17th Century Southern Baroque Art

17^th CENTURY SOUTHERN BAROQUE ART

Theme:  “Classicism with Passion”

While Baroque art introduces a new dynamic, theatrical quality to its arts, it continues – to some extent – the classicism of the Renaissance. Baroque art can be thought of as a conflict between the reason of classicism and extreme passion.

Baroque is a term given to a style of 18^th art. The word means irregularly shaped or odd. The work was criticized for its ignorance of Italian Renaissance.

Baroque is a term given to a style of 18^th art. The word means irregularly shaped or odd. The work was criticized for its ignorance of Italian Renaissance.

The chart below illustrates some of the Regional Differences in Baroque Art.

17^th Century Southern Baroque (Italian)

Historical Context (1600-1700)

Papal power grew again because of Counter Reformation (Catholic Church’s response to Protestant Reformation)

• Paul V (Borghese) 1605-21
• Urban VIII (Barberini) 1623-44
• Innocent X (Pamphili) 1644-55
• Alexander VII (Chigi) 1655-67

MAP

Artistic Innovations Baroque Italian

Catholic Popes were patron who wanted to display their triumph over the Counter Reformation and attract new worshippers. They needed art to incite piety in the viewer and glorify religion. All artistic mediums and forms are used together to display power of Catholic Church (architecture, painting, sculpture, etc.)

Rome was the center of the art world until 1650, when enormously powerful French kings began to dominate patronage.

The emphasis in Baroque art was motion and emotion in all art forms.

Architecture illustrated movement and energy with facades undulating in space. There were entrances with pediments or tympana and rich interiors. The buildings were often large and impressive. Construction of St. Peter’s because a symbol of the Church’s energy to combat Protestantism

Painting employed dramatic light and dark contrast. Caravaggio began tenebrism. There was drama and sense of movement.

Chiaroscuro/ Sfumato/ Tenebrism 

Sculpture showed figures caught in mid-action. Movement was stressed. Sculpture-in-the-round was important and there was an appreciation of Hellenism.

Artists dominating the scene included Caravaggio, Bernini, and Borromini.

CARAVAGGIO

 

BERNINI

PHOTOS

 

(3) 82. Il Gesù

Giacomo da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta. Italian. 16th century. façade: 1568-1584 CE. Southern (Italian) Baroque.

Il Gesù by Giacomo da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta, stands in Rome, Italy. Numerous materials were used for construction and décor including brick, marble, stucco, and fresco.

An older building was first constructed. Then, between 1568-1584  the façade was added and the inside renovated. This was the first true Baroque façade, and it introduced the style into architecture as Baroque classicism. Vignola developed the overall design, while della Porta constructed the vault, dome, and apse.

Il Gesù is a Jesuit church. “Gesu” simply means Jesus in Italian. HIS on front in crest is Christ’s name.

The Façade

The Façade is divided into two floors. On the lower level there are six Corinthian columns. Five are pilasters, with one engaged column by the door. The entablature, or horizontal moldings supported by column, has inscriptions.

The visitor is immediately projected into the body of the church, that is a simple basilica plan with semi-circular nave. There are no side aisles, no radiating chapels, and no transept.  Chapels run along the side, but you cannot walk through these. Aisles were removed to allow space for traffic. This provides worshippers with a wide uncluttered space, unified under the ceiling.

The altar is the focus. The transept does not extend beyond the nave. There is a semicircular apse, with stairs that spill out.

Function

Il Gesù was the Mother church of the Jesuit order. It was constructed after the death of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of Jesuit order. The site was chosen because he once prayed here before the image of the Holy Virgin. This image is inside the church and is site-specific.

The patron was Cardinal Alexander Farnese, an enormously rich, powerful, art-loving cardinal. Farnese was the grandson of Pope Paul III, who had authorized the founding of the Jesuits.

SUB-IMAGE 1 (Interior)

What makes this Baroque?

The interior has movement, vivid color, energy, and drama. It illustrates light versus dark. Art moves into all the spaces, drawing the viewer in.

The dark corners have been eliminated and the sculptures have been added over time.

