| The Baroque 1770-1790 The Baroque period, also called The Age of Enlightenment, came after the Renaissance in Europe. It was a time of the spreading of knowledge to the masses because of the invention of the moveable type printing press in the late 15th century. For the first time in history books were mass produced and the illiteracy rate began to decline. The Baroque was also a time of religious strife and a crises for the Catholic church as the rise of Protestantism in the North gained popularity. The Church decided to use art to reassert its power in Italy, Austria and other countries by building magnificent palaces and cathedrals in a move that is now known as the Counter-Reformation. The common man however began to have his own ideas about God as being more accessible. This attitude is seen in the early Baroque art of the Italian painter Caravaggio. In his painting, The Calling of Saint Mathew, from 1599-1600, the artist places the traditional Renaissance subject in a contemporary 16th century Roman Inn complete with the apparel from his own time as if to make the statement that God was accessible to all men on a personal level without interdiction of The Church. Renaissance art shows religious themes that were like miraculous visions which were illuminated from all directions. Caravaggio used dramatic lighting and movement to instill a realism not seen before. Rembrandt uses the same drama in his art in Holland for his religious scenes as well as his portraits as his spotlight effect gives the paintings the feeling of a Shakespearean play. He was an immensely popular artist in his younger days but would fall out of favor as he perfected his craft in his later works Baroque painting is defined not only by the change in how religious imagery was depicted but also in the advancements in pictorial space that would influence Western art for centuries to come. More on Rembrandt later.
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Updated:
April 17, 2004
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