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| Raphael |
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| Michelangelo |
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| Bronzino |
Mannerism took the idealised depiction of the human forms, primarily taken from the work of Raphael and Michelangelo as its main inspiration. Mannerism pushed the idea of a perfect, almost cartoonish image the human form as a representation of the scared.
One notable exception in this era was El Greco, a greek painter working under the patronage of the Spanish court, considered by many as the last great painter of the 16th Century. El Greco developed a very distinctive style utilising free brushwork and an expressive, often unreal colour palette. El Greco's aim was the same as the artists of the high renaissance; to arouse religious fervour. But his way of achieving this was completely different from everyone else, making his work look very contemporary.
The world was changing, the Vatican had been battling with the rise of protestantism across Europe in the 30 years war which destroyed its authority. Catholicism was also under attack from the rise of new scientific and philosophical theories, mainly from the newly independent Flemish nations which had broke away from Spanish rule. Spain was weakened by this loss of authority as well as the instability of the Vatican, its closest ally.
The revolution in scientific thought brought Newton's law of gravity by the end of the 17th century and Descarte's philosophical ideas introduced a new skepticism: "I think therefore I am": Undermining conventional theological thought. This great explosion of speculative thinking did not have any immediate effect on the visual arts, but it laid the foundations for a slow revolution eventually taking the visual arts beyond a manual trade under the control of the religious authorities to an intellectual pursuit.
The revolution was stalled by the coincidence of a new Pope re - invigorating the Vatican's power, establishing it as a great artistic centre once more, and limiting the ambitious artists as servants again. Italian art moved towards a notion of naturalism with the painter Caravaggio leading the way. Caravaggio was shocking both in art and real life.
Caravaggio, from Milan, fled to Rome after wounding an officer of the law. He moved from the idealised images of Michelangelo and painted in a more naturalistic style, depicting the human form with all it flaws and detail - he often (as did Michelangelo) find his inspiration and models on the streets of Rome. His interpretations of religious fables were far from angelic, instead depicting violent struggles, decapitations and death.
Caravagios's life imitated his art; he was often involved in fights and fled Rome after killing another man. Whilst in exile a revenge attempt was made on his life which was thought to disfigure his face. He died of an unknown illness shortly afterwards.
Caravaggio developed the technique of chiaroscuro, which used strong contrasts of light and shadow to describe volume and form of the human body. It is his mastery of this technique which makes his work look so familiar and contemporary; it is the language of photography and cinematography. His work became the main influence of a period of art history commonly referred to as the Baroque.
Baroque , Portuguese for deformed pearl, was first used as a critical term of abuse - a deviation from the norm (i.e. the renaissance). It is generally a term that is more easily applied to the ice -cream confection architecture and design popular at the time, but also loosely grouping the artists following and often aesthetically inspired by Caravaggio.
Rubens, a Flemish artist is often described as a Baroque painter and was heavily influenced by Titian (Caravaggio's teacher). Rubens furthered the notion of naturalism, taking it to an extreme and (again) idealised notion of female beauty as a full breasted, broad wasted, more sexual and womanly form in contrast to the girlish, coquetry preferred by the high renaissance. Rubens celebrated and reveled in flesh, sexuality and the female form under the safety of religious art. Rubens, like Caravaggio was interested in the vitality, corporeality of the figure as a way of bringing the super- natural world within the grasp of the human experience.
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Jenny Saville |
Back in Italy, a follower of Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi took violence and chiaroscuro to such an extreme unidealised vision of common humanity that his paintings seemed tame by comparison. Artemsia could be said to be the first feminist artist, working in a time when women had virtually no role in society and often depicting scenes in which women played a dominant role. She was virtually the only woman artist working at the time and was often considered shocking because of her sex and her subject matter. Though Italian, she worked under the patronage of the Spanish court; the Vatican certainly could not deal with the idea of a woman having any kind of voice!
