Baroque Style Free Essay Example, 750 words

Baroque affiliation Even the greatest artists rarely can be called the founders of a new style in art, but Peter Paul Rubens is an exception. Thanks to him we are now familiar with such style as Baroque. This style is characterized by dynamic compositions, catchy flamboyance and unusual stories that become the basis for the paintings. Rubens was famous for mythological and religious subjects of his paintings. One of such paintings is The Union of Earth and Water. There are two interpretations for this painting. The obvious one that comes to mind is the depiction of two mythological characters – Cybele that holds the horn of plenty, and Neptune, who is recognizable for the trident in his hand. Their union, which is prosperous for the mankind, is blessed by Victory, who puts the golden crown on Cybele’s head. There is another interpretation of the painting – the allegorical one. It is possible that Rubens depicted the union of the city of Antwerp and the river Scheldt. As it is known from history, in 1617 the peace treaty was signed in Flanders, and the painting was created in 1618 – as a symbol of prosperity of the region, characterized by the union of the trade and the sea routes. We will write a custom essay sample on Baroque Style or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now This second interpretation seems to be more logical to us, because there is no myth confirming the union of Neptune and Cybele, whereas the signing of the peace treaty is a historical fact and it is very possible to be the ground for this piece of art. The Taking of Christ, painting by Caravaggio, represents Baroque style as well. The story of the painting is interesting, because for a long time it was attributed to another artist. It was painted at the beginning of the 17th century for Mattei family. It was known that the painting existed but its location was not known. When it was found and examined in Dublin, it became apparent that it truly belongs to Caravaggio’s hand, because it was characterized by the features that typically belonged to the painter’s style: â€Å"bright highlights, dark sharp shadows, and a black background† (Caravaggio Gallery, 2013) One technique that Caravaggio often used in his paintings is the use of the back of his brush to highlight or outline parts. It is also present at the painting. The sharp contrast between light and dark characteristic for Caravaggio, is outstanding here. The artist took Biblical story as the base for The Taking of Christ – betrayal of Christ by Judas and his taking by the Roman soldiers. There are seven figures at the painting. It is interesting to see how the expressions of their faces are different. Jesus is calm and peaceful, He knows about what He needs to go through, and He is ready for that. In contrast to Jesus, the face of St. John shows pain and distress. The disciple is shocked by what is going on. The face of Judas is seemingly calm as he is kissing the cheek of Christ and thus betrays him. There are four figures at the right half of the paining, one of them, the man with the lantern, is believed to be the self-portrait of Caravaggio himself. Religious theme was one of the central in Caravaggio’s art. Though he himself was known for quite free character and rackety way of life, getting into fights and being of bad temper, his religious paintings are true masterpieces. He was the supporter of realism in art and this was reflected in his paintings. The third painting of the religious background in Baroque style is The Assumption of the Virgin by Rubens. This painting was created as an altarpiece for the Antwerp Cathedral in 1626, and one can find it in this same Cathedral nowadays. The Cathedral announced a competition for the decoration of the altar in 1611, in 1618 Rubens won the competition and the painting was commissioned to him. According to the apocrypha of the New Testament, Maria, the mother of Christ, was ascended to Heaven after her death. One can see the assumption of the Virgin by the choir of angels, the Twelve Apostles got together around the tomb. Some of them raised their hands hoping to touch her clothes, the other ones look at her in reverence. The women at the painting are considered to be Mary Magdalene and the two sisters of Virgin Mary. One of the women holds a flower in her hand, which symbolizes that the flowers fill up the empty tomb. Religious topics were popular in the Baroque style of painting. The most prominent representatives of this direction of art, Rubens and Caravaggio, have used religious and mythological theme a lot. The use of light, dynamics, flamboyance – all these features one can see in the paintings of these prominent artists. References Peter Paul Rubens. The Assumption of the Virgin. Lichtenstein. The Princely collections. Retrieved from http: //www. liechtensteincollections. at/en/pages/artbase_main. asp? module=browse&action=m_work&lang=en&sid=87294&oid=W-1472004121953420197 Peter Paul Rubens. The complete works (2013) Retrieved from http: //www. peterpaulrubens. org/ The Taking of Christ (2013) Caravaggio Gallery. Retrieved from http: //www. caravaggiogallery. com/taking-of-christ. aspx What is baroque (2013) An introduction to art history. Retrieved from http: //www. artinthepicture. com/styles/Baroque/