Pre-Historic

To
Baroque
PAINTING
• Is the art of applying
colored pigments on to a
flat surface, like canvas,
paper, wood or plaster.
METHOD
S:
1. Oil
2. Water Color
3. Fresco
4. Tempera
Prehistoric
Painting

• The earliest known Western

paintings were executed deep
within caves of southern
Europe during the Palaeolithic
period, some 15,000 to 20,000
years ago. The early
development of painting
continued in the
Mediterranean littoral.
Lascaux Caves:
the Prehistoric Sistine Chapel

A cave complex in south-western

France
 Lascaux Caves:
the Prehistoric Sistine Chapel

• Jacques Marsal
• Georges Agnel
12 September • Simon Coencas
1940 • Marcel Ravidat
– ROBOT
Lascaux Caves:
the Prehistoric Sistine
Chapel
Altamira Caves:
as Picasso famously exclaimed
“AFTER ALTAMIRA, ALL IS A
DECADENCE”

Located near
Santilliana del
Mar in
Cantabria,
Northern
Spain
 Altamira Caves:
as Picasso famously exclaimed
“AFTER ALTAMIRA, ALL IS A
DECADENCE”

Discovered in
1879 by
Maria de
Santuola

most exceptional
evidence of
Magdalenian
culture in southern
Europe
 Chauvet
Caves:
spectacular artwork