The  classicizing elements inside fluted pilasters, columns, barrel vaulted arches and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. These are all things we expect from the Renaissance, but here they are made with ochre marble and jasper stone. These colors add flair.

SUB-IMAGE 2 (Triumph of the Name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli)

This is a hugely explosive fresco. This ceiling embodies drama, energy, and movement.

It travels from the earthly to the heavenly and physical. Then to the spiritual.

The light appears to have broken the ceiling open.  The figures are zooming up toward it with great speed. These are the Catholics entering heaven.  In the center of the sunburst was the name of Jesus (HIS) with a cross.

Figures who ignore this light are the rejected. The group are in darkened shades, being pushed out on the bottom.

The theme here is triumphalism. Protestantism at this point in history is over 100 years old. It is not going away, but Catholicism is true.

Artistic Terms

Di sotto in sù means “from the bottom up”. In this ceiling painting there is  space that moves vertically as if it is hovering above the viewers vs quaddro riportato in the Sistine Chapel.

Trompe l’oeil is used in the architecture and many “stone” figures are painted.

The Story Behind the Church

Europe was suffering great losses from Protestantism and the Catholic Church believed this was a War for Souls.  Church responded with the Counter Reformation.

The Council of Trent met 25 times between 1545 and 1563. They outlawed simony, or the buying of church positions. The same was done to pluralism or holding more than one church office. They encouraged religious orders to promote conversion and used art to inspire the faithful.

It was agreed that art should be straightforward,  but not necessarily simple. The works needed to have clear messages, as well as amaze the viewer. The design of the church was simplified, so side aisles and narthexes disappeared.

The Church decided to use its great wealth as a sign of its success and God’s grace. Others saw this as a sign of corruption. Counter Reformation churches became more ostentatious and more expensive to build. The idea was to incite religious passion.

About St. Ignatius Loyola

St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit order to put a stop to the spread of Protestantism. He  also founded colleges for religious teachings. This spread Catholicism through conversion and monastic order.

 

A Church Comparison

Il Gesù vs. Sainte-Foy (Floor Plan)

1. Wide nave vs. Side aisles.
2. Truncated transept vs. Extended transept.
3. Semi-circular apse vs. Apse with radiating chapels and ambulatory.

Il Gesù vs. Sainte-Foy (Interior)

Wide nave and unified space under one large vault verses Side aisles and a narrower nave under a narrow roof.

Understanding Ceiling Paintings

Di sotto in sù – ceiling paintings that move “from the bottom up” or ones that have space that moves vertically.

Quaddro riportato – ceiling paintings that are “flat” or parallel to the ground

(3) 89. Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Italian. Marble (sculpture); stucco and gilt bronze (chapel). 1647-1652 CE. Southern (Italian) Baroque.

Learning Objective: 17^th century Southern (Italian) sculpture

Themes:

Visions
Sexuality
Light
Religion
Propaganda
Human and divine
Status

Ecstasy of St. Teresa is a marble sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Made for the Cornoro Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Rome, Italy, the church’s exterior is based on Il Gesù.

The work is Baroque classicism. The characteristics include multi-media, drama, illusionistic, gilding, involvement of the viewer, peak moment of the narrative and diagonals.

A broken pediment opens to reveal the sculptural image. It is presented theatrically. Rays of light are in a hidden window behind pediment. Natural light is redirected. Rays of God’s light symbolically illuminate the scene. St. Teresa is of the earth wearing thick drapery. The angel is of the heavens wearing light drapery.

The Use of Marble

• Marble reveals texture.
• Skin is high gloss.
• Feathers of the angel are rougher.
• Drapery is animated and thick.
• Clouds are roughly cut.
• Body writhes under heavy cloth
• Bodies are graceful.
• Contrast of gold/cream, rough/smooth, straight/curved.
• Marble has a weightless quality.

Function

Bernini was commissioned by the Cornaro family to create this work for the private family chapel. It is a symbol of the status and piety of the family. Ecstasy of St. Teresa honors Teresa of Avila, and by extension, God.

The goal of Baroque is to involve the viewer and inspire faith in the miraculous. Scenes of the divine and humans interacting were extremely popular.

