Baroque French Classicism and the Rococo 17th to 18th Centuries

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		These two paintings are both Baroque renderings of aristocrats from the 1600 to 1700's.  One of them represents the older more autocratic traditions of Europe but both are the results of the "Enlightenment."The way in which they are portrayed are important clues as to how each of these rulers ruled there people and how they saw the world.  You will be given an assignment in which you will be asked to compare and contrast these two paintings and come up with some conclusions as to how each ruler is portrayed formally and iconographically.  You will be asked what this might mean about each ruler and the manner in which they governed.
Antoine Watteau. L' Indifferent 1716 Oil on canvas 10''x7'' Located in Louvre, Paris French Rococo	Hyacinthe Rigaud Louis XIV 1701 Oil on canvas 9'2''x7'' Located in Louvre, Paris French Baroque

Nicolas Poussin, Bacchanal before a Statue of Pan 1631-33 Oil on canvas, 100 x 142,5 cm. National Gallery, London. French Baroque

Context:  This painting was executed just before Louis XIV came into his prime.  It represent both formally and iconographically a point of view that is in some ways similar but still different than the Rococo period.  In some ways classical images from the Baroque were a bit more "platonic" in nature than during the Rococo.Form: This painting is Baroque and in some ways it is the model for the paintings of the Rococo period.  This painting incorporates intense or saturated colors and a full use of chiaroscuro, linear perspective and atmospheric perspective and the pastoral or arcadian landscape.  The composition of this image recalls friezes from ancient Roman and Greek buildings and Poussin's figures are also dressed and modeled after classical figures. Iconography: The iconography of this painting is also somewhat the model for the Rococo paintings that follow.  It is the kind of image that Poussin might have seen in Italy either on a classical frieze or a pot.  Even though the image is "classical" it seems to me to be an almost sarcastic or moralizing way in which to depict it.  This painting seems almost to be a warning against hedonism. The theme this story that this painting portrays is a bacchanal. According to Webster's, bac.cha.na.lia n, pl bacchanalia [L, fr. Bacchus] (1591) 1 pl, cap: a Roman festival of Bacchus celebrated with dancing, song, and revelry 2: orgy 2, 3 -- bac.cha.na.lian adj or n

The Rococo style is a substyle of the French Baroque and really only exists from about 1716 to the 1770's at which time it fell out of style.  Webster's defines rococo as,

ro.co.co n (1840): rococo work or style ²rococo adj [F, irreg. fr. rocaille rocaille] (1841) 1 a: of or relating to an artistic style esp. of the 18th century characterized by fanciful curved asymmetrical forms and elaborate ornamentation b: of or relating to an 18th century musical style marked by light gay ornamentation and departure from thorough-bass and polyphony 2: excessively ornate or intricate

In terms of its form, the Rococo style is uses a lot of pastel colors which are various pale or light colors, such as powder blue, peaches and pinks.  The brushwork in many Rococo style paintings tends to be feathery and or rough.  Usually the paintings look a bit more like oil sketches and have a rough or unfinished look to them.  The compositions also tend to be a bit looser and not very symmetrical.In terms of iconography and subject matter, Rococo paintings do deal with classical themes but the stories emphasize less dignified themes such as love and romantic indiscretion, in short, the "Dangerous Liaison."   Stokstad points out that one of the main subjects of the Rococo style was the fête galante.

¹fete n [ME fete, fr. MF, fr. OF feste--more at feast] (15c) 1: festival 2 a: a lavish often outdoor entertainment b: a large elaborate party ²fete vt fet.ed ; fet.ing (1819) 1: to honor or commemorate with a fete 2: to pay high honor to
fete cham.pe.tre n, pl fetes champetres [F, lit., rural festival] (1774): an outdoor entertainment

Many of the images in Rococo art are borrowed from opera and Commedia dell'arte.  According to the Brittanica,