Ardeche
departement,
Southern
France
 Chauvet
Caves:
spectacular artwork
• soon regarded as one of the most
significant pre-historic art sites in
the world
• SPECTACULAR
Magura Caves:
peeking into the prehistoric
world
Panel Painting
• The most respected form of art,
according to authors like Pliny or
Pausanias,
• individual, mobile paintings on wooden
boards,
• techniques used - encaustic (wax)
painting and tempera.
• depicted figural scenes - including
portraits and still-lifes
• They were collected and often displayed
in public spaces. Pausanias describes
such exhibitions at Athens and Delphi
• not one of the famous works of Greek
panel painting has survived, nor even
any of the copies that doubtlessly
existed, and which give us most of our
One of the Pitsa panels, the only surviving panel paintings from
Archaic Greece.
The most important surviving
Greek examples are the:
• Pitsa panels- fairly low -
quality from circa 530 BC
• Fayum mummy portraits - a
large group of much later
Graeco-Roman archaeological
survivals from the dry
conditions of Egypt,
• Severan Tondo
• Byzantine icons - also derived
from the encaustic panel
painting tradition.
 The Severan Tondo, a
panel painting of the
imperial family, circa 200
AD
Fayum mummy portraits
Greek Orthodox Icon
Wall Painting
• The tradition of wall painting in
Greece goes back at least to
the Minoan and Mycenaean
Bronze Age, with the lavish
fresco decoration of sites like
Knossos, Tiryns and Mycenae.
• Wall paintings are frequently
described in Pausanias, and
many appear to have been
produced in the Classical and
Hellenistic periods.
Symposium scene in the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum, circa 480 BC.
The most notable
examples are:
• a monumental Archaic 7th century BC
scene of hoplite combat from inside a
temple at Kalapodi (near Thebes)
• the elaborate frescoes from the 4th
century "Grave of Phillipp"
• the "Tomb of Persephone" at Vergina in
Macedonia
• Greek wall painting tradition is also
reflected in contemporary grave
decorations in the Greek colonies in Italy,
• Some scholars suggest that the
celebrated Roman frescoes at sites like
Pompeii are the direct descendants of
Greek tradition, and that some of them
copy famous panel paintings.
Reconstructed colour scheme of the entablature on a Doric temple.
Polychromy: painting
on statuary and
architecture
• Polychrome - many color
• Much of the figural or
architectural sculpture of
ancient Greece was painted
colourfully.
Polychromy on
Architecture
• Painting was also used to enhance
the visual aspects of architecture.
• Such architectural polychromy could
take the form of bright colours
directly applied to the stone or of
elaborate patterns, frequently
architectural members made of
terracotta
• Sometimes, the terracottas also
depicted figural scenes, as do the
7th century BC terracotta metopes
from Thermon.
 Traces of paint depicting
embroidered patterns on the a
peplos of an Archaic kore, Reconstructed colour scheme on a
Trojan archer from the Temple of
Polychromy on
Sculpture
• Most Greek sculptures were painted in
strong colours.
• The paint was frequently limited to parts
depicting clothing, hair, and so on, with the
skin left in the natural colour of the stone,
but it could also cover sculptures in their
totality.
• The painting of Greek sculpture should not
merely be seen as an enhancement of their
sculpted form, but has the characteristics of
a distinct style of art.
• The polychromy of stone statues was
paralleled by the use of different materials
to distinguish skin, clothing and other
details in chryselephantine sculptures, and
by the use of different metals to depict lips,
nipples, etc, on high-quality bronzes like the
Riace Warriors.
Vase painting
• The most copious evidence of
ancient Greek painting survives in
the form of vase paintings.
• It should be noted that strictly
speaking, vase painting was a
separate skill or art from potting.
• It should also be kept in mind that
vase painting, all be it by far the
most conspicuous surviving source
on ancient Greek painting, was not
held in high regard in antiquity, and
is never mentioned in Classical
literature.
 In this early Greek painting from around 800 B.C.E., Odysseus leaps up to
blind Polyphemus the cyclops. Known as the Orientalizing style, Egyptian and
Minoan influences are mixed with a Greek interest in illustrating motion.
Roman
• Our knowledge of Ancient
Rome painting relies in large
part on the preservation of
artifacts from Pompeii and
Herculanum, and particularly
the Pompeian mural painting,
• Pompeian mural painting,
which was preserved after the
eruption of Vesuvius in 79. AD.
Pompeian painter with painted statue and framed painting Pompeii
Roman
• Nothing remains of the Greek
paintings imported to Rome during
the 4th and 5th centuries, or of the
painting on wood done in Italy during
that period.
• Pliny explicitly states around 69-79
AD that the only true painting was
painting on wood and that this had
nearly disappeared by his time, to
the benefit of the muralists, which
was more indicative of the wealth of
the owners than their artistic tastes.
Variety of subjects
