dutch influence dominated the decorative arts and domestic architecture; a more Italian style was introduced for royal buildings by Inigo Jones. In France, the visual arts were enrolled, ordered, and paraded in the service of autocracy. No other art movement is more directly expressive of the political ambitions and achievements of a monarch than that for Louis XIV. Wren, St Paul s Cathedral (fig. 13.49) Wren turned to the Italian style when he was called upon to design this and 51 parish churches which had been destroyed by a fire in 1666. He studied engravings of Bramante s design for St Peter s in Rome before deciding on the final design. Page 137

Garden facade of the Palace of Versailles (fig. 13.53) The palace of Versailles was a manifestation of Louis XIV s determination to shine as the greatest ruler in Europe. The king s personal approval was needed for even minor decorative details, especially those having referring to him. Page 138