Around the mid-16th century, there emerged in Italy a lively tradition of popular theatre that fused many disparate elements into a vigorous style, which profoundly influenced the development of European theatre. This was the legendary commedia dell'arte ("theatre of the professionals"), a nonliterary tradition that centred on the actor, as distinguished from the commedia erudita, where the writer was preeminent. Although the precise origins of the commedia dell'arte are difficult to establish, its many similarities with the skills of the medieval jongleurs, who were themselves descendants of the Roman mimes, suggest that it may have been a reawakening of the fabula Atellana, stimulated and coloured by social conditions in Italy during the Renaissance.In spite of its outwardly anarchic spirit, the commedia dell'arte was a highly disciplined art requiring both virtuosity and a strong sense of ensemble playing. Its special quality came from improvisation. Working from a scenario that outlined the plot, the actors would improvise their own dialogue, striving for a balance of words and actions. Acrobatics and singing were also used, as well as the lazzi (special rehearsed routines that could be inserted into the plays at convenient points to heighten the comedy). Because the actors stayed together in permanent companies and specialized in playing the same role for most of their professional lives, they achieved a degree of mastery that had been hitherto unknown on the Italian stage and that must have made the rest of the theatre seem all the more artificial. Another reason for the impact of the commedia dell'arte was that it heralded the first appearance in Italy of professional actresses (the best known being Isabella Andreini), though the female characters were never as sharply developed as their male counterparts. Most of the characters were defined by the leather half-masks they wore (another link with the theatre of antiquity), which made them instantly recognizable. They also spoke in the dialect of their different provinces. Characters such as Pantalone, the miserly Venetian merchant; Dottore Gratiano, the pedant from Bologna; or Arlecchino, the mischievous servant from Bergamo, began as satires on Italian "types" and became the archetypes of many of the favourite characters of 17th- and 18th-century European theatre.
From humble beginnings, setting up their stages in city squares, the better troupes--notably Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli--performed in palaces and became internationally famous once they traveled abroad. The commedia dell'arte swept through Europe. It was particularly popular in France, where resident Italian troupes were established before the end of the 16th century. Local variations on the characters appeared in the 17th century. The cheeky servant Pedrolino became the melancholy Pierrot in France, while Pulcinella became Punch in England. By the 18th century the commedia dell'arte was a lost art, though its spirit lived on through the work of the dramatists it inspired, among whom were Molière (stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin), Carlo Goldoni, and William Shakespeare.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Contextually the Rococo style occurred mainly at a time when the aristocracy was fairly indifferent to ruling and more interested in having fun and enjoying the pleasures of life.  These excesses of the aristocracy ultimately lead to the downfall of the aristocratic class in France and the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1789.

Jean Antoine Watteau. Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera. 1717 oil/canvas 4'3"x6'4" Louvres, Paris French Rococo Nicolas Poussin Echo and Narcissus 1630 French BaroqueCompare Watteau's painting of a pastoral and classical image to Poussin's treatment of the same kind of image.  Think about how the form and the subject matter are at once different and the same.  Why do you think these differences exist? Read the two poems below and see if you can find any parallels between the two poems and the two paintings.  How are they alike and how are they different?

Form: Watteau's palette consists mainly of pastel colors which are various pale or light colors, such as powder blue, peaches and pinks.  The brushwork is feathery and or rough and the composition is asymmetrical.The main line of figures that moves across the foreground are arranged almost musically in uneven undulating intervals that weaves in and out of the Baroque diagonal created by the landscape they inhabit. Iconography and Context according to the Brittanica, Watteau's Cythera. In 1712 Watteau tried once more to go to Italy. He did not succeed, but he was accepted by the Académie as a painter of fêtes galantes--outdoor entertainments in which the courtiers often dressed in rural costumes--for his presentation of a scene depicting actors in a garden. Between 1710 and 1712 he had painted the first of his three versions of the "L'Embarquement pour l'île de Cythère." The myth of the island of Cythera, or of love, has distant roots in French and Italian culture, in which the journey is depicted as a difficult quest. Watteau's Cythera, by comparison, is a paradise wavering in the ephemeral and in artifice; it represents an invitation to delights amid the enchantment of nature. It is an island toward which the pilgrims embark but never arrive, preserving it preserves its light only if it remains far on the horizon.Watteau's first version of the subject is anecdotal: it illustrates a comedy motif in a vaguely Venetian ambience. The second--which is the most beautiful--has the aspect of a profane ritual in an unreal, immense, and almost frighteningly empty landscape. In the third, in which cherubim flutter around a golden gondola, the subject has become vulgarized. Common to all three versions is a theatrical, almost scenographic, composition, a chromatic transposition of all that is suggested in the theatrical universe. The wonderlands of opera, romance, and epic are all evoked by Watteau's Cythera, which represents the country of the impossible dream, the revenge of madness on reason, and of freedom on rules and morality. According to one hypothesis, the theme was suggested to Watteau by a prose play, Les Trois Cousines (1700), by Florent Dancourt, in the finale of which a group of country youths, disguised as pilgrims of love, prepare to embark on the voyage to the island of Cythera. Since this story of rustic millers is parodistic in intent and quite different from the refined scene that Watteau set in an unreal Venice, it is more probable that Watteau was inspired by an opéra ballet of Houdar de la Motte, La Vénitienne (1705), in which the invitation to the island of love includes not only the pilgrims of Cythera but also the stock characters of the commedia dell'arte--that is, both of the great themes that Watteau pursued all his life.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Christopher Marlowe c 1600Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feeds their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kittle Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold' A belt of straw and ivy buds, With coral clasps and amber studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love. The shepherd' swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my love.