Bernini was an artist who (like Michelangelo) regarded himself as a sculptor primarily, but was also a painter, architect and poet. He dominated the artistic scene in Rome for over half a century, stamping his footprint on the Rome we know today. Bernini brought back the idealised representation of the human form and injected the theatrical qualities of the architecture of the time into his art. He created sculpture with astonishing technical virtuosity, an ability to chisel and rasp white marble into flesh, hair and drapery. He had a hand in the design of St Peters and his sculptures are to be found all across Rome. Often considered his masterpiece, the Ecstasy of St Teresa, is in a small chapel in the outskirts of Rome best demonstrates Bernini's marriage of the idealised form with the Baroque notion of naturalism: St Teresa has often been described as in the throws of physical, erotic abandon. Much like Rubens, Bernini is interested in the depiction of the corporeality as a way of bringing the super -human to a mass audience. Both could be said to be dealing with the human condition.
Whilst Italian artists were under the patronage of the Vatican, and therefore usually limited to religious motifs, artists under the patronage of the Spanish or Flemish courts were required to create both religious images and portraits of the royalty and upper circles of society.
Diego Velazquez, entered the service of the young Spanish king Philip IV and ended up monopolising the courts' patronage (and Spanish art) for many years. This was in part due to the King taking a strong personal liking to him and Velazquez's own ambition. Velazquez, or rather his ego, played a key part in changing the role of artists in society. He is often cited as one of the greatest painters in the history of western art.
'Las Meninas' is considered to be his masterpiece, changing the way we think about painting and the way artists work. It is essentially, a painting about painting and attempts to elevate the artist beyond the manual tradesman he was considered to be at the time. With Las Meninas painting and the visual arts become an intellectual pursuit.
Velazquez changes the viewpoint and craftily makes himself the subject of what is intended to be a royal portrait. He suggests notions of greatness by placing himself, contemplative and master of his surroundings (which includes the young Infanta - princess) observing the royal subjects. The king and queen become secondary through their absence. The painter and the process of painting becomes more important than the subject. By also placing the viewer in the place of the royal couple he also perhaps begins to question the nature of royal rule and class. It is at this point the revolution really gains ground.
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| Francis Bacon became obssed by Velazquez's pope innocent x |
Rembrandt developed the techniques of Caravaggio, primarily through Biblical scenes. He also painted the great and the good of Dutch society. Rembrandt was constantly painting himself, no other earlier artist had portrayed himself so frequently. He began in the 1620s and went on throughout his life, leaving around a hundred or more self portraits which constitute a unique pictorial autobiography. His intention with this works has often been debated. Most were probably made as studies of character and expression for other works — the rebellious youth, armed knight, in oriental costume...
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| Cindy Sherman |
To a modern audience, Rembrandt seems to be dealing with Freudian notions of identity. A forefather of many contemporary artists.
The 18th Century brought a period of questioning religion, traditional structures of society and a furtherance of democracy often termed 'The Enlightenment'. By contrast the visual arts developed into a style referred to as Rococo. This style originated in France and was frivolous and often aesthetically over the top. Architecture and design became overtly ornate and painting primarily decorative, often hazy looking using soft textures and pastel colours — though this is often cited as a result of the values of the period; rejecting the academic rules, restrictions and even taste. Taste was considered to be attributable only to the educated, therefore, only they could appreciate the rejection of it. It was a ironic celebration of the kitsch.
Meanwhile, in England the artist William Hogarth grew popular by rejecting the elitist notions of Rococo and making art for the masses. Hogarth created paintings in series which explored narrative moral stories such as the Rake and Harlot's progress which he also released as an edition of prints. Hogarth used contemporary society of the time as his subject; an England where promiscuity, binge drinking and fighting on the street was common place (sound familiar?).
By the end of the Century, Neo-classicism became the predominant style. Neo-classicism was a reaction to Rococo's' sugar coated aesthetic and a return to the values of art of the past. It took its inspiration from the idealised art of ancient Greece and Rome, the Renaissance and the chiaroscuro of Baroque. The most famous painter of the era was Jacques- Louis-David. David rejected the frivolity of the Rococo and returned to a more serious and moral subject matter of previous eras. The difference was that David and his contemporaries dealt with political issues rather than religious ones; primarily the French revolution.
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