Three Baroque Artists

Paper Summary:

This paper examines different styles within the Baroque era focusing on three major types: Catholic, Protestant, and academic art. The paper then discusses an example of each type of artistic style. The first is Dutch art of the Protestant Reformation, best represented in the works of Rembrandt van Rijn, especially his important work the "Christ Preaching". The paper explains that the second painting is representative of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, embodied in the work by Jacopo da Empoli called "Three Maries at the Tomb" (1570s). The paper then points out another style that is identified with academic traditions in Italy and France, with examples shown in classical, academic landscapes and allegorical personifications, as in Giovanni Battista Passeri's "Musical Party in a Garden" from the 1640s, oil on canvas. The paper further explains that this differs in that there is no religious iconography or scriptural subject matter in the scene described by the title, set on the outskirts of Rome. The paper concludes that religion was an inspiration and a subject matter, and the particular theological background of the era contrasted Protestant and Catholic images, often of the same biblical passages, and that the academic interest was more in the formal structures of art.

From the Paper:

"The religious subject matter is common in the Baroque era and is treated here in a rather formal style. Rembrandt was noted for his etchings and his drawings, and they are noted for their spontaneity and immediacy. He used drawing first as a means of studying the visual world and of storing motifs for use in paintings and etchings. More than this, though, he saw drawing as an art for its own sake. His draughtsman ship was marked by linear and tonal accents such as are seen in the Self-Portrait and again in Christ Preaching, with both marked by the careful formation of tonal accents, seen here especially in the clothing worn and in the relationship among the numerous people in the audience and Christ, standing in the center of the frame with hands raised as he explains some concept to the throng."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Giovanni Battista Passeri." The Blanton Museum (2006). March 23, 2007. http://blantonmuseum.org/works_of_art/detail.cfm?work=20&sort=an&view=all&startrow=1&id=361&ga=27.
• "Jacopo Chimenti, called Jacopo da Empoli." The Blanton Museum (2006). March 23, 2007. http://blantonmuseum.org/works_of_art/detail.cfm?work=12&sort=an&view=all&startrow=1&id=326&ga=27.
• "Rembrandt's Religious Etchings Overview." The National Gallery (2007). March 23, 2007. http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/rembrandt/rembrandt-over2.html#jump.
• "Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn." The Blanton Museum (2006). March 23, 2007. http://blantonmuseum.org/works_of_art/detail.cfm?work=65&sort=an&view=all&startrow=1&id=314&ga=23.

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