SUB-IMAGE 1 (Theater boxes)

Members of the Cornaro family, in sculpture,  sit in theater boxes looking on and commenting as though they are part of an audience for this show.

SUB-IMAGE 2 (Ecstasy of St. Teresa)

Bernini’s sculptural interpretation uses Saint Teresa’s diary, in which she tells of her visions of God.  It involved an angel descending with a golden spear and plunging it into her. The artist uses an arrow instead.

Here is an excerpt from her diary:

“Besides me, on the left, appeared an angel in bodily form. He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest ranks of angels who are all on fire. In his hands, I saw a great golden spear and at the iron tip, there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated me to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took me with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God.

The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain was so extreme that I did not possibly wish it to cease, nor was my soul content with anything but God. This was not a physical but a spiritual pain, though my body had some share in it – even a considerable share.”

The way she wrote it makes the spiritual and physical sound the same.

Bernini selects the most dramatic moment of the story. Not before the angel plunges the arrow into her, nor afterwards. Her pose suggests physical exhaustion, collapse but also ecstasy and pleasure. Notice how the arrow is plunged into her public area.

She craved God, which in Bernini’s image, means she craves penetration. Sexual symbolism to represent a spiritual experience. He uses human experience as a symbol of a vision of God to make it relatable.

Context

Santa Maria della Vittoria was originally dedicated to St. Paul, but was rededicated to Virgin Mary, in gratitude for a military victory, in Bohemia, in 1620.  The head of Cornaro family, Federico Cornaro, was cardinal in Venice, with important ties to Rome.

Cornaros were patrons of Barefoot Carmelites, the order of nuns that Teresa belonged to. She had no chapel dedicated to her yet,  despite being a prominent nun.

The Story of Teresa Avila

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) was a Spanish nun of the Barefoot Carmelites. She had recently been canonized or made a saint in 1622.

She lived in a Carmelite convent. While there, she  wrote her accounts of viewing angels down. She also recorded her experience with levitations. Her diary was a best seller in 17^th century Rome.

Direct Contact with God

The Catholic Reformation was all about pomp, extravagance, and drama, to grab the faithful and inspire piety in them. They were criticized by the Protestants, saying that Catholicism does not give the follower direct contact with God.

Catholics began to promote stories that showed Catholics having these direct connections with the divine.

About Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was a sculptor, architect, painter, playwright, and stage designer, during the Baroque era.  His father, Pietro, trained him, with an influence toward Mannerist sculpture, as well as Hellenistic works.

The younger Bernini was employed on huge projects in Rome, while also in demand across Europe. He was even invited to France by King Louis XIV.

(3) 88. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

Francesco Borromini. Italian. 1638-1646 CE. Southern (Italian) Baroque

Learning Objective: 17^th century Southern Baroque Church

Themes:

Place of worship
Religion
Architecture
Propaganda
Light

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, is a stone and stucco church in Rome, Italy, designed by architect Francesco Borromini. This example of Baroque classicism sits on an unusually small, oddly shaped location.

The building creates a sense of movement, with alternating convex and concave patterns and undulating surfaces. This gives a sense of push and pull. The façade is higher than the rest of the building.

SUB-IMAGE 1 (Interior)

Borromini based his interior on the theory that science, mathematics and nature are inseparable. This is how God created harmony in the world.

The floor plan is based on two triangles , that share one side. These form a diamond. A circle fits inside each triangle. The circles together form an oval.

The oval-shape is repeated in the dome overhead and a lantern lets light on.  The dome is lightened with coffers that are hexagon and octagon shaped.  There is a sophistication of repeating geometric shapes. Triangles are represented throughout the church.

The eye is drawn in by great white columns. The interior side chapels merge into central space.  The walls are treated as sculptural elements that bulge and curve. Decorative natural elements include carved rosettes.

Borromini did not use color like Bernini. Keeping the church white, means drama and beauty come from the intricacy of the stone cutting and the curving of the stone. Borromini was a stone cutter and cut many of these stones himself.

Function

Borromini was commissioned by a group called the Trinitarians, who promoted the devotion to the Trinity. Since the group did not have a lot of money, the architect offered to do the commission for free if he had full creative rights.