• Roman painting provides a
wide variety of themes:
animals, still life, and scenes
from everyday life.
• During the Hellenistic period, it
evoked the pleasures of the
countryside and represented
scenes of shepherds, herds,
rustic temples, rural
mountainous landscapes and
country houses.
Boscotrecase , Pompeii. Second style
Innovations
• The main innovation of Roman
painting compared to Greek art
was the development of
landscapes, in particular
incorporating techniques of
perspective.
• The art of the ancient East
would have known the
landscape only in terms of civil
or military scenes.
Periods
• Roman mural painting is
generally distinguished by
four periods, as originally
described by the German
archaeologist August Mau
and dealt with in more
detail at Pompeian Styles.
Triumphal paintings
• From the 3rd century BC, a specific
genre known as Triumphal Paintings
appeared, as indicated by Pliny.
• These were paintings which showed
triumphal entries after military
victories, represented episodes from
the war, and conquered regions and
cities.
• Summary maps were drawn to
highlight key points of the campaign
• These paintings have disappeared,
but they likely influenced the
composition of the historical reliefs
carved on military sarcophagi, the
Arch of Titus, and Trajan's Column.
Ranuccio also describes the oldest
painting to be found in Rome, in a
tomb on the Esquiline Hill:
• "It describes a historical scene, on a
clear background, painted in four
superimposed sections. Several people
are identified, such Marcus Fannius and
Marcus Fabius. These are larger than
the other figures...In the second zone, to
the left, is a city encircled with
crenellated walls, in front of which is a
large warrior equipped with an oval
buckler and a feathered helmet; near
him is a man in a short tunic, armed
with a spear...Around these two are
smaller soldiers in short tunics, armed
with spears...In the lower zone a battle
is taking place, where a warrior with
oval buckler and a feathered helmet is
shown larger than the others, whose
Roman
• This episode is difficult to pinpoint.
One of Ranuccio's hypotheses is that
it refers to a victory of the consul
Fabius Maximus Rullianus during the
second war against Samnites in 326
BC.
• The presentation of the figures with
sizes proportional to their
importance is typically Roman, and
finds itself in plebeian reliefs.
• This painting is in the infancy of
triumphal painting, and would have
been accomplished by the beginning
of the 3rd century BC to decorate
the tomb.
Panel paintings
• In Greece and Rome, wall painting was not
considered as high art.
• The most prestigious form of art besides
sculpture was panel painting, i.e. tempera
or encaustic painting on wooden panels.
• Since wood is a perishable material, only
very few examples of such paintings have
survived, namely the Severan Tondo from
circa 200 AD, and the well-known Fayum
mummy portraits.
• They usually depict a single person, showing
the head, or head and upper chest, viewed
frontally.
• The background is always monochrome,
sometimes with decorative elements.
• In terms of artistic tradition, the images
clearly derive more from Graeco-Roman
traditions than Egyptian ones.
• Medieval painting refers to most of
the art produced in Europe during a
period of about 1,000 years. This
period began with the fall of the
Roman Empire in the A.D. 300’s and
400’s and ended with the beginning
of the Renaissance in the 1300’s.
Medieval European society centered
around Christianity. Most medieval
Christians believed that life on earth
was less important than the life of
the spirit. They placed the greatest
importance on life after death.
Painting in the medieval period
reflected this attitude.
• For medieval artists, the Christian
religion- not human beings and
nature- was the chief source of
subject matter. These artists were
not interested in techniques that
would help show the world as it was.
They generally ignored perspective
and gave their works a flat look.
They made wide use of symbols in
their works in order to tell stories.
For example, some medieval artists
painted skies in gold or purple to
symbolize God’s kingdom in heaven.
• Even though almost all
medieval artists dealt with
religious subjects, they
developed several styles:
Byzantine painting
• Starting in the A.D. 300’s, eastern
Christians gradually separated from
the western Christians, who were
ruled by the pope in Rome. Eastern
Christian art is called Byzantine
because the religion centered in the
city of Byzantium (now Istanbul,
Turkey). By the 500’s, the Byzantine
artists had developed a special
painting style of religious painting.
The Byzantine painting style has
remained largely unchanged to the
present day
 Madonna and Child
Enthroned
Italian artist Cimabue
broke away from the
iconic Byzantine style,
taking a more realistic
approach in his
paintings. He attempted
to depict objects
receding in space, as can
be seen here in the
architectural form of the
throne and in the
overlapping figures of
the angels on either side.
This work is dated
around 1285 and is in
the collection of the
Uffizi Gallery, Florence,
 Theodora and Attendants