The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618)If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd's tongue, These pretty pleasures might me move To live with the and be thy love. Time drives the flocks from field to fold When rivers rage and rocks grow cold, And Philomel becometh dumb; The rest complains of cares to come. The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields; A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall. Thy gowns, the shoes, thy beds of roses, Thy cap, the kirtle, and thy posies Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten-- In folly ripe, in reason rotten. Thy belt of straw and ivy buds, Thy coral clasps and amber studs, All these in me no means can move To come to thee and be thy love. But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age no need, Then these delights my mind might move To live with thee and be thy love.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing 1766 Oil on canvas 35''x32''  Wallace Collection, London French Rococo

Form:  Fragonard's palette is almost exactly the same as Watteau's.  It too consists mainly of pastel colors which are various pale or light colors, such as powder blue, peaches and pinks.  The brushwork is feathery and or rough and the composition is asymmetrical.The main line of figures that moves across the foreground are arranged almost musically in uneven undulating intervals that weaves in and out of the Baroque diagonal created by the landscape they inhabit. Iconography:  Fragonard uses a combination of contemporary 18th century eroticism and classical themes.  The scene here is almost one that you might find in a movie or novel such as Moll Flanders, Dangerous Liaisons, or the Affair of the Necklace. The painting The Swing was commissioned by the treasurer et the French clergy. The client wanted a scene in which a lover - who can be seen amongst the rose bushes in the left foreground - would have an opportunity to look under the skirts of his mistress; originally the swing was supposed to be pushed by a bishop. But when, owing to its piquant nature, the commission was given to Fragonard, he replaced the bishop with a gardener. (quoted from http://www.op.net/~uarts/lin/we_e_roco_1.html) The sculpture of Cupid and the two putti that hide in the bushes are an attempt in some ways to "dress up" the images with a classical touch.  The cupid presses his fingers to his lips as if to warn the young woman to be less obvious as she kicks her shoe off playfully.Fragonard also attempts to show his knowledge not just of classicism but also of art history with his playful nod to Michelangelo's Adam echoed in the pose of the young man who looks up his lover's skirts.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1732-1806 The Meeting, from Love of the Shepherds 1771-73 o/c 10'x7' New York, Frick Museum

Form:  In terms of form, this image is a perfect example of the Rococo style according to Stokstad's description of it.Iconography:  The works symbolism is almost completely clear even if one is not familiar with the exact story expressed by the series the Love of the Shepherds.  Here is a typical "dangerous liaison" as expressed in the two poems above by Marlowe and Raleigh.  The scene is a pastoral one, in fact the boy in red silk is the shepherd who vaults lightly over the low wall to meet his wary girlfriend.  Above them, almost in a decaying state because it is so overgrown, is a statue of Venus and Cupid. The imagery is taken from a variety of literary, theatrical, and operatic sources.  In many of the novels of the period, such as in Dangerous Liaisons, letter writing is an important plot element and in this painting we see that the young woman holds a love letter in her hand.  The young man has just climbed a ladder is a reference to many of Shakespeare's balcony scenes from Romeo to Cyrano as well as scenes from operas such as Mozart's Don Giovanni and Commedia dell'arte. Context:  Fragonard is the last of the great Rococo painters.  His style, which represents the last style developed by Louis XVI during his reign (1774-93) of Louis XVI, according to the Brittanica, was actually both a last phase of Rococo and a first phase of Neoclassicism. The predominant style in architecture, painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts was Neoclassicism, a style that had come into its own during the last years of Louis XV's life, chiefly as a reaction to the excesses of the Rococo but partly through the popularity of the excavations at ancient Herculaneum and Pompeii, in Italy, and partly on the basis of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's call for "natural" virtue and honest sentiment. One of the most dramatic episodes in the stylistic oscillation from Rococo to Neoclassicism was played out in 1770 at Mme du Barry's Pavillon de Louveciennes. A series of large painted canvases by the Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard depicting the "Progress of Love" were removed almost as soon as they were installed and replaced with a series commissioned from Joseph-Marie Vien, a Neoclassicist. Vien's pupil Jacques-Louis David was the most important painter of the reign of Louis XVI; his severe compositions recalling the style of the earlier painter Nicolas Poussin are documents extolling republican virtues. During the Revolution, David was a deputy and voted for the execution of the King.

François Boucher, Brown Odalisk 1745 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris François Boucher, Girl Reclining (Louise O'Murphy) 1751 Oil on canvas, 59,5 x 73,5 cm Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne

