Baroque Museum Guide

Baroque Painting

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REMBRANDT

ART MUSEUM

Henri IV Receives the Portrait of of Marie de’Medici, from the Marie de’Medici Cycle,

RUBENS

CARAVAGGIO

Self-portrait with Saskia

Calling of St. Matthew

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Velázquez

ART MUSEUM

Fruit and Insects

Ruysch

Woman with a Balance

Las Meninas

Vermeer

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REMBRANDTHARMENSZOON VAN RIJN

BAROQUE

Rembrandt Van Rijn was widely recognized as the leading painter of his time in the Dutch Republic and has long been cherished by the Netherlands. His work delved into the psyche and personality of his sitters looking for the essence. His figures often emerge from darkness with a strong chirascuro and distinct modelling. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON VAN RIJN

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Portraiture as an artistic category in Europe haflourished in Renaissance Italy and thereafter in the southern Netherlands, which grew wealthy from trading economy centered in the port city of Antwerp. Interest in images of individuals, as opposed to saints and other Christian figures, was fueled in part by the new and burgeoning concept of personhood. The rise of Renaissance humanism—a revival of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy valuing dignity and the material world—contributed to this sense of personal identity, as did a new kind of economic autonomy enjoyed by wealthy merchants and successful tradesmen. These shifts in attitude and economy greatly expanded the market for portraits. Gradually, merchants and successful traders joined traditional customers—the aristocracy and high-ranking members of the church—in commissioning portraits of themselves. https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/Education/learning-resources/teaching-packets/pdfs/dutch_painting.pdf

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Self Portrait with Saskia

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Rembrandt’s self-portraits, among the most recognizable works produced by any artist of the seventeenth century in Europe, are celebrated for capturing a sense of individual spirit and for theirexpressive sensitivity. Through skillful handling of light, shadow, and texture, the artist was able to elicit unprecedented emotional depth and immediacy. The sometimes ambiguous, multilayerer meanings of his works never cease to fascinate and puzzle. Rembrandt made about eighty self-portraits, a large number for any artist. In his early career, he used a mirror to help capture a range of facial expressions that he recorded in etchings—scowling, laughter, shouting, surprise.

Rembrandt portrays himself here with his first wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612–1642). Both are attired in 16th-century costume—Saskia with a veil, and Rembrandt with a feathered beret. https://www.nortonsimon.org/art/detail/M.1977.32.027.G

The image likely began as a study of Saskia, though at some point the artist inserted his own figure decisively looking out (at a mirror) to study himself and his wife. In doing so, he altered the nature of the image and presented various options for its interpretation.

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Prodigal Son

Self-Portrait in a Cap

The Night Watch

Hermitage Museum

National Gallery of Art

Rijksmuseum

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PETER PAUL RUBENS

Rubens was commissioned by Marie de’Medici to paint a series memorialising her career. In 4 years, he created twenty-four huge allegorical pictures designed to hang in her new palace. Rubens understood how royalty enjoyed the pomp and extravagance of the Italian Baroque styles. He thus showed off their splendor in his depictions of them, emphasizing their authority and right to rule. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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Self Portrait

Peter Paul Rubens drew from the masters of the Renaissance and Italian Baroque. He is one of the first artists to obtain international influence from his combination of style and sheer body of work. His aristocratic education allowed him to travel and mingle in higher society all over Europe allowing him to become a court painter in every major country at the time. He was also an art dealer of contemporary art and antiques adding to his income. With the demand, he was further able to develop a workshop with may apprentices and associates who were able to aid in completing the many commissions that he had. These factors led to him becoming one of the wealthiest painters of all time. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

RUBENS

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The Presentation of the Portrait of Marie de’ Medici

PETER PAUL RUBENS

In 1622 Rubens was commissioned by the Queen Mother, Marie de Medici, to paint a series of large canvases which would depict the triumphs and struggles of her life, and that of her late husband Henry IV of France (NG). Marie de Medici’s position in France was not a stable one at the time. She had been Regent until her son, Louis XIII, came of age and she continued to utilize her power afterword until her machinations caused her banishment in 1619 (Johnson 449). They reconciled, and she rejoined the King’s Council in 1621 (Johnson 450). Marie de Medici hoped to use the series of paintings she commissioned from Rubens—for her new palace, Luxembourg—as visual propaganda, with the obvious aim of regaining the power she had lost along with her son’s trust (Johnson 450). https://sarahcarstensen.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/the-presentation-of-her-portrait-to-henry-iv/

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The Proxy Marriage of Marie de Medici