• Completed around 547, the lavishly detailed mosaics covering the

interior of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, are some of
the most famous in Byzantine (Eastern Christian) art. Here, in a
scene from the south wall of the apse, the Empress Theodora
stands with her attendants while holding a golden cup for the
Transfiguration of Christ by
Theophanes the Greek

• This icon by Byzantine painter

Theophanes the Greek dates from the
end of the 14th century. It represents
the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, an
event that is believed to have taken
place on Mount Tabor. The triangular
composition of the painting is
emphasized by the rays of glory,
which radiate from the figure of Christ
down toward the three apostles. On
Jesus’s left is Moses (holding a tablet),
and on his right is the prophet Elijah.
Celtic painting
• developed among the tribes of
Ireland and other parts of northern
Europe. Celtic artists became most
famous for their illuminations
(illustrations from the Bibles. The
Celtic style emphasized abstract
patterns of elaborately arranged
interlaced lines. An example from
the famous Book of Kells, made in
Ireland during the 700’s or 800’s, is
reproduced in color in the
Manuscript article.
 Book of Kells
• The Book of Kells, an
illuminated Irish
manuscript of the
Gospels in Latin,
contains sumptuous
illustrations on vellum,
including this page
illustrating the arrest of
Jesus Christ. The
manuscript, which
probably dates from the
mid-8th century, is in
Trinity College Library in
Romanesque
painting
• During the 1000’s and 1100’s, a generally
uniform style painting called Romanesque
painting appeared in western Europe. It
combined elements of classical Roman,
early Christian, Byzantine, and Carolingian
art. It developed at about the same time
that many churches were being built to
serve the needs of the growing Christian
faith. Romanesque artists painted
beautiful frescoes on the stone walls of
many churches. The paintings lack
perspective, but they show skill in
composition. Some of the paintings look
like brightly colored pages from
illuminated Bibles that had been enlarged
and transferred to wall surfaces.
 Moses Expounding the
Law
• This early-12th-century
illuminated manuscript
illustration depicts Moses
expounding the law. The
piece is divided into two
scenes, the upper showing
Moses and Aaron
delivering the law to the
Israelites, and the lower
showing Moses
distinguishing between the
clean and unclean beasts.
The illustration serves as
the frontispiece for a Bible
from the Abbey of Bury
Saint Edmunds in England.
 Illustration of Saint Mark
from the Ebbo Gospels
• Illustration of Saint Mark from
the Ebbo Gospels
• This is a page from the
illuminated manuscript known
as the Ebbo Gospels (about
816-835). It depicts Saint Mark
looking heavenward for
inspiration as he writes his
gospel account, and is drawn in
an expressive, energetic style
typical of medieval art of that
period. The full name of the
Ebbo Gospels is the Gospel
Book of Archbishop Ebbo of
Reims. This page measures
about 25 by 20 cm (about 10
Gothic painting
• During the 1200’s, Gothic architecture
replaced Romanesque as the style for
many European churches. The Gothic
style of architecture featured large
windows that took away much of the wall
space on which artists had painted
frescoes in Romanesque churches. Artists
filled the windows with beautifully colored
stained glass that told religious stories. In
northern Europe, fresco painting declined
during the Gothic period. Many painters
during this time worked as illuminators.
They decorated expensive manuscript
copies of the Gospels and prayer books.
• The colors and design of
stained-glass windows
influenced the Gothic
manuscript painters. Many of
these artists favored the bright
blues and reds common in
stained-glass. They often
divided their figures into
separate compartments that
resemble the many panels of
these complex windows.
 Rose Window, Notre
Dame
• The north rose window of
the Notre Dame Cathedral
in Paris (1240-1250) was
built by Jean de Chelles. It
is designed in the
Rayonnant style, named for
the radiating spokes in this
type of window. The center
circle depicts the Virgin
and Child, surrounded by
figures of prophets. The
second circle shows 32 Old
Testament kings, and the
outer circle depicts 32 high
priests and patriarchs.
Giotto
• Sometime during the 1200’s,
European painting took a turn
toward greater realism. Some
artists began painting people and
scenes in a way that resembled
their appearance in real life. This
movement became strongest
during the late 1200’s in Italy. It is
most apparent in the works of
Giotto, one of the greatest
painters in the history of art.
• Gothic architecture was not
widespread in Italy during Giotto’s
time. Giotto and other artists
