Baroque Masterpieces: Art, Symbolism, and Technique

Vermeer's The Art of Painting: Symbolism and Style

This intimate scene depicts a female painter in his studio, working on a model. The studio features a window and a large map of the Low Countries. The luxurious clothing suggests a distinguished executor of a craft, not a mere artisan. Symbolic characteristics include:

• The absence of candles in the candelabra, representing the suppression of the Catholic faith.
• A death mask on the table, symbolizing the ineffectiveness of the Habsburg monarchy.

Glorifying light emanates from an invisible window, falling directly on the model, who represents the Muse. This work exemplifies the tenebrist style, utilizing bright colors.

• Style: Baroque, 17th century
• Artist: Vermeer
• Location: Art History Museum, Vienna, Austria

Zurbarán's Saint Hugh in the Refectory

Saint Hugh in the Refectory is an oil on canvas religious painting. Its characteristics include:

• It represents Saint Hugh visiting the refectory where the Carthusians had to fast from Sunday through Wednesday during the fifty days of Ash.
• He checks the meat served, which has turned to ashes.
• The composition uses foreign models, and the disposition of the table, the bishop, and the Florentine page are notable.
• A painting of the Virgin and Saint John is on the wall.
• The faces form a gallery of self-absorbed individuals, creating a set of volumes.

• Style: Baroque, circa 1655
• Artist: Zurbarán
• Original Location: Sacristy of the Carthusian Monastery of Santa María de las Cuevas, Seville
• Current Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Seville

Murillo's Immaculate Conception of Soult

The Immaculate Conception of Soult is an oil on canvas religious painting. Its characteristics include:

• The Virgin's traditional attributes disappear.
• She is depicted with a blue mantle over a crescent moon, surrounded by golden angels.
• The light from the children creates a diagonal line that reinforces the area and movement of shadows across groups.

• Style: Baroque, 17th century
• Artist: Murillo
• Location: Museo del Prado

Velázquez's The Surrender of Breda

The Surrender of Breda is an oil on canvas, historic commemorative painting. Its characteristics include:

• Justin of Nassau, chief of the Protestant troops, hands over the keys to the city to Ambrosio Spinola in a gentle and chivalrous tone towards the vanquished.
• The color palette has continued to evolve, and faces have a silvery tone.
• The background features green and blue silver tones, representing one of the first landscapes shaped by Velázquez.
• The composition is U-shaped, dividing the work into two parts: the defeated on one side and the winners on the other.

• Style: Baroque, second half of the 17th century
• Artist: Velázquez
• Location: Museo del Prado

Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X

Portrait of Pope Innocent X is an oil on canvas portrait. Its characteristics include:

• This work demonstrates Velázquez's exceptional ability to represent the psychological traits of the sitter.
• It is considered his greatest work as a portraitist.
• It depicts the Pope sitting in an armchair, dressed in white, with a symphony of red from his hat and papal chasuble on the sofa.
• He holds a sheet of paper with a request for Velázquez to intercede on his behalf before the King of Spain.
• The face is emphasized as sharp and natural.

• Style: Baroque, 1650
• Artist: Velázquez
• Location: Galleria Doria Pamphili, Rome

Velázquez's The Spinners

The Spinners