Form:  These are small paintings in which Boucher demonstrates his ability to paint the textures of skin, fabric and porcelain. Iconography:  Titian in his The Venus of Urbino, 1538 offers the male viewer a classisizing excuse for gazing on the female form, however, Boucher makes no such excuse for his painting.  This is most obviously this is a semi pornographic painting meant for a male audience.  Despite the fact that images like this have been defended as beautiful renderings of the human form, these images are overtly meant to be small erotic works that would have been hung in the bedroom to stimulate the sexual appetites of the occupants. What is more interesting about these two images is that they also juxtapose the eroticized female form with commodities or luxury items.  By playing the textures and body of the female against expensive persian carpets, fabrics, jewels and porcelain, the artist is also making the human female form another commodity which can be bought and sold.  In this way, the wealth of the patron is also eroticized.  This device is played off again and again throughout the history of art. Context:  These two images are also historical artifacts that document two facts.  The first is that Marie-Louise O' Murphy was one of the many mistresses of Louis XV and the brown odalisk is a reference to the French penchant for exotic women. According to the O'Murphy surnames website: The most notable woman bearing the Murphy name was the famous courtesan Marie Louise O Murphy (1737 - 1814), fifth daughter of an Irish soldier who had taken up shoemaking in Rouen, France. After his death, their mother brought the family to Paris where she traded in old clothes while finding her daughters work as actresses or models. Marie Louise posed for Boucher, a painter at court. He painted her so attractively that she came to the notice of Louis XV, who soon appointed her his mistress. Their child is supposed to have been General de Beaufranchet. She married three times and was divorced by her third husband, who was thirty years her junior. For a period during the reign of terror, she suffered imprisonment because of her royal connections. This is one of the first instances that I know of that an artist has painted an odalisk in France.  An odalisk or odalisque is a Turkish harem girl.  Images of asian or oriental nude harem girls become the fashion in French art from this point forward.  We'll see many more of these white European male's fantasies of eroticized asian women from now on. Images of the odalisque most likely symbolize the male French view of the world and in some ways both justify and inflame their desire to colonize the so called "orient."

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ar.ca.di.an adj, often cap (1589) 1: idyllically pastoral; esp: idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled 2 a: of or relating to Arcadia or the Arcadians b: of or relating to Arcadian Ar.ca.di.an n (1590) 1 often not cap: a person who lives a simple quiet life 2: a native or inhabitant of Arcadia 3: the dialect of ancient Greek used in ArcadiaAccording to the Brittanica,
Modern Greek ARKADHÍA, mountainous region of the central Peloponnesus of ancient Greece. The pastoral character of Arcadian life together with its isolation partially explains why it was represented as a paradise in Greek and Roman bucolic poetry and in the literature of the Renaissance. The region is not exactly coextensive with the present-day nomós (department) of Arkadhía, which extends on the east to the Gulf of Argolis. The capital of the nomos is Trípolis.
au.to.crat.ic also au.to.crat.i.cal adj (1823) 1: of, relating to, or being an autocracy: absolute 2: characteristic of or resembling an autocrat: despotic -- au.to.crat.i.cal.ly adv
fete n [ME fete, fr. MF, fr. OF feste--more at feast] (15c) 1: festival 2 a: a lavish often outdoor entertainment b: a large elaborate party ²fete vt fet.ed ; fet.ing (1819) 1: to honor or commemorate with a fete 2: to pay high honor to
fete cham.pe.tre n, pl fetes champetres [F, lit., rural festival] (1774): an outdoor entertainment
he.do.nism n [Gk hedone pleasure; akin to Gk hedys sweet--more at sweet] (1856) 1: the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life 2: a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism -- he.do.nist n -- he.do.nis.tic adj -- he.do.nis.ti.cal.ly adv
neo.clas.sic or neo.clas.si.cal adj (1877): of, relating to, or constituting a revival or adaptation of the classical esp. in literature, music, art, or architecture -- neo.clas.si.cism n -- neo.clas.si.cist n or adj
oda.lisque n [F, fr. Turk odalik, fr. oda room] (ca. 1681) 1: a female slave 2: a concubine in a harem
pas.to.ral adj [ME, fr. L pastoralis, fr. pastor herdsman] (15c) 1 a (1): of, relating to, or composed of shepherds or herdsmen (2): devoted to or based on livestock raising b: of or relating to the countryside: not urban c: portraying or expressive of the life of shepherds or country people esp. in an idealized and conventionalized manner <~ poetry> d: pleasingly peaceful and innocent: idyllic 2 a: of or relating to spiritual care or guidance esp. of a congregation b: of or relating to the pastor of a church -- pas.to.ral.ly adv -- pas.to.ral.ness n ²pastoral n (1584) 1 a: a literary work (as a poem or play) dealing with shepherds or rural life in a usu. artificial manner and typically drawing a contrast between the innocence and serenity of the simple life and the misery and corruption of city and esp. court life b: pastoral poetry or drama c: a rural picture or scene d: pastorale 1b 2: crosier 1 3: a letter of a pastor to his charge: as a: a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese b: a letter of the house of bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church to be read in each parish
trompe l’oeil - (French: "deceive the eye"), in painting, the representation of an object with such verisimilitude as to deceive the viewer concerning the material reality of the object. This idea appealed to the ancient Greeks who were newly emancipated from the conventional stylizations of earlier art. Zeuxis, for example, reportedly painted such realistic grapes that birds tried to eat them. The technique was also popular with Roman muralists. Although trompe l’oeil never achieved the status of a major artistic aim, from the early Renaissance on, European painters occasionally fostered illusionism by painting false frames out of which the contents of a still life or portrait appeared to spill, or by creating window-like images suggesting actual openings in the wall or ceiling. (Brittanica)

 

