Baroque Masterpieces: Borromini, Rubens, and Rembrandt
Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
The Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane is a masterpiece of the Roman Baroque facade, forming part of the Trinitarian architectural complex. Designed by Francesco Borromini, his biography stands in stark contrast to that of Bernini; Borromini possessed a restless temperament and suffered from a final torment, leading him to take his own life while suffering from a cruel disease. Unlike his contemporaries, Borromini worked for humble religious orders and favored economical materials such as brick, stucco, and Roman plaster.
The Rivalry: Bernini vs. Borromini
The era revolved around two contradictory poles: Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. While Bernini respected classical precepts, proportions, and traditional rules of composition, Borromini broke these conventions to invent entirely new architectural elements.
The Three Graces by Peter Paul Rubens
The Three Graces, an oil on canvas by Peter Paul Rubens, is preserved in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Rubens was gifted with a prodigious mind for solving complex compositional problems and was a true magician of color. He is considered the most religious artist of his time, mastering various techniques including:
- Oil painting
- Fresco murals
- Tapestry cartoons
- Arch design
- Book and missal illustration
He excelled in all genres, painting religious subjects, historical and mythological scenes, landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.
The Night Watch by Rembrandt
The Night Watch, or The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, is an oil on canvas housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Commissioned by the Civic Guard, the painting's dark atmosphere is actually the result of accumulated dirt over time. The artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, was the great interpreter of bourgeois society in the Netherlands. He was the first artist to move away from aristocratic patronage, selling his work directly on the open market and establishing his own unique style.
Baroque Developments Outside Italy
Following the Treaty of Antwerp, the region fragmented into two states: the Southern Netherlands (Flanders) and the United Provinces (Holland). This division influenced artistic themes:
- Flanders: Catholic, monarchical, and aristocratic, focusing on religious and evangelical subjects.
- Holland: Protestant, republican, and independent, focusing on biblical and secular themes.