The Background Story

The name of this Catholic Church means Saint Charles of the Four Fountains. The square in Rome it was built on contains four fountains. It is known as a church based on perfect geometry.

To counter Reformation, art was intended to awe the viewer and depict the harmony of God.  Borromini achieves this through mathematical perfection.

 About the Architect

Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) was an architect who helped to define Baroque style in the 17^th century. This new style was a reaction to the 16^th century of Renaissance, which represented linear form in a very structured geometric way. Borromini took these geometric forms oval, squares and rectangles and choose to overlap the shapes. He also took classical elements from Greek and Roman architecture and molded them into new forms.

Borromini was eccentric, brooding, quiet, and famous. He was a contemporary and rival to  Gian Lorenzo Bernini and never was quite as well known.

(3) 85. Calling of St. Matthew

Caravaggio. Italian. 1597-1601. Southern (Italian) Baroque

Learning Objective: 17^th century. Southern Baroque (Italian) painting

Themes:

Light
Religion
Propaganda
Biblical
Status
Human and divine

The Calling of St. Matthew by Italian painter Caravaggio, is an oil on canvas work measuring 10 feet 5 inches by 10 feet five inches. It hangs in the Contarelli Chapel, at San Luigi dei Francescei, in Rome, Italy.

In this painting the light comes in from the right for illumination. There is also a window overhead in Contarelli Chapel which streams in natural light.

Techniques and Style

Here Caravaggio uses tenebrism or “dark manner” There is extreme chiaroscuro or an effect of light and dark shadows. The images shift from dark to light very quickly without any shades in the middle.

The painting has the Baroque characteristics of drama. The figures sit or stand on a narrow stage and the action happens close to the viewer. Caravaggio maintain the high naturalism of the High Renaissance but adds drama and intensity.

He also employs radical naturalism, using everyday characters. These are earth bound common figures. Even Christ looks like a regular guy. He is barely elevated above his followers and there is only the fainted hint of a halo. Christ in this painting is far from the idealized beauty of the High Renaissance.

A Dedication to Saint Mathew

Calling of St. Matthew is one of three paintings, by Caravaggio, hanging in the Contarelli Chapel, that are dedicated to the saint. Mathew was one of Christ’s disciples.

The Calling of St. Matthew, hangs on the left, Inspiration of St. Matthew, is in the center , and Martyrdom of St. Matthew hangs on the right.

The Chapel belonging to the French Cardinal Matthieu Cointerel chose him namesake Matthew as the subject of the chapel’s decorative program.

Calling of St. Matthew shows the moment of transition or spiritual awakening in Matthew. The work was intended to show the faith and piety of the believers and to inspire the non-believers.

The Story Within the Painting

The story is from the New Testament.  Matthew is a tax collector who sits with other tax collectors, in a Roman pub. The foppishly dressed men lean forward to greedily count their money.

The light in the painting symbolizes Christ and it enters with him  He delicately and gracefully extends his arm outwards to Matthew. Calling of St. Matthew is Reminiscent of the hand of Adam in Sistine Chapel. This was intentional as Caravaggio was a big fan of Michelangelo.

Christ points to Matthew and asks him to follow. Matthew is in disbelief and points to himself to clarify what Christ has just asked. This is one moment in time at the climax of the story.

Three hands (Trinity) point towards Matthew. The light cast on Matthew is the light of conversion.

St. Peter is the heavy, powerful, burly man turned into the picture plane, who blocks Christ from being fully seen by the viewer.

The History of Art and Church

During Counter-Reformation, the church wanted to use art to emphasize that a personal connection to God was possible. This helped to make Catholicism real and accessible.

To pull the viewer into the art it used moments of transformation. Think Bernini’s approach for Ecstasy of St. Teresa.

A Unique Approach

While Bernini used a saint in his work Caravaggio, chose art for the masses, by bringing the masses into his art. For the first time, a sacred Biblical episode was depicted as a normal realistic event in the same timeframe it was painted in.

About Caravaggio

Artist Caravaggio (1571-1610) was born in Milan, Italy. He was considered the father of modern painting at the time. When the bubonic plague killed his family, while he was a child, he apprenticed with Simone Peterzano, in Milan. He was just 11 years old. Afterwards, he moved to Rome where his technique in tenebrism proved popular.