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Baroque Art: Bernini

Jeff Gross
Art History 103B
July 17, 2001
Professor Kenney Mencher
High Drama in Baroque Rome: Bernini's David There have been several variations on the biblical theme of David versus Goliath portrayed in both painting and sculpture before Gianlorenzo Bernini produced his version for the nephew of Pope Paul V in 1623. True to Baroque style, Bernini captured the character of David so full of energy and motion, the viewer is immediately drawn into the action. David is shown so involved in the movement of battle that the viewer feels compelled to get out of David's way, lest they themselves might be felled by the fatal stone about to be unleashed (Stokstad 758). This type of extreme motion is common to Bernini's, and most all Baroque sculpture.
Carved entirely in smoothly polished white marble and standing a life size 5 foot seven inches tall, Bernini's David is currently housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy. It portrays a male figure, mostly nude, except for some loosely draped robes that appear to be falling from the figures body, a sling used as a weapon being drawn from the rear-side of the figure, and a small pouch slung over the left shoulder. The figure is wearing no armor, helmet, shoes or other materials suggesting he is a professional soldier. The figure is standing over what seems to be a warrior's armor & robes. A look of steely determination is portrayed on the character's face, and every muscle looks tautly drawn in the middle of strenuous physical action.
Though the symbolism may not be obvious to some, Bernini's portrayal of the heroic David is every bit as iconographic as many other Italian works, such as Giotto's Last Judgement (Arena Chapel, Padua. 1305) or Augustus of Prima Porta (Musei Vaticani, Rome. 100 C.E.). The fact that David is shown barefoot and nearly naked while standing over the finery of a warrior may suggest that the armor is not what makes David strong, but his unswerving faith in both God and himself. The falling drapery modestly hiding David's nakedness might lead the viewer to believe that since this work was produced for the nephew of Pope Paul V, that this sculpture was truly intended for the depiction of a well known biblical story. It was likely not intended as a beard for titillation or an excuse to look at nudes under the guise of fine art. The fact that Bernini himself looked remarkably like the work he created is likely no mistake or coincidence. Many artists of this period would put themselves in their work, and Bernini was no exception. This may signify that he felt empowered by portraying himself as an underdog triumphing over a particularly difficult work of art in it's completion. This work is considered a breakthrough in its composition and form, as it directly engages the viewer by its powerful depiction of humanistic motion. The depiction of actual muscle strain in the figure as well as the strain shown on the face may also portray the intensity of the artist's exhausting input into the sculpture itself.
Compared to other sculptures of David portrayed by Donatello and Michelangelo, Bernini shows a far more natural depiction of David in form and structure. Bernini does, however, portray David as a much older person than the other artists, as well as how the character is described in the Bible. David's actual age is estimated at around thirteen years of age at the time of his triumph over Goliath. Donatello portrays David as a young teen of about the age of thirteen, and Michelangelo portrays him a little older at maybe seventeen to twenty years old. Bernini shows a more mature David that appears to be somewhere between twenty and thirty years old. This was likely no accident, as Bernini seems to be adding his own features to the figure. As he was far older than a young teen when the sculpture was produced, if he portrayed himself as thirteen years old on his David, nobody would likely recognize the informal self portrait included on the work. Donatello puts his David (Museo Nazionale del Borgello, Florence. 1428) in a fanciful garden hat, slouching almost playfully and Michelangelo shows his David (Galleria dell'Accademia - originally in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. 1504) merely standing still and gazing into the distance in the nude. Bernini portrays David as a man of action with robes flying off his body from the extreme nature of his movement, expressing the strength, power and fury of his action in every part of his body and face.
Most Baroque artworks that emerged at the time of Bernini's David show far more action, drama and movement that most previous works. This was a time of extreme social change, and works such as this were merely a reflection of the struggle and social anxiety of the times. Bernini would come to produce many other dramatic sculptures that helped define the Baroque era. As this was one of the most recognized and famous, it likely set the stage for him as well as others to take sculptural art to a new level of 'high drama' during the Baroque period in Europe.

 
Works cited:
Web Gallery of Art. http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History 2 volumes. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. 1999
Mencher, Kenney. Art History 103B lectures, Ohlone Community College. California 2001
New Advent Org. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11581b.htm
JesusAnswers.com. http://www.jesusanswers.com/
The 'Troy McClure Pretty-Much-Everything' Site. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6055/

Document converted to HTML by Jeff Gross on July 27, 2001


______________________________________________________________________

DeeAnn Kennedy
Art103B
Essay Due: 04/23/02
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa
 
 

Gianlorenzo Bernini,  The Ecstasy of St. Theresa,  created between 1645-1652,  Cornaro Chapel, Rome Italy (For more details of the sculpture  and it's environment click here.)