continued to paint frescoes on
church walls. The Italians tried to
make their church walls look like
windows by decorating them with
realistic frescoes.
 Ascension by Giotto
• Italian painter Giotto
dedicated an early
13th-century fresco
cycle in the Scrovegni
Chapel in Padua, Italy,
to the life of Jesus
Christ. This panel
showing the ascension
of Jesus is taken from
the New Testament
account in the Acts of
the Apostles. Christ
ascends into heaven
on a cloud, hidden
from the apostles
below. Two men in
white robes then
announce to the
apostles that Christ
 Saint Francis Fresco
Cycle
• In this fresco, one of a series
of frescoes executed by
14th-century Italian artist
Giotto in the Church of
Santa Croce in Florence,
Italy, Francis of Assisi
receives papal confirmation
for the rule of his Franciscan
order. Giotto’s concern with
the realistic depiction of
human figures in sculptural,
rounded forms marked a
decisive break with
medieval pictorial
conventions. His altarpieces
and church frescoes
heralded some of the most
important innovations of
Florentine Renaissance
• The word mannerism derives
from the Italian maniera,
meaning "style" or "manner".
Like the English word “style,”
maniera can either be used to
indicate a specific type of style
(a beautiful style, an abrasive
style), or maniera can be used
to indicate an absolute that
needs no qualification
(someone ‘has style’).
Mannerism
• a period of European art which emerged
from the later years of the Italian
High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted
until about 1580 in Italy, when a more
Baroque style began to replace it, but
continued into the seventeenth century
throughout much of Europe. Stylistically,
Mannerism encompasses a variety of
approaches influenced by, and reacting to,
the harmonious ideals and restrained
naturalism associated with artists such as
Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early
Michelangelo. Mannerism is notable for its
intellectual sophistication as well as its
artificial (as opposed to naturalistic)
qualities.
 Madonna with the Long
Neck
• Italian painter
Parmigianino’s works
clearly illustrate the
Mannerist style. Madonna
with the Long Neck, one
of Parmigianino’s best
known works, features a
crowded group of elegant,
elongated figures in
strangely exaggerated
poses. The work was
painted from 1534 to
1540 and is in the
collection of the Uffizi
Gallery, Florence, Italy.
 Pontormo’s Deposition
• Italian artist Jacopo da
Pontormo’s Deposition (1525-
1528, Church of Santa Felicitá,
Florence, Italy) shows the
characteristics of the Mannerist
style. The arrangement of the
figures creates a sense of
swirling movement and helps
convey the emotionally
charged atmosphere while the
body of Jesus Christ is brought
down from the cross and
presented to his mother Mary.
The elongated bodies and
unnatural compression of
space between the figures are
also typical of Mannerism.
 Last Judgement
• Michelangelo’s Last
Judgment, the large
fresco on the altar
wall of the Sistine
Chapel, dates from
1536-1541—about 20
years after the
famous ceiling
frescoes were
painted. This painting
of judgment day,
with its grotesque
and twisted figures,
represents one of the
earliest examples of
Mannerist art. Christ
stands in the center
of the fresco meting
out justice, while the
saved rise on the left
and the damned
 Rosso’s Descent from
the Cross
• In Descent from the Cross (1521,
Pinacoteca Comunale, Volterra,
Italy), Italian painter Rosso
Fiorentino intentionally created a
disturbing scene. In this and other
early paintings Rosso departed
from the classical conventions of
High Renaissance art and helped
launch the 16th-century Italian
style known as Mannerism. In
Mannerist paintings, attenuated
human figures typically assume
exaggerated poses in a shallow
picture space.
 Saint John the Baptist
• With its stylized,
twisted pose and
ambiguous use of
space, Italian painter
Agnolo Bronzino’s
painting Saint John
the Baptist
demonstrates the
Mannerist style
popular in the mid-
16th century. This
work is in the
Borghese Gallery in
Rome, Italy.
Renaissance
• French: Renaissance, meaning
"rebirth“
• Italian: Rinascimento, from re-
"again" and nascere "be born“
• was a cultural movement that
spanned roughly the 14th to the
17th century, beginning in Italy in
the late Middle Ages and later
spreading to the rest of Europe.
• Painting of this era is connected to
the "rebirth" of classical antiquity,
the impact of humanism on artists
and their patrons, new artistic
sensibilities and techniques, and, in
general, the transition from the
Renaissance Art
• Renaissance art was a reflection of
Renaissance literature.
• During the Middle Ages, artists had used a
flat, symbolic style of painting.
• Renaissance artists were much more
realistic than Middle Age artists.
