In looking at the effect of the Counter Reformation on Catholic art and artists during the Baroque, one of the things that struck me was the storytelling through art. While Protestant countries produced many great artists, the cultures seemed to be driven by the text - given the central importance of the Bible to Protestantism. In Catholic countries and Catholic art, religious teachings were conveyed with a much more aesthetic approach (which is not to say there are not great Catholic writers of this period).
I look at the Web of today, with its emphasis on the visual, with the most successful Web sites incorporating design aspects that contribute to an overall narrative, and wonder - has the Catholic aesthetic won out? This is not a religious question at all. I'm just wondering whether visual storytelling is bound to have the greater appeal over text for most people. (Interestingly, coming from a country with a strong Protestant ethic, I was surprised to even consider that Bernini's sculptures could tell a story.)
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Kevin July 16, 2011, 7:31 p.m. -
Very interesting points, Kevin! I have to admit that I am not as familiar with the Protestant art of that era. Who do you suppose would be their visual artists? Or, is there really not that much visual religious Protestant art from those years? I will have to look. I think there were great Catholic writers, but the point was that Baldwin made was that Protestants were writing for all to read and translating the Bible for all, while reading for Catholics was reserved for the priests and other religious.
I wonder if the case could be made for the internet as the modern expression of the Counter Reformation? I'll bet that would be an attention-grabber for a journal article!
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Okay, so I looked for Protestant artists of the Baroque era. The site mentioned Rembrandt, Franz Hals and Jacob van Ruisdael. There were no grand church pieces being done - just private devotional works for the home. There was dramatic lighting - along the lines of chiaroscuro - and the rather prosaic subject matter that Caravaggio used - although not quite so "in the gutter".
I checked out Baroque Protestant church architecture and didn't find any. Perhaps they just whitewashed all the old Catholic churches?
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You guys got a great discussion going! You may have noticed by now that we'll be looking at Protestant art when we move on next week to look at Dutch art. Stay tuned!
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Liz,
We are working on the assignments for week two now, right? I notice that we are to write an essay. Is this for our own edification or do we submit it or post it somewhere?
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Okay, I thought I could respond to you each individually, but instead, I'll make some general comments:
1. Great that you picked up on the importance of Protestand v. Catholic. We'll discuss this more next week and you'll see what a crucial role this plays the arts of different cultures.
2. Lynn, you picked up on some really important themes in Baroque art: "hyper realism, energy, movement, and a sense of theatricality." These are all quintessentially Baroque traits, and are definitely on display in the art we looked at last week.
3. Kim, good point about Bernini's use of light. His sculptures always consider the effects of light and shadow on the overall composition. The same idea is at work in the Italian Baroque architecture we've looked at.
4. Kevin, you're right that Bernini and Caravaggio both use a kind of realism, but in very different ways. Interesting how differently this concept can be interpreted and used. People often talk about Caravaggio's "down to Earth" people and their ability to heighten the viewer's connection to religious stories that often feel very remote.
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Kevin July 16, 2011, 7:19 p.m.
I have to say, when I first looked at Bernini's sculptures, I wasn't sure how they related to the paintings of Caravaggio or what connected them as Baroque. Like Kim, I guess I gave to much weight to the religious element, so that Bernini's mythological representations seemed more related to earlier Renaissance artists. Upon further exploration, I understood that the naturalism characteristic of Baroque art was given full play in the art of both artists, even if from different focuses.
There's no doubt that Caravaggio hung with a rough crowd, and those characters make it into his paintings, almost as a statement about the very people to whom Jesus came - the downtrodden, the drunkards, prostitutes, tax collectors (my God!), and all of us other sinners. The elegance of Bernini's sculptures (perhaps it's the classical whiteness) suggested a more refined life, to me.
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Kim Davison July 14, 2011, 8:02 p.m.
The internet is wonderful! I am so lucky that I have the time to explore these artists between flight arrivals.
That Caravaggio was some character! He might have gotten a good deal more done - and lived a lot longer if he had lived a more focused life. He lived less than 40 years and died while he was "on the lam". It sounds like he was the first artist in his family, contrasting with Bernini who followed in his father's footsteps. Having a role model for the business end of being an artist was probably an advantage. I imagine that Caravaggio might have had more patronage if he had just exercised more self-control in his personal life.
My original question about the two artists had more to do with the subject matter. I was surprised to be directed to mythological subjects after all the reading about the Counter-Reformation. I wondered if Caravaggio were more "devout" as I hadn't seen any of those kinds of works in my explorations. However, today I did come across works with mythological themes - Medusa, Narcissus.
So, I guess that rules out the idea that Caravaggio was more devout. Actually, I suppose he was anything but! I came across a reference to Bernini that he went to mass daily and received communion twice a week. However, being so connected to the popes and cardinals, I suppose that might just be the equivalent of joining the country club for the business contacts.
I wonder if sculpture was more highly valued? Was painting something common? Sculptors frequently did architecture, too, and sometimes painting as well. In spite of being encouraged to go into painting by at least one of his patrons, I don't see any reference that Bernini did paint.
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Hi Kim,
I think we must've been reading the same web pages!
Caravaggio strikes me as someone with a huge amount of energy - creative energy channelled into paintings with complex compositions and vitality, and physical energy working its way out on the streets and in brawls. Despite leading such an unsettled and tumultous life he does seem to got a huge amount done. All of those paintings that he had to do twice because the patron or church didn't like the original composition, for example, The Conversion of St Paul and St Matthew and the Angel. Very interesting.
You make a good point about Bernini's stability stemming from working under his father. He also had the benefit early on of a powerful patron - Cardinal Scipione Borghese. It's interesting that Cardinal Borghese commissioned two sculptures with classical themes, the Pluto and Prosperina and the Apollo and Daphne before asking for the David with the much more appropriate, for a Cardinal, religious theme.
It's interesting to me that both artists dealt with hyper realism, energy, movement and a sense of theatricality, and that these qualities must've been attractive to their patrons.
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Lynn,
Did you notice the use of light in Bernini's piece? How he uses light coming in from small windows, like in the Ecstasy of St Teresa and the baldocchin in St. Peter's? I think it is interesting to look at the similarities between painting and sculpture.