BAROQUE
The liberation of Italian art from the aridity of late Mannerism was initially the work of the cities., which previously played an artistically inferior role. Bologna stood out the earliest, thanks to the academy, founded here in 1585 by members of the House of Caracci — Ludovico (155-1619). Agostino (1557-1602) and Annibale (1560-1609). This was by no means the first of its kind., because the establishment of schools for artists became necessary as a result of the blow, what the Renaissance inflicted on the old guild system, but it was much more successful than any of the previous. Without a doubt, the greatest and most versatile artist of the three was Annibale., which breathed new life into the classical tradition. His frescoes in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome are characterized by a fresh and very ingenious treatment of mythological themes., as well as brilliant illusionist effects. More serious goals were set by the artist on canvases, where carefully composed religious themes have at the same time a strong emotional dimension. Annibale Caracci was also a large-format landscape painter., who was the first to paint lush landscapes with a side theme taken from the Bible or classical literature, which were later to be developed in Rome by the great French painters, Lorrain and Poussin.
Completely different, although equally innovative was the work of Michelangelo da Caravaggio (1573-1610). whose turbulent and gypsy life led him from Milan to Rome. Naples, to Malta, to Sicily and back. Caravaggio was a grand master of chiaroscuro. which he exploited for even more dramatic effects than Tintoretto. In relation to his ecclesiastical patrons, he used shock tactics and stripped biblical painting of centuries-old idealization.. naturalistically speaking religious scenes. He was served as character models by real peasants., Beggars, thugs and prostitutes, which increases the sense of realism. In several orders for churches in Rome, for example. San Luigi dei Francesci and Santa Maria del Popolo. the original works were rejected, but he always managed to find private buyers for them. Caravaggio's influence on the golden age of seventeenth-century European painting was enormous and gave birth to entire schools of Dutch and French imitators., and above all it can be seen in the works of Rubens. Rembrandt and the great Spanish masters.
In Italy, Orazio Gentileschi remained under the direct influence of Caravaggio. (1563-1639), who had a special taste for chiaroscuro effects. Mantuan Bartolomeo Manfredi (Ok. 1580-16201) expanded the master's method on such genre topics, like card games and military watchtowers. Caravaggio's style was brought to Naples by Gio-vanni Battista Caracciolo (Ok. 1570-1637). pushing Neapolitan painting from a marginal position to the very forefront.
The first important imitator of Caracci in Bologna was Guido Rani (1575-1642). In the nineteenth century, Reni was considered one of the greatest artists of all time. but his reputation suffered with his reaction against sentimentality.; only very recently has his authentic gift of showing emotions been properly appreciated.. Among Caracci's other disciples, Domenichino was a faithful follower of his style. (1581-1641), although he emphasized the decorative and idealized aspects of his art. Guercino (1591-1666) combined classical style with realism, giving chiaroscuro effects subtlety, distinguishing his work from that of Caravaggio and his followers.
Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647). from Parma, combined Carraccia style with elements borrowed from Correggio. His frescoes in Rome and Naples are characterized by a better approach to movement and greater technical efficiency than these., which Domenichino painted in the same period, and are the beginning of late Baroque painting. In turn, his works seem old-fashioned in comparison with the works of Da Cortona's Floor (1596-1669), whose fancifulness and stylistic freedom surpassed everything, what was created before. His plafonds in Palazzo Barberini create the effect of opening upwards to densely populated heavens, with figures depicted da sotto in su — seeming to break free from the surface of the image. For a century, this kind of monumental painting was preferred in Rome.: Cortona himself also vaccinated him in Florence, making a series of frescoes in Palazzo Pitti.
The Late Baroque style was a phenomenon essentially confined to Rome., born of the overly optimistic mood prevailing in the capital of Catholicism as a result of the victory of the Counter-Reformation. The dominant personality of this trend was Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). young genius, who created a completely new sculptural language when he was just over twenty years old. Such works as David and Apollo and Daphne, located in Villa Borghese. were the first statues carved in marble since michelangelo, but Bernini rejected in them the philosophy of making the form existing in it out of stone., focusing instead on emotionally engaging the viewer — a key concept of the Baroque. Although he painted only rarely (more often dealt with architecture), in his sculptures he used painting techniques, using different materials for contrast purposes, using the light sources surrounding the work and creating illusionist effects; the drama thus achieved is particularly evident in the Ecstasy of St.. Teresa in Rome's Santa Maria della Victoria, where, to emphasize the theatricality of the situation, Bernini also sculpted the audience.
The influences of Bernini's art were so overwhelming, that the rest of the work of this period seems to be only a faded imitation. One of the few sculptors, who did not let themselves be overwhelmed, was Francesco Mochi (1580-1654) from Tuscany, who made two magnificent equestrian statues in Piacenza. Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654) from Bologna, despite a fierce rivalry with Bernini, he managed to make a dizzying career in Rome, propagating a sculptural version of the Caracci style.
Versatile Genoese Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644) tried in Venice to revive the memory of the old masters. Higher flight are its exuberant early works, bearing traces of Rubens' influence: are usually characterized by free brush strokes, luminous colors and strong modeling. In Naples Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) to some extent combined the methods of Caracci and Caravaggio. but the most original of his works are colourful portraits full of details. Artemesia Gentileschi spoke the more aggressive Caravagi language. (Ok. 1597-1651), daughter Orazia, who specialized in topics worthy of the tabloid press. For a woman of her time, she enjoyed considerable independence and respect., therefore, a lot of attention is paid to her by contemporary feminists., giving it. probably quite rightly, the title of "the greatest painter of all time”.
Salvator Rosa (1615-73) painted landscapes saturated with the atmosphere of wildness and mysticism, what distinguishes it from the classicizing Bologna and Roman painters. What is characteristic, robbers or witches appear on them, or allegorical topics are discussed.
Mattia Preti (1613-99). who was born in the artistically backward Calabria, painted some of the best canvases kept in the Caravaggian manner, coping well especially with luministic aspects. His later works are more influenced by the Roman Baroque., with brightened palette and underlined spatial effects. Preti resembles Luca Giordano in them (1632-1705). the most important Neapolitan painter of the second half of the century. Giordano was famous for his fast work and is one of the most prolific artists in the history of art. His achievements are characterized by a variety of styles and very uneven quality, despite the undeniable technical efficiency. The last major Baroque painter active in Naples was Francesco Solimena (1675-1747). whose great, crowded compositions fully embody the theatricality of this direction.
Meanwhile, the fashion for spectacular illusionist plafonds was continued by Giouanni Battista Baciccia (1639-1709). who painted with warm colors, and its provocativeness surpassed even the Floor of da Cortona. Its most famous decoration is in the church of il Gesu, where painted figures appear next to stucco. Even greater stunts, however, were performed by the Jesuit Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709) on plafonds in Sant lgnazio. where trompe d oeil is visible from only one point.