• Renaissance artists tried to show human
forms and facial features as they looked in
real life.
• Biblical, classical and mythological
characters were common subjects in
Renaissance painting.
• Renaissance painting bridges the
period of European art history between
the art of the Middle Ages and Baroque
art.
• In the visual arts, significant
achievements occur around 1400 in both
Italy and north of the Alps.
Renaissance Art
• Masaccio's art and the writings of Leon
Battista Alberti helped establish linear
perspective and the idealisation of the
human body as primary ideas of Italian
Renaissance painting in the early 15th
century.
• Likewise, Early Netherlandish artists such as
Jan van Eyck were innovators in oil painting
and intuitive spatial compositions. The brief
High Renaissance (c. 1500–1520) centred
around Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and
Raphael in Florence and Rome, was a
culmination of the Italian achievements,
while artists like Albrecht Dürer brought a
similar level of intellectual and artistic
innovation to northern Europe.
• Late Renaissance painting, from about 1520
until the end of the 16th century, is marked
by various Mannerist tendencies that spread
from Italy through the rest of France.
REASONS THE RENAISSANCE
BEGAN IN ITALY
2. City life stronger in Italy than other
parts of Europe.
3. City-State governments of Italy required
educated citizenry.
4. Italy's traders/merchants came into
contact with other civilizations.
5. Classical relics found in Italy inspired
Renaissance.
6. Italy was the richest nation in Europe at
the time.
7. Italian city-states competed in civic
pride.
8. Immigration into Italy from Eastern
Europe.
Techniques
• The use of perspective: The first major
treatment of the painting as a window into
space appeared in the work of Giotto di
Bondone, at the beginning of the 14th
century. True linear perspective was
formalized later, by Filippo Brunelleschi and
Leon Battista Alberti.
• sfumato - The term sfumato was coined by
Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da
Vinci, and refers to a fine art painting
technique of blurring or softening of sharp
outlines by subtle and gradual blending of
one tone into another through the use of
thin glazes to give the illusion of depth or
three-dimensionality. This stems from the
Italian word sfumare meaning to evaporate
or to fade out. The Latin origin is fumare, to
smoke. The opposite of sfumato is
chiaroscuro.
Techniques
• foreshortening - The term foreshortening
refers to the artistic effect of shortening
lines in a drawing so as to create an illusion
of depth.
• chiaroscuro - The term chiaroscuro refers to
the fine art painting modeling effect of using
a strong contrast between light and dark to
give the illusion of depth or three-
dimensionality. This comes from the Italian
words meaning light (chiaro) and dark
(scuro), a technique which came into wide
use in the Baroque Period.; Sfumato is the
opposite of chiaroscuro.
• Balance and Proportion: proper sizes and
the use of airy, bright colors. The human
anatomy wasn't as idealized as during the
Early Renaissance
(1400 - 1499)
• The scholars and artists of the
Renaissance believed they were
participating in a rebirth of the ideals
and values of the classical Greek,
Hellenistic, and Roman eras.
• Artistic personality and the notion of
individual humanity were emerging
from a long sleep of anonymity.
• The symbolic, abstract, and remote
imagery of the past was being
supplanted by a more tangible
reality.
High Renaissance in th
(1500 - 1550)
• The 16th century was the age
of individual genius.
• Many of the West's most
legendary artists - da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Raphael, Titan,
Tintoretto, and Veronese were
active during this era.
• They changed not only the
direction of Western art, but
established the modern
concept of the artist.
The Northern Renaissanc
(1400 - 1599)
• The Italian style of Renaissance art
was carried by merchants and
foreign businessmen into the north,
but Medieval traditions lingered into
the fifteenth century - influencing
the development of Northern
Renaissance art and architecture.
• Northern artists often combined
Renaissance techniques of
perspective and realism with
typically Gothic elements, such as
pointed arches and the meticulous
detail usually found in manuscript
illumination.
Mannerism
(1520 - 1600)
• A style that developed in the
sixteenth century as a reaction
to the classical rationality and
balanced harmony of the High
Renaissance; characterised by
the dramatic use of space and
light, exaggerated colour,
elongation of figures, and
distortions of perspective,
scale, and proportion.
Duccio, Cimabue, and
Before
Giottothe
Renaissance:
Duccio, Maesto
Madonna,
1308-1311
Cimabue,
Madonna
in Majesty,

