Understanding Baroque Art: Characteristics and Techniques

Understanding Baroque Art: Key Characteristics

The Classic Baroque Painting

Baroque art seeks a reasoned view of reality. It considers that the real truth lies in the reason for the cognitive experience. The predominance of reason makes this painting a conceptual expression where generalized representations of feelings are conveyed through archetypes, characters, and personalities.

Decorative Painting in the Baroque Period

Another trend from 1640-50 saw great decorations covering the walls and vaults of churches and palaces. This represents the apotheosis of an official art in the service of religious and political interests, aiming to belittle and convince the viewer of such powers.

Naturalism in Baroque Art

Naturalism is a pictorial design based on direct observation of reality, aiming for a true and objective observation of all aspects, pleasant or not.

Patrons of the Arts

New artists were encouraged and protected by the middle class, superseding the papacy in the 16th century, which promoted larger artworks, such as St. Peter's Basilica.

Vitruvius' Influence

Vitruvius, the architect known for ancient architecture, addressed different types of buildings, materials, and machinery.

Architectural Elements

Niche

A niche is a hollow arch, often leaving the bulk of the main wall of the factories to put in it a statue or a vase, sometimes in the walls of the temples to make an altar. Its function is essentially compositional and ornamental.

Techniques in Baroque Art

Sfumato

Sfumato (blur) is a technique used by da Vinci to capture the atmosphere, consisting of a gradation of color and light with depth. This system creates a real space where the figures lie and get perspective (bottom left blurred by capturing the atmosphere).

Iconography

Iconography is the description of the themes of the images and also the treaty or collection of them.

Mannerism

Mannerism is an anticlassical reaction that calls into question the validity of the ideal of beauty defended by the Renaissance. It returns to the condemnation of pagan demonstrations, in Catholic landscapes, to the denial of the surrounding world, and to mystical and religious passion (influence of the Council of Trent). Its features are: distortion of reality, subjectivity, emotion, requiring viewers to understand.

Solomonic Column

The Solomonic column is a helical column, used primarily in Europe and America in Baroque architecture. The trunk has a helical twisting development that usually gives six laps and produces an effect of motion, strength, and drama.

Stipe

A stipe is a column shaft which represents the trunk of a palm.