As a reaction to the Manneristic style that consumed the Late Renaissance in Europe, Baroque art began to surface around 1600.  The Baroque style has many distinguishing characteristics, such as the use of different colors, materials, and irregular shapes; however, the hallmark of Baroque art is that it depicts the most climactic point in a story.  The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, created between 1645-1652, is housed inside of the Cornaro Chapel, and is heralded as "one of Bernini's most brilliant and suggestive sculptural and architectural compositions" (The New York Times, 42).  In terms of its form, the sculpture is made of different materials and puts a spin on classicism. The iconography of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is very Baroque because it depicts the most dramatic point in the saint's life and caters to the notion that God equals light.  In terms of context, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is one of Gianlorenzo Bernini's most controversial and beautiful works of art. Gianlorenzo Bernini's stunning masterpiece, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, epitomizes the high drama of 17th century Baroque art.    The form of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa typifies Baroque art because the sculpture is made of different materials and the artist uses classicism irregularly.  Gianlorenzo Bernini uses several different materials to create an awe-inspiring focal point within the Cornaro Chapel.  The wall that houses The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is laden with colored marble.  Like many other works of Baroque sculpture, this piece is "set within an elaborate architectural setting, and seems to be spilling out of its assigned niche or floating upward toward heaven" (The Columbia Encyclopedia).  The Saint and angel are cut from the same mass of solid marble, yet Gianlorenzo Bernini is able to replicate different textures and colors.  The angel's drapery clings to the body, giving it a silk-like quality; however, St. Theresa appears to be clothed in a woolen robe.  Gianlorenzo Bernini also puts a spin on classicism by using irregular shapes and non-traditional architecture. Framing the sculpture are double columns, which serve as adornment rather than architectural support.  The pediment above, typically flat, protrudes and indents, and is supported by marble pilasters.  Gianlorenzo Bernini uses different materials and irregular classicism to create the epitome of Baroque art.

 

The iconography of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa embodies the Baroque style of art because the sculpture depicts the most dramatic point in the saint's life and caters to the notion that God equals light.  In her autobiography, St. Theresa describes a dream where an angel appears before her in a halo of light.  The angel takes a fiery arrow and stabs her repeatedly in the breast, filling her with the love of God.  "To quote St. Theresa herself, "The pain was so great that I screamed aloud, but simultaneously I felt such infinite sweetness that I wished the pain to last eternally." This was interpreted at the time and ever since as a spiritual transport sexually expressed" (The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer).  Gianlorenzo Bernini portrays St. Theresa's dream in this sculpture at the moment when her body has been consumed with the love of God, the climax of her life.  "Wrapped in swirling draperies, her passionate gaze directed to heaven, [Gianlorenzo] Bernini's Saint epitomizes the age of the Baroque" (Christian Science Monitor, 12).  The Ecstasy of St. Theresa also feeds into the notion that God equals light.  Gianlorenzo Bernini capitalized on this notion that God and light were one in the same by placing the angel and the saint on a billowy cloud with bronze beams of light cascading down behind them.  These beams of light reveal that God, himself, has pierced the heart of St. Theresa.  "The sculptor's floating image of St. Teresa and the angel places the saint midway between earthly and heavenly existence" (Wilkins, 383).  To give these heavenly beams a more dramatic impact, Gianlorenzo Bernini placed a hidden skylight above the sculpture. Gianlorenzo Bernini depicts the most dramatic point in St. Theresa's life and caters to the notion that God equals light to create the quintessence of Baroque art. (For more details of the sculpture and it's environment click here.)

The context of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa exemplifies Baroque art because it is considered to be Gianlorenzo Bernini's most controversial and beautiful sculptures.  The Baroque movement "was encouraged by the Catholic Church, the most important patron of the arts at that time, as a return to tradition and spirituality" (Artcylcopedia.com); however, Gianlorenzo Bernini depicts St. Theresa in the state of spiritual and sexual ecstasy.  Her neck is flung back, eyes are closed, mouth partially open, telling of her elation. Although only her face, hands, and bare feet are visible, the bends and folds of her garment reveal a passionate body beneath in her moment of climax. Never before had a Saint been depicted in the state of sexual ecstasy, yet St. Theresa's autobiography allowed Gianlorenzo Bernini to create such a controversial piece of work.  Looking now at the other figure in this sculpture, the angel's face is thought, by many, to be the most beautiful face ever created.  The face is perfectly symmetrical; each feature is perfectly positioned.  The eyes are aligned, the nose has a perfect slant, and the lips are just the right fullness.  Gianlorenzo Bernini balances perfect beauty and sexual ecstasy to achieve the spirit of Baroque art.
Created between 1645-1652, Gianlorenzo Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is one of the most talked about sculptures in history.  "The religious sculptures he did from the 1640s on were perhaps the last flourish of great Christian art" (Economist, 87).  In terms of its form, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is made of different materials and puts a spin on classicism. The iconography of The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is very Baroque because it depicts the most dramatic point in the saint's life and caters to the notion that God equals light.  In terms of context, the sculpture is one of Gianlorenzo Bernini's most controversial and beautiful works of art. Gianlorenzo Bernini's stunning masterpiece, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, epitomizes the high drama of 17th century Baroque art.
 Works Cited:
"Artists by Movement: The Baroque Era." Artcyclopedia.com.
Baroque, in art and architecture. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
Economist. 09/06/98, Vol. 349 Issue 8087, p87, 2/3p, 1bw.
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Transcript.  "FURY OF CREATION" April 30, 1998.
The New York Times. April 26, 1998, Sunday, Late Edition - Final, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Art, Section 2; Page 42; Column 3.
Wilkins, Ann Thomas.  "Bernini and Ovid: Expanding the Concept of Metamorphosis."  International Journal of the Classical Tradition Winter2000,     Vol. 6, Issue 3, p383, 26p, 4bw.