c. 1285
Giotto,
Ognisanti
Madonna,
c. 1310
Giotto,
Arena
(Scrovegni
) Chapel,
1302-6
Giotto, The Kiss of
Judas,
Arena Chapel, 1302-6
Giotto, Lamentation Over
Christ, Arena Chapel,
1302-6
The Early Renaissance
in Italy
Masaccio,
The Trinity,

1425-1428
Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel,
Santa Maria della Carmine in Florence,
1426-28
Masaccio, Expulsion from
Eden, Brancacci Chapel,
1426-28
Masaccio, Tribute
Money,
Brancacci Chapel, 1426-28
Sandro Botticelli,
Madonna of the
Magnificat, 1485
The High Renaissance
in Italy
 Leonardo da Vinci, The
Virgin, Child, and St. Anne,
1510
Leonardo da Vinci,
The Last Supper,
1498
Raphael, The Alba
Madonna, 1511
Raphael, The School
of Athens, 1509-10
Michelang
elo Sistine
Chapel
(full),
1508-1512
Michelangelo,
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
(part 1)
Michelangelo,
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
(part 2)
OTHER RENAISSANCE
PAINTING
BAROQUE
• According to the Oxford English Dictionary
, the word baroque is derived from the
Portuguese word "barroco", Spanish
"barrueco", or French "baroque", all of
which refer to a "rough or imperfect
pearl", though whether it entered those
languages via Latin, Arabic, or some other
source is uncertain.
• In informal usage, the word baroque can
simply mean that something is
"elaborate", with many details, without
reference to the Baroque styles of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
• was a Western cultural epoch,
commencing roughly at the beginning of
the 17th century in Rome, Italy.
BAROQUE ART
• Baroque painting is the painting
associated with the Baroque cultural
movement, a movement often identified
with the existence of important Baroque art
and architecture in non-absolutist and
Protestant states.
• A defining statement of what Baroque
signifies in painting is provided by the series
of paintings executed by Peter Paul Rubens
for Marie de Medici at the Luxembourg
Palace in Paris (now at the Louvre) in which
a Catholic painter satisfied a Catholic
patron: Baroque-era conceptions of
monarchy, iconography, handling of paint,
and compositions as well as the depiction of
space and movement.
• There were highly diverse strands of Italian
baroque painting, from Caravaggio to
Cortona; both approaching emotive
dynamism with different styles.
BAROQUE ART
• Another frequently cited work of
Baroque art is Bernini's Saint Theresa in
Ecstasy for the Cornaro chapel in Saint
Maria della Vittoria, which brings
together architecture, sculpture, and
theater into one grand conceit.
• The later Baroque style gradually gave
way to a more decorative Rococo,
which, through contrast, further defines
Baroque.
• The intensity and immediacy of baroque
art and its individualism and detail—
observed in such things as the
convincing rendering of cloth and skin
textures—make it one of the most
 Diego
Velázquez
(1599 - 1660)

Spanish painter who ranks among

the greatest masters of
seventeenth-century Europe and
is best known for his portraits
 Francisco de
Zurbarán
(1598 - 1664)

Spanish Baroque painter of

portraits and religious
subjects
Other Baroque
Paintings