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The Italian Origins Of The Baroque Art Movement (Waldemar Januszczak) | Ep 1 | Perspective

Perspective・2 minutes read

The Baroque movement, spanning the 17th century, aimed to impress with grandeur, drama, and psychological depth, blurring the lines between art and reality. Key figures like Bernini and Caravaggio revolutionized art with dramatic, realistic paintings that challenged traditional religious norms and influenced art across Europe.

Insights

  • The Baroque art movement of the 17th century, characterized by grandeur and drama, aimed to captivate viewers through a blend of various art forms like architecture, sculpture, and music, influencing art across Europe and blurring the lines between art and reality.
  • Caravaggio and Bernini, key figures in the Baroque movement, revolutionized art by creating dramatic, realistic, and emotionally intense works that challenged traditional religious art, resonating with the public and transforming the artistic landscape internationally.

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Recent questions

  • What is the Baroque art movement known for?

    Drama, grandeur, psychological depth, blurring art and reality.

  • Who was a key figure in the Baroque movement?

    Bernini, known for his impressive sculptures and architecture.

  • Where did the Council of Trent meet to plan against the Protestant revolt?

    Trento, in northern Italy.

  • How did Caravaggio revolutionize religious art?

    Made religious art tangible, vivid, relatable to common people.

  • What was a hallmark of Baroque architecture?

    Emotional intensity, inventive designs, blend of precision, flair.

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Summary

00:00

Baroque Art: Grandeur, Drama, and Influence

  • The Baroque art movement, sprawling across the 17th century, was characterized by its lack of a clear outline but produced some of the greatest art.
  • Bernini, a key figure in the Baroque movement, created a massive colonnade in Rome's Piazza that embraced and impressed visitors.
  • The Baroque movement aimed to impress with its grandeur, drama, and psychological depth, blurring the lines between art and reality.
  • The Baroque movement encompassed various art forms like architecture, sculpture, and music, throwing everything at the viewer to captivate them.
  • The Baroque movement traveled extensively, adapting to local customs and influencing art across Europe.
  • Trento, in northern Italy, was a significant location where the Council of Trent met to plan the Catholic fightback against Luther's Protestant revolt.
  • Caravaggio, a revolutionary Baroque painter, reinvented religious art by making it tangible, vivid, and relatable to the common people.
  • Caravaggio's dramatic and realistic paintings challenged the traditional religious art, leading to rejection by some churches but resonating with the public.
  • Caravaggio's influence spread internationally, transforming art in Spain, Flanders, and Holland with his dark and dramatic style.
  • Baroque architecture, exemplified by Borromini and Bernini in Rome, showcased emotional intensity, inventive designs, and a blend of geometric precision with artistic flair.

27:45

Bernini's Baroque Art: Divine Light and Drama

  • Bernini's Church is filled with rich colors and a lantern with yellow glass that floods the interior with divine light when the sun shines.
  • The church tells a specific storyline of St. Andrew being martyred and welcomed into heaven, showcasing a theatrical effect unique to the Baroque style.
  • Bernini's work at St. Peter's Basilica blurs the lines between sculpture and architecture, embodying the Baroque's love for theatricality.
  • Santa Maria della Vittoria is considered Bernini's masterpiece, depicting St. Teresa of Avila having a vision of divine love, showcasing religious ecstasy through art.
  • Bernini's art aims to convey religious ecstasy, with the Cornero Chapel showing a sculptural form of a young woman overwhelmed by the love of God.
  • The Baroque style is characterized by movement and transformation, with Bernini's work blending sculpture, painting, marbling, and gilding to create a theatrical effect.
  • Painted ceilings were a hallmark of the Baroque, creating a new reality where art blurs with the viewer, exemplified by the French Embassy's painted room.
  • Padre Pozzo's illusionistic dome at the Jesuit Church of San Ignacio showcases his mastery of creating optical illusions to make small spaces appear vast.
  • Pozzo's work at the church includes a painted sky on a flat roof, depicting St. Ignatius ascending to heaven with divine light spreading to different continents.
  • Caravaggio and Ribera sought refuge in Naples, with Caravaggio's "The Seven Acts of Mercy" painting combining acts of kindness in a dramatic Baroque composition.

54:10

Rivera's Cabal: Dark Legacy of Naples

  • Caravaggio's dark and religious art style shifted to show Spanish influences, with Rivera painting a bearded woman multiple times and a smiling boy with a hidden deformity, while being part of a violent group in Naples called the Cabal.
  • The Cabal of Naples, led by Rivera, along with Core Enzio and Caracciola, engaged in brutal acts like beating and murdering rivals, targeting foreign painters and even poisoning one, leaving a legacy of darkness and violence in the Baroque era.
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