 

Donatello David 1440

Michelangelo  David  1501-1504

Bernini  David  1623-1624

 

Bernini  David  1623-1624

Bernini Self Portrait 1622

Bernini, Portrait of Scipione Borghese 1632
 

Bernini, Portrait of Scipione Borghese 1632

Bernini Cornaro Chapel 1647-1652

 



 

Andrea Palladio,  Olympic Theater Vicenza, Italy 1584 completed by Scamozzi (Schamozzi)

 

Baroque Art, The Vatican, Maderno, and Bernini

¹ba.roque adj, often cap [F, fr. MF barroque irregularly shaped (of a pearl), fr. Pg barroco irregularly shaped pearl] (1765)
1: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of artistic expression prevalent esp. in the 17th century that is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension
2: characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance
3: irregularly shaped--used of gems --

 

This bronze medal from the British Museum has an image of what Bramante originally had planned for  St. Peter's in 1506. Bramante 1506 (Upper left) Sangallo c1510-1540? (upper right) Michelangelo c1546 (middle left) Giaccomo della Porta 1590 Carlo Maderno 1607-15  (middle right) Bernini 1637 (bottom)

The changes in the plan of St. Peter's in Rome also exemplify the changes in style from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods.  If you look at the overall changes in form they actually become more and more ornate, complex and even theatrical in design as we move through the periods. Form:  The Plan of St. Peter's goes through several radical changes over time.  It started as a basilican tau plan ("T" shaped) in 315 CE.   When Pope Julius ordered the original building torn down Bramante designed the building to be based on a Greek cross central plan.  Unfortunately, Bramante's design was a little unstable and Sangallo redesigned the plan.  Sangallo and Michelangelo both thickened up the walls and slightly simplified Bramante's original design.   Michelangelo also redesigned the dome and the facade of the structure.  His design was to create a more egg shaped or pointed dome than Bramante's original design because the shallow half sphere of Bramante's design was structurally a bit unstable.  Michelangelo's design was then completed by Giaccomo della Porta in 1590. Iconography: Bramante's design is based on the conception of the ideal temple plan as laid out in Vitruvius's texts and copied by architects such as Michelangelo and Palladio.  The use of the dome falls in place with the Renaissance conception of classical forms such and makes reference to the dome on the Pantheon.     Michelangelo's Design Form:  Carlo Maderno in 1607-15 didn't so much redesign the building but add to it.  Maderno lengthened the nave of the cathedral converting it from a central plan to a Latin cross basilican plan which makes the building appear as a crucifix from above. Iconography:  Maderno's redesign is symbolic of several things.  First, it is a kind of assertion of Maderno as an artist and architect that he is remodeling the design of such greats as Bramante and Michelangelo.  It is a kind of arrogant display of power.  Almost like when gangs spray paint over the "tags" of other gangs. The iconography is also symbolic of Catholic ideas.  The redesign is almost a rejection of the central church plan and a return to basic Christian iconography.  The Reformation had already occurred and in some ways, images of the crucifixion and of the crucifix are intrinsic to the Catholic conception of Christianity.  The Church and Christ's sacrifice, symbolized by the symbol of the crucifixion are symbolic that this is the portal to God. Form: Bernini's arms were commissioned by Pope Alexander VII (1655-67).   Originally it was meant to be a completed ellipse that surrounded the piazza however, it was never completed. Iconography: Bernini created the egg shaped atrium/plaza that are the "arms" of St. Peters.  Instead of using the traditional circle as the form, Bernini creates a "baroque" twist to the schema by making the shape an ellipse. The addition of this ellipse to the overall program of buildings changes the shape of the complex as a whole.  The entire structure then appears to look like a key (which is the symbol of Peter's role in the Church) from above.  Bernini also conceived of the arms as a symbol of St. Peter's arms embracing the faithful.  See his drawing at right.

Carlo Maderno St. Peter's  facade 1605

Form:  Maderno's facade is almost the perfect example of the term "Baroque."  It is extremely complex and uses a classical vocabulary but with some very Mannerist twists.  The facade of the structure is really a combination of two facades.  The pediment above the central doors is too far down the building.  This is very similar to Palladio's design for the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. Begun 1566. Initially the facade appears to have a symmetrical standard formula for Corinthian order buildings but over all the combination of the forms is irregular. The facade is not one straight line across.  Instead the building undulates and shifts backwards and forwards in an irregular almost unpredictable pattern.  There are doubled columns combined with flattened pilasters.  The undulation of the facade is a little disorienting and creates a dramatic play of light and shadow across the facade which augmented by the facade's color which is two toned.  The top of the building is a different color than the bottom.

