Notions Archive - Page 12 of 44 - Art Explora Academy

A breath of freedom swept across Northern European countries, with a total absence of hierarchy between painting “genres”, or a monarch to use the artists’ work for his or her own ends.

Selling one’s work was, however, still necessary in order to make a living. This meant that painters had to accept orders from bourgeois clients, who were often merchants, and who were not fond of vast historical scenes, preferring happy charming scenes to adorn the walls of their houses.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman with the Young Woman with a Pearl
The Genre Scene with the Guardroom
Portraits of the Bourgeoisie of Amsterdam with The Night Watch
A Genre Scene in the raw with The King drinking

The result was an over-abundance of portraits, landscapes and other scenes from daily life.

Johannes Vermeer, Young Woman with a Pearl,

around 1665, oil on canvas, 17.5 x 15 inches, Mauritshuis, The Hague. Photo: Ivan Snowpaw, CC BY-SA 4.0 Portrait of an Unknown Woman

David Téniers, Guardroom,

1642, oil on canvas, 27 x 40.5 inches, Hermitage State Museum, Saint Petersburg

Rembrandt, The Night Watch,

1642, oil on canvas, 149 x 178.5 inches, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Portraits of the Bourgeoisie of Amsterdam

Jacob Jordaens, The King drinking,

after 1650, oil on canvas, 61 x 83 inches, Royal Fine Art Museums of Belgium, Brussels

King Louis XIV was not content to simply supervise the academies. He also wanted to have a castle to reflect his “glory”: this was to be the famous palace of Versailles.

Its designers leaned towards the “classical” styles, with their colonnades and mythological decorations, although the overdone painting and sculptures inside were more a reflection of baroque style. After all, why choose between the two?

The King was the centre of this miniature universe. His grand Hall of Mirrors was a celebration of his military power and artistic taste.

The Apollo Room, King’s State Apartment, Palace of Versailles.

Photo: © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot

Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Hall of Mirrors,

1678-1684, Palace of Versailles. Photo: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0

Charles Le Brun, The King governs by himself,

1661, Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles

It was indeed the case that new institutions saw the light of day in 17th century France. They were academies, which had the King’s personal protection. Like their Italian counterparts, their purpose was to train young artists. Science, literature and practical skills were all training topics, to equip them fully for success.

Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders,

1610, oil on canvas, 67 x 47 inches, Weissenstein Castle, Bamberg

This was not all, however: the role of the French academies was also to lay down the rules for artistic practice. This led them to establish a real hierarchy between “genres” in the field of painting, which did not help artists to move away from familiar approaches.

1.Historical, Religious and Mythological Paintings(the most prestigious genre!)

Michiel Sweerts, Portrait of a Young Woman,

1661, oil on canvas, 24 x 21 inches, Maison de Maurice, The Hague

2. The Portrait

Louis Le Nain, Visit to Grandmother,

1640, oil on canvas, 23 x 29 inches, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

3. The Genre Scene (there is some animation, but the subjet is not a prestigious one)

Annibal Carrache, Countryside, 1590,

oil on canvas, 35 x 58 inches, National Art Gallery, Washington DC

4. The Countryside

Caravaggio, Basket of fruit,

1594 – 1602, oil on canvas; 18 x 25 inches, Pinacotheca Ambrosiana (Ambrosian Picture Library), Milan

5. Still Life (inanimate objects thought to be easier to paint)

Le Bernin, Project for the Louvre. Elevation for the Eastern façade,

1664, brown ink, pen and brown wash, Louvre Museum, Paris. Photo: © Photo 2011 Musée du Louvre / Marc Jeanneteau

Le Bernin was given the task of designing a monumental entrance. This task was right up his street! Unfortunately, his plan was considered too “outlandish”. As soon as his back was turned, his project was abandoned.

This is the first project proposed by Le Bernin.

Perrault’s Columns

East façade of the Louvre today, in Paris. Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, CC BY 2.0

In the end it was a group of French architects who replaced him. They worked together to design a straight colonnade in a more classical style – which was also more appealing.

The columns, whose construction was supervised by Claude Perrault, as they are today.

In a nutshell

Architect Le Bernin’s project for the façade of the Louvre was not to the taste of the king, who preferred the more classical design of a colonnade.

Le Bernin, The Rape of Proserpine,

1621 – 1622, marble; 100 inches, Borghese Gallery, Rome. Photo: Sailko, CC BY 3.0

Le Bernin (1598-1680)

He was a leading figure in Baroque art and official sculptor and architect for the Popes. Which is THE must-know work? The Rape of Proserpine

Pierre-Paul Rubens, Presentation of the portrait of Marie de Médicis, Marie de Médicis series,

1622 – 1625, oil on canvas, 155 x 116 inches, Louvre Museum, Paris

Rubens (1577-1640)

This hyper-productive Flemish painter was a star of the baroque style who worked for all the monarchs of his era. He even occupied a position as diplomat. Which is THE must-know work? The Marie de Medicis series.

Diego Velázquez, The Family of Philip IV,

1656 – 1657, oil on canvas, 125 x 109 inches, Prado Museum, Madrid Velázquez (1599-1660)

Velázquez (1599-1660)

He was a great portrait painter who served the King of Spain for more than 30 years. Which is THE must-know work? The Family of Philip IV

This was perfect, since the baroque art of the 17th century was completely in line with the ideas of Catholics.

To hell with the reasoning of the Renaissance, baroque art aroused feelings. To move viewers, artists mixed the different styles of art, preferring dramatic scenes and trompe-l’œil effects. Their exuberant works are a feast for the eyes.

However, baroque art was not alone in this. In some European countries, the public continued to enjoy the balance and tranquility of more “classical works”.

These two 17th century movements therefore had to live alongside each other, sometimes in the same building!

Francesco Borromini, Dome of Saint-Charles-aux-Quatre-Fontaines Church,

Rome. Photo: Architas, CC BY-SA 4.0

Francesco Borromini, Saint-Charles-aux-Quatre-Fontaines Church,

Rome. Photo: Architas, CC BY-SA 4.0

Le Bernin, Fontaine des Quatre-Fleuves (Four Rivers Fountain), 1648-1651,

Rome. Photo: Tango7174, CC BY-SA 4.0

Andrea Pozzo, Dome of Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola’s Church,

1685, fresco, Rome. Photo: Bridgeman Images

Pierre-Paul Rubens, The Adoration of the Magi, 1624, oil on canvas, 176 x 132 inches, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

Baroque Style

Nicolas Poussin, La Sainte Famille à l’escalier, (The Holy Family on the Steps), 1648, oil on canvas, 29 x 42 inches, Cleveland Art Museum

Classical Style

You could not just do as you pleased with religious art in the 17th century, and even more so because the Church had only recently emerged from a major crisis.

During the previous century, Europe was divided into two camps: Catholics, who respected the Pope’s authority and Protestants, who questioned it. From this point on, the two could not be reconciled.

Religious art was precisely one of the things they disagreed on:

Protestants refused it in the interests of maintaining sobriety.
Catholics thought, on the contrary, that it stimulated a feeling of religious exaltation. Works of art should therefore be splendid and produce an emotion.

Véronèse, The Wedding Feast at Cana,

1562, oil on canvas, 260 x 390 inches, Louvre Museum, Paris

Rome, Florence, Fontainebleau and the Loire valley were the focus of innovations during the Renaissance. There were, however, many other regions bubbling over with new life in Europe! This was so much so that exchanges of models or new techniques took place.

In Venice, for instance.