The commission for Contarelli Chapel gave his work exposure and more work would follow.

Caravaggio led a troubled life with drinking gambling and fighting throughout.

17^th Century Southern Baroque (Spanish)

Beginning in the 17^th century, Spain’s status as an international power was in decline. There was a rapid inflation, declining political power in New World, loss of colonies, and a weakening of Hapsburgs

Spain allied with HRE and Catholic Church to attempt to retain power.

Hapsburg monarchs remained avid art patrons.  They were deeply Catholic, and this contributed to the representation of Catholic dogma.

Spanish Baroque artists produced art that moved viewers towards greater devotion and piety.

(3) 91. Las Meninas.

Diego Velázquez. Spanish. 1656 CE. Southern (Spanish) Baroque.

Learning Objective: 17^th Century.  Southern Baroque (Spanish) painting

Themes:

Status
Family portrait
Rulers

Museum: Prado in Madrid

This work entitled, Las Meninas, is 10 feet and 5 inches by 9 feet by 1 inch oil on canvas painting by Diego Velázquez. Here we find a new technique called impasto. This method uses a thick and very visible application of paint, using brushstrokes described as gestural. The effect is very painterly.

The contrast between light and dark is shown here in a technique known as tenebrism. It was popularized by Caravaggio. Tenebrism is derived from the Italian word ‘tenebroso’ which means darkened and obscuring. Certain parts of paintings, such as faces, and hands are illuminated by highlights which are contrasted by a mainly dark setting.

The People in the Portrait

1. Infanta Margaret Theresa (5 years old)
2. Isabel de Velasco (lady in waiting or menina)
3. Maria Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor (lady in waiting or menina)
4. Maribarbola (dwarf)
5. Nicolas Pertusato (dwarf)
6. Marcela de Ulloa (Infanta’s chaperone)
7. Bodyguard
8. Don Jose Nieto Velazquez (queen’s chamberlain and head of royal tapestry works)
9. Velazquez himself
10. King Philip IV
11. Queen Mariana

 This is a group portrait of the artist in his studio at work. This genre scene is highly informal. It uses both normal poses and intimate glances to achieve this effect.

Velázquez paints himself stepping back from his canvas to look straight at the viewer. He wears the cross of the Royal Order of Santiago, elevating him to knighthood.  This illustrates his status both as an artist and in the community.

Meanwhile, the Infanta Margarita of Spain, is with her meninas, or maids and attendants. The infanta has just noticed the viewer, while one maid begins to curtsy.

In the painting there is also a dwarf, which were fashionable to have by royalty, along with a dog. In the middle is a nurse or bodyguard. While in the background is Jose Nieto, the head of the queen’s tapestries.

King Philip IV and his Queen appear in the mirror. The viewer know it is a mirror because it is reflective. The canvases and tapestries hanging around the room do not reflect light. Look closely. The angle of the canvas and the angle of the mirror do not match up.

Do you see the painting of King Philip IV and Queen on the back wall of the room?

Made for the King’s Viewing Pleasure

This was a painting created for King Philip IV’s private study. He wanted a portrait of his daughter so that he could look up and see her everyday.

The group painting makes it similar to a family photograph for personal enjoyment. Royalty would never be portrayed this way in public paintings.

About the King

The king was the last great Spanish Hapsburg king.  Spain’s status as an international power was in decline with inflation, downward political power, and a loss of colonies.

An alliance was created with the Catholic Church in attempt to retain power.  Spain was deeply Catholic since the Catholic fanaticism from Isabella and Ferdinand. Art from this time is almost always religious in nature or portraiture.

About the Artist

Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) was born in Seville, Spain. Showing early artistic talents, he was already apprenticed, by the age of 11, to Francisco Pacheco, the city’s most significant artist and art theorist. There he learned drawing, painting, still life and portraiture.

Velázquez was greatly influenced by Caravaggio.

Once he finished his apprenticeship, in 1617, he married Pacheco’s daughter, and set up his own studio.