Arrival (or Disembarkation) of Marie de Medici at Marseilles

The Coronation of Marie de Medici,

Louvre

Louvre

Louvre

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BAROQUE

MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO

The Calling of Saint Matthew was painted for a side wall in a chapel. The painting demonstrates a bland scene where Christ is even draped in shadow and only barely catches the light. The gesture recalls Michelangelo’s creation of Adam. The composition thus depicts Christ calling to Levi who became Saint Matthew who sits at the end of the table and tries to come to terms with his destiny. The light also utilizes a nearby window in the chapel similar to Caravaggio's Conversion of Saint Paul. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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Michelangelo Merisi da CARAVAGGIO

Born Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio demonstrated a unique style and was denounced by some artist of the time as being a radical of painting. His refusal to emulate models of classical tradition allowed him to stand out from his peers along with his focus on the viewers experience of the painting made for unique and dynamic baroque compositions. He led a problematic life but received many commissions and was highly influential as a result. He commonly injected naturalism into his religious themes. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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CARAVAGGIO

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The Calling of St. Matthew

A favorite subject for Baroque artists was moments when one is going about one’s everyday life, and then suddenly the divine enters into that mundane, everyday life, and everything is forever changed. As we have seen, life-changing moments, like conversion (think of St. Paul) or Spiritual visions (like St. Theresa) are also popular among Baroque artists.Matthew 9:9-13 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

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Supper at Emmaus

Young Sick Bacchus

Crucifixion of St. Peter

National Gallery

Galleria Borghese, Rome

Santa María del Popolo de Roma, Italia.

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Conversion on the Way to Damascus

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This painting was specifically created with the intention of being hung in the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo and it remains there today, over four centuries later.

He has just seen a vision of Christ and has been blinded by a celestial light. The divine nature of his experience is evidenced by Saint Paul's closed eyes, stiff arms and his continued illumination from heaven. Meantime, Paul's sword and cloak are tangible reminders of his former identity as Saul the persecutor of Christians. The cloak echoes the swaddling clothes of the baby Jesus, and - along with the horse and Paul's helpless condition - confirms that we are witnessing a spiritual rebirth. http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/conversion-on-the-way-to-damascus.htm

Paul lies back, eyes closed, arms held up to the heavens. His horse stands more peacefully, its bridle held by the groom.

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Diego VELÁZQUEZ

Las Meninas is possibly considered his greatest masterpiece as it shows mastery of both form and content. He represents himself in his studio in front of a large canvas. The infant princess Margarita is in the foreground with her maids-in-waiting, dwarfs, and her dog. In the middle ground there is a widow and male escort. The background contains a chamberlain in the doorway. The king and queen are seen in a mirror at the back of the room. Historians do not fully agree on the reading of this painting. What is taking place? What is actually being painted on the canvas in the scene? http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ

Diego Velazquez is considered the most influential Spanish painter from the time. He produced many religious paintings, but is most well known for his commissions from King Philip IV as he was named to the position of court painter. With such support, he was able to expand on his talents as a painter without worry about finding commissions. http://arthistorysurvey.com/wiki/Mannerism+and+Baroque

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Las Meninas

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This painting is possibly an attempt to elevate himself and his profession. The complexity summarizes the many types of depictions that can be done in painting: reflections, self portraiture, paintings in painting, foreground to background relationships, tapestry, etc. Velazquez incorporates areas expanding from all sides including foreground (viewer’s space) and background. He does not focus on the strong difference in light and dark but rather a variation of tone and effects later discovered with photography.e.

Born in Seville in 1599, Diego Velázquez showed artistic talents from an early age. At only 23, the young Velázquez travelled to Madrid for the first time to seek royal patronage form the new King, Philip IV. Unfortunately, he did not get the chance to make a royal connection, but only a year later he was summoned back to paint a portrait of Philip. The court was so impressed with Velázquez’s painting that he was appointed as the official artist, with the promise that he would be the only painter allowed to depict the king.https://www.thecollector.com/las-meninas-by-diego-velazquez-10-things-to-know

The painting was made in 1656, while Philip IV and Mariana of Austria were King and Queen of Spain.It depicts the main chamber on the ground floor of the Royal Alcazar in Madrid.