St. Peter's has the mark of almost every important Italian artist from the 1500's to the 1700's.  Even when the chance to redesign the over all structure or even the exterior facade, Gian Lorenzo Bernini still took it upon himself to redesign, or at least redecorate the interior of the structure. There are many places where Bernini's has redesigned tombs, stairways and altars.  The two most important are Bernini's Baldacchino 1624-1633 or canopy located directly under the dome at the crossing and his Cathedra Petri 1656-1666 (Chair of St. Peters) located in the eastern apse.

Bernini, St. Peter's, The Baldacchino 1624-1633

Form: According to the Brittanica, Bernini's,   famous immense gilt-bronze baldachin executed between 1624 and 1633. Its twisted columns derive from the early Christian columns that had been used in the altar screen of Old St. Peter's. Bernini's most original contribution to the final work is the upper framework of crowning volutes flanked by four angels that supports the orb and cross. The baldachin is perfectly proportioned to its setting, and one hardly realizes that it is as tall as a four-story building. Its lively outline moving upward to the triumphant crown, its dark colour heightened with burning gold, give it the character of a living organism. An unprecedented fusion of sculpture and architecture, the baldachin is the first truly Baroque monument. It ultimately formed the centre of a programmatic decoration designed by Bernini for the interior of St. Peter's. The ornamentation and use of different materials is an excellent example of the Baroque style.  The overall form is of a tent like canopy that is cast in bronze.  The materials, bronze gilded with gold trim, is a striking and almost gaudy use of materials.  The columns are classical but literally with a "twist."  Atop the structure are banners adorned with the "Barbarini bees" (the Pope's family's coat of arms.)  Above that is a kind of diorama like scene of winged victory figures and cherubs that carry the papal crown as if they are about to descend and crown Peter. Iconography:  The size and use of precious materials is a conspicuous consumption of materials which heightens its value.  In fact, tour guides tell the story that Bernini ran out of bronze for its construction and the pope authorized him to remove and melt down the doors of the Pantheon for bronze.  The tour guides say, "Whatever the barbarians didn't destroy, the Barbarini did." The structure was built over the crossing of the nave and transept, under the central dome and above the mortal remains of St. Peter, the first Pope.  The form of the tent probably is symbolic of the relationship of the first Jewish temple, which was in a tent, and the first Christian basilica St. Peter's. (The baldachin) also spelled Baldachino, or Baldaquin, also called Ciborium, in architecture, is the canopy over an altar or tomb, supported on columns, especially when freestanding and disconnected from any enclosing wall. The term originates from the Spanish baldaquin, an elaborately brocaded material imported from Baghdad that was hung as a canopy over an altar or doorway. Later it came to stand for a freestanding canopy over an altar. This probably also accounts for the cherub who floats above symbolically waiting to crown St. Peter below.

Bernini. Throne of St. Peter, or the Cathedra Petri (1657-66)

According to the Brittanica, Bernini's most spectacular religious decoration is the Throne of St. Peter, or the Cathedra Petri (1657-66), a gilt-bronze cover for the medieval wooden throne (cathedra) of the pope. Bernini's task was not only to make a decorative cover for the chair but also to create a meaningful goal in the apse of St. Peter's for the pilgrim's journey through the great church. The seat is seemingly supported by four imposing bronze figures representing theological doctors of the early church: Saints Ambrose, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Augustine. Above, a golden glory of angels on clouds and rays of light emanates from the Dove of the Holy Spirit, which is painted on an oval window. The cathedra was produced about the same time as the piazza, and the contrast between these two works shows Bernini's versatility. Both works were done for the Chigi pope, Alexander VII (1655-67), who was one of Bernini's greatest patrons. The tomb that Bernini designed for Alexander VII (1671-78; St. Peter's) was largely executed by his pupils. Notice how this is very similar in its use of Baroque forms and materials to the Baldachino above.  The work is a multi media work of art.  The chair is bronze, the clouds and cherubs are made out of stucco and or plaster that has been gilded with gold and the rays of light bursting from the stain glass window are wooden rods coated with gold leaf.  Even the use of the stain glass window is part of Bernini's use of dramatic lighting which may have been influenced by the use of dramatic lighting in some paintings and possibly even the opera.  Beneath the chair and the figures of the saints is the altar which is made out of different colored marbles and granites.  In the Renaissance period, this eclectic use of materials would have been considered anti classical and too ornate, however, during the Baroque period, heightened drama and ornamentation is commonplace.

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pi.las.ter n [MF pilastre, fr. It pilastro] (1575): an upright architectural member that is rectangular in plan and is structurally a pier but architecturally treated as a column and that usu. projects a third of its width or less from the wall