In 1623, Velázquez was asked to paint a portrait of the young King Philip IV. Soon after, he was appointed one of the court painters, enabling him to move his family to Madrid.

Throughout the years, he became remarkably close to the royal family, taking on greater responsibility within the household. By 1658, he was honored by being knighted.

New Spanish Baroque

 New Spanish Baroque refers to Baroque art in the Viceroyalty of New Spain

• Baroque styles were imported by peninsulares and adopted by creoles living in the New World
• Often, indigenous practices were mixed with European trends

 

(3) 95. The Virgin of Guadalupe

Miguel González. New Spain. 1698 CE.  Based on original Virgin of Guadalupe, Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City.

Learning Objective: 17^th century Southern Baroque New Spanish enconchado painting

Themes:

Cross-cultural
Religion
Vision
Human and divine
Devotional object
Materials with significance

Museum: LACMA, Los Angeles, California

The Virgin of Guadalupe, created by Miguel González, is an artwork made from oil on canvas. placed on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and measuring 39 by 27 inches.

This is an example of Baroque work during the time, with its extravagant and decorative design. The inspiration for the work was Japanese lacquerware part of Asian decorative arts that was extremely popular. This work uses a Mexican technique created to approximate that look called enconchado. Concha means shell in Spanish.

The Art of Enconchado

 Miguel González is considered one of the best artists in enconchado. This consisted of placing tiny fragments of mother-of-pearl onto a canvas that sat on top of wood.  Then the shells were covered with a yellowish tint and thin glazes of paint. This created a luminescence that could not be replicated by paint.

Enconchado paintings often have highly elaborate frames. The Virgin of Guadalupe is shell inlaid with lavish floral motifs.

Popularity of Virgin of Guadalupe

Veneration of Virgin of Guadalupe increased because people attributed her with miracles and interceding on their behalf during times of turmoil.

This work was created for individual worship and to display the owner’s piety. It also illustrated social status and wealth as enconchado technique was expensive, new, and trendy.

A Closer Look at the Work

The center depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe. She averts her gaze and clasps her hands together in piety. Standing on a crescent moon supported by a seraph, or holy winged being, she wears the traditional clothes of Mary. This consists of a long blue cloak with hood.  Roses decorate her dress and golden stars adorn her cloak.

A mandorla of light surrounds her. Rays frame her head in reference to her crown of stars.

In the roundels, the top left, top right, and bottom left scene apparitions. Each roundel is supported by an angelic figure.  In the bottom right Juan Diego unveils her image on tunic to the Bishop.

Historical Trade and Art

The Spanish Philippines traded with Japan.  Japanese goods arrived in Mexico, via Spanish ships enroute to Europe.  When Japan became isolationist in the 17^th century Japanese goods stopped arriving. This led to a high demand for Mexican artists to create some of their own Asian-inspired objects.

The Story of the Virgin of Guadalupe

The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe varies from region to region, but the basics remain the same. In December 1531, a man named Juan Diego was on his way to mass. He walked on the Tepeyac hill, formerly a site of a shrine to an Aztec mother goddess. Here, the Virgin appeared to him as an apparition. She asked Juan Diego to tell the Bishop of Guadalupe to construct a shrine in her honor on the hill.

Juan Diego asked the Bishop.  He did not believe Juan Diego and requested proof.

Juan Diego returned to the site and saw her a second and third time. Finally, on the fourth meeting she told Juan Diego to take roses growing on the hillside and to the Bishop.

When Juan Diego opened his cloak, the roses spilled out in front of the Bishop. The flowers were miraculously imprinted with the image of the Virgin.

Immediately, the Bishop began construction on the hill!

The Tunic

Virgin of Guadalupe’s tunic was kept by the church here as a relic.  Her image was made by an unknown artist. This image became the standard representation the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Miguel González

 The artist, born in 1664 was considered the Michelangelo of Mexico. He painted casta paintings. portraits, large scale works, small devotional paintings and religious alter pieces.

 

(3) 90. Angel with Arquebus Asiel Timor Dei.

Master of Calamarca (La Paz School). New Spain. 17^th century.