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Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles

Portrait of Philip IV in Fraga

Portrait of Juan Pareja

Metropolitan Museum

Museo de Prada

Frick Collection

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Rachel Ruysch

Rachel Ruysch was born in The Hague, the daughter of the botanist, physician and anatomist, Frederik Ruysch. Her family settled in Amsterdam when she was young and she trained there with the still life painter Willem van Aelst, from 1679. In the 1680s, Ruysch was influenced by the still life painter Otto Marseus van Schriek, who was famous for his representations of dark forest flora with insects and lizards. Ruysch worked in The Hague from 1701 to 1708, where she was the first female member of the artist’s society, Confrerie Pictura. From 1708 until 1716, she was court painter to the Elector Palatine, Johan Willem, in Düsseldorf. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/rachel-ruysch

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Rachel Ruysch

Rachel Ruysch is widely regarded as one of the greatest still life artists of the Dutch Golden Age, and an extraordinary exception in being the first female Netherlandish artist to win international recognition during her own lifetime in a professional world dominated by men. Ruysch was the first woman to join the painter’s Guild of Saint Luke in The Hague. She always signed with her maiden name even after marriage, commanded high prices throughout her career. https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/women-artists/still-life-of-flowers-with-butterflies-insects-a

Godfried Schalcken, Portrait of the artist Rachel Ruysch,c. 1643-1706, oil on canvas, 71.8 x 62. 2 cm (Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum)

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Fruit and Insects

At 15, she was apprenticed to the well-known Dutch flower painter Willem van Aelst. From that point on, she produced various kinds of still lifes, mainly flower pieces and woodland scenes.

Rachel Ruysch was successful for nearly 70 years as a specialist in flower paintings.

Ruysch's maternal grandfather, Pieter Post, was an important architect,and her father, Frederik Ruysch, an eminent scientist. From him, she learned how to observe and record nature with great accuracy.

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Other Works

Spray of Flowers

Flower bouquet on a marble table

Still Life with Flowers

Private Collection

Kurpfälzisches Museum

Hallwyl Museum

Johannes Vermeer

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Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch artist who created some of the most well-known paintings during the Baroque period. Vermeer painted scenes from everyday life with a sense of timelessness dignity and serenity, considered by many to be a master of light. Vermeer was fascinated by apparently insignificant moments of domestic life. Here, a housewife stands at a window, reading a letter. As is normative in Vermeer’s work, a window in the upper left lights the scene, which is framed by the wall and a curtain. https://oer.pressbooks.pub/encounterswiththearts/chapter/baroque-opulence/

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REMBRANDT - Louvre Museum

Vermeer did pioneer the use of the camera obscura, a pinhole device used since the Renaissance to project an image onto a wall surface with the aid of a lens. The device exaggerated spatial effects, surface with the aid of a lens. The device exaggerated spatial effects, but the resulting projected image was probably not very sharply focused. Vermeer is considered to have noted these blurring effects, which he adeptly translated into details of objects and persons that are rendered not in minute detail, but with an expert stroke of highlighting color or glaze. Because of his painstaking techniques, Vermeer’s lifetime production was very small; today, only about 35 authentic paintings are known. Much of Vermeer’s work was collected in his time by a single patron, Pieter Claesz van work was collected in his time by a single patron, Pieter Claesz van Ruijven. He paid the artist for the first right of refusal over any new work. https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/Education/learning-resources/teaching-packets/pdfs/dutch_painting.pdf

Johannes Vermeer

The painter with his back to the viewer is presumed to be Vermeer. No authenticated frontal portraits of the artist are in existence.

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Woman with a Balance

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Woman Holding a Balance is an allegorical scene that urges us to conduct our lives with temperance and moderation. The painting within the painting offers an important clue in that Christ's Last Judgment is echoed by the woman's own actions. Before her are earthly treasures; behind her is the symbol of the eternal consequences of her actions here on earth. In waiting for the balance to rest at equilibrium she acknowledges the importance of judgment in weighing her own actions in anticipation of the life to come.

Vermeer's paintings focused on everyday life scenes (genre scenes) from neighborhoods in the city of Delft. His subject matter depicts ordinary people and narratives of domesticity in the 17th century. Vermeer was popular for his realistic paintings and thus he can be described as painter of the people for the people.

A woman dressed in a blue jacket with fur trim stands alone before a table in a corner of a room. She holds a balance in her right hand and with lowered eyes waits for it to come to rest. Behind her, on the back wall of the room, is a large painting of The Last Judgment framed in black. On the side wall is a mirror. A blue cloth, some open boxes, two strands of pearls, and a gold chain lie on the table

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/woman-holding-a-balance/-wHFDKu7-mhjtQ

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The Lacemaker

The Geographer

The Milkmaid

Louvre

Städel Museum

Rijksmuseum

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REMBRANDT

ART MUSEUM

Thyseen Museum

RUBENS

CARAVAGGIO

Louvre Museum

Prado Museum

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