Learning Objective: 17^th century Southern Baroque New Spanish Counter Reformation painting

Themes:

Religion
Violence
Propaganda
Cross-cultural
Deities

Museum: Museo Nacional de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia.

Angel with Arquebus Asiel Timor Dei, an oil on canvass work, with gilding, measuring 5 feet 4 inches by 3 feet 6 inches was painted by Master of Calamarca (La Paz School). It may have been created by Jose de la Rios.

Established artists were unable to leave Europe and their wealthy patrons to move to the Americas. La Paz School workshop was known for crafting works of well-dressed of angels carrying guns. This combined the celestial, aristocratic and military all at once!

Baroque Meets Mannerism

Angel with Arquebus, Asiel Timor Dei has graceful figures and a decorative and extravagant design just like Baroque. Yet, the elongation and extended lines of angel’s body recalls the Mannerist style, still preferred in the 17^th century Americas.

Function

This work would have been part of a larger series of various angels.  The audience was native, mostly Inca and indigenous tribes, of Catholic, Protestant, or indigenous religions.

An armed angel represented the idea of divine protection over faithful Christians and the need for Catholics to defend their faith. It represented both Catholic and Spanish power over indigenous peoples. This was meant to take the place of native deities and promote Catholicism within the New World.

Understanding this Painting

Asiel indicates the name of the angel, and a quality of “Fears God”. The androgynous angel is stunningly attired. The pose is based off a series of Dutch engravings of military positions and guns.

The clothing combines contemporary European aristocratic fashion with Inca nobility fashion.  The broad-brimmed hat, billowing sleeves and tights are European.  The ornate clothing and feathered hat were Inca. Feathers were a sign of gods.

 A harquebus is a firearm with a long barrel, created by the Spanish in the 15^th century. This gun, that rested on the shoulder, was considered the height of firearm technology.  Firearms did not exist in Americas prior to colonization, so natives associated them with the supernatural.

 The Background Story

 This work was painted in the Spanish colony of Peru.  Images like these were widespread and popular throughout the Andes and used to promote the Christianization of indigenous peoples.

There were not many Protestants in the New World. This allowed Catholics to increase their numbers.

The Christian missionary orders persistently sought to end indigenous practices and promote Catholicism. Catholic Reformation promoted a militaristic ideology that portrayed the Church as an army and its followers as soldiers. Violence was justified in defense of the Catholic faith.

Council of Trent had only allowed depictions of angels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael for clarity of message. In the New World this was ignored.

(3) 94. Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene. New Spain. 1697-1701.

Learning Objective: New Spanish decorative arts

Themes:

Cross-cultural
Violence
Interpretation of history
Status
Decorative arts
War
Politics
Utilitarian
Museums: Brooklyn Museum and Museo Nacional del Virreinato – INAH, Tepotzotlán ( The screen has been divided in half and is in two separate locations)

This decorative artwork is a folding screen or biombo enconchado that measures 7 feet 6 inches by 9 feet.  

A biombo means folding screen in Spanish. Enconchado means shell inlay.

The primary material is wood with tempera and resin. The screen is painted on both sides with beautiful brushstrokes and intricate figures. The work embodies Spanish, Colonial, Flemish and Dutch styles. It was crafted by the Circle of Gonzales Family of artists.

The artist in the New World region, which today is Mexico, was inspired by Japanese folding screens. This is a Baroque work, because of the timeframe it was created, as well as its extravagance and opulence.

The Two Sides of the Screen

 One side of the screen depicts the Siege of Belgrade. The  Battle of Belgrade in 1688 was part of Great Turkish War 1683-1699. The Hapsburgs were the  Christian ruling family of Spain, and they battled Turkey and therefore Islam. So, this was a very contemporary scene.

On the back is a hunting scene that is used to showcase the beautiful landscape, full of dense botanicals. The hunting scene itself, was from a print made of a French tapestry, owned by the Medici family.  Hunting was a sign of status, leisure, and aristocracy.

How the Screen was Used

This decorative object was commissioned by Viceroy Jose Sarmiento of New Spain for his palace in Mexico City. It had the utilitarian function of dividing the room to make it look more intimate.

The screen was also a conversation piece at the height of fashion in 17^th century Mexico. This would have been viewed by important visitors and their spouses, who came to visit the Viceroy. It also served to politically connect New Spain with the power and events of the Spanish Hapsburgs in Europe.

The landscape side of the screen had a different purpose. It would have been viewed by females having a social get together such as hot chocolate.

The Story

Japanese goods were immensely popular in Spanish viceroyalties. These objects passed through Mexico on ships heading for Europe.

The Viceroy’s wife was descendent of Moctezuma II. This is an example how the Aztec and Spanish lineage combined to create a new heritage for Mexico.

This Artwork in Comparison

In multicultural societies the status symbols commissioned by the wealthy members of the society had a fundamental role in the survival and development of distinct traditions. Both the Golden Haggadah and the Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene are rare and stunning works of art. Not only that they are incredibly expensive to begin with, but they reflect in a decorative way the education and intellectual curiosity of the patron and artists, who were familiar with many different artistic elements across religious and geographic barriers.

The 14th century Golden Haggadah was a traditional Jewish book telling the Passover story for the holiday. It was meant for a private ceremonial use. This made it easier for the patrons to cross religious boundaries and employ artists who will use as inspiration the illuminated Christian prayer manuscripts such as the Psalters and Books of Hours. The injunction of the second commandment restricted the use of figures in the Hebrew manuscripts commissioned for synagogal use.

Haggadahs were often illuminated using calligraphy, and decorative elements that organized the text: golden cartouches, full pages reserved for the tapestries at the head and end of the book. However, in the multicultural Moorish Spain, the illuminator profession became accessible to Jewish artisans, marking the beginning of figurative illuminated Hebrew manuscripts which would only be interrupted by the Expulsion to the Iberian Peninsula.

Produced in 1320 in Barcelona and abundantly illustrated, the Golden Haggadah is one of the oldest rituals of the fourteenth century. The Spanish Jewish painting is marked by Moorish heritage and is also influenced by the very fashionable French and Italian styles. Its name comes from the golden backgrounds on which stand out the magnificent miniatures that adorn the opening pages of the manuscript. It is a masterpiece of illumination.

The manuscript comes from a Catalan workshop where French influence was predominant in the first quarter of the 14th century. Its iconography, in Gothic style, consists of fourteen miniatures grouped at the head of the manuscript. The biblical scenes are arranged in four compartments per page, those relating to the ritual adorn the text. The miniatures depict episodes from Genesis and the Exodus; the first scene being that of Adam naming the animals, the last, that of Myriam’s song after the passage of the Red Sea.

Next come scenes on the preparations for the Passover, where Miriam (Moses’ sister) and her maidens dance and play musical instruments with Islamic motifs on them. The reading direction of the paintings is that of Hebrew writing, from right to left.

Meanwhile the Mestizo culture of the New Spain openly encouraged the blend of the native and European cultures. The viceroy chose to celebrate the Habsburg power of the Spanish ruling dynasty and overlook the differences between the rich Mexica and rich Spaniards as his own wife was a descendant of the Monctezuma.  Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene reflects the cultural merging of the New, Old European, and Asian worlds and emphasize the New Spain’s strategic location at the center of Spanish trade from the east (Spain) and the west (Philippines). This screen is the only known artwork combining the biombo (Japanese inspired folding screen) and the enconchado (the Native shell inlay). Inspired by Japanese folding screens and lacquer boxes the screen exhibits on top/bottom decorative edges shining black margins with a rich floral motif embellished with gold and mother-of-pearl. The war and hunting scenes painted are of European inspiration. The inclusion of shell inlay in the composition of the war scenes creates motion as the sun on the shelf makes the soldier helmets shine.

The inclusion of Classical Roman-Greek decorative garland is probably not volunteer just as it was in the Dutch printmaking. It was probably the lack of training of New World’s artists in figurative painting that made the prints necessary in the first place. War and hunting scenes had nothing inherently religious and thus crossing the Protestant, Catholic barriers. Fulfilling distinct utilitarian needs, the haggadah and the screen became a medium for free aesthetic aspirations safeguarding and radically transforming cherished artistic techniques of two or more cultures.