Friday, January 31, 2020
Three Paintings of the Baroque Period Essay Example for Free
Three Paintings of the Baroque Period Essay Three works of artâ€â€particularly paintingâ€â€that was produced during the Baroque period of the 17th century, includes the painting of Alonso Cano (1652) entitled ‘The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel’; the work of art produced by Francisco de Zurbaran (1660) entitled ‘The Painter Before Christ Crucified’; as well as the painting done by Juan de Valdà ©s Leal (1661) entitled ‘Christ Bearing the Cross’.  The way they portrayed the suffering of Christ has something to do with their philosophy, as well as the nature of their environment. Main Body            The first painting done by Alonso Cano (1652) entitled ‘The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel’ portrays the spirit of Christ after His death on the Mount of Calvary. This painting shows the spirit of Christ, sitting on a rock with his face down and an angel standing and supporting His shoulders. The color of the sky tells that it is sunrise, and mountains are being shown with a road and a bush that are illuminated by the light.  On the ground, at the right side of His feet, is a basin of water, where light is also being reflected. Expressing the Baroque style, this painting uses emotion as well as ambiguity, as Cano (1652) uses subtle and rounded forms, with harmonious colors that can also be described as subtle. It uses ‘Tenebrism’, with dark colors and tones, and shades that can be described as obscure.            The second painting done by Francisco de Zurbaran (1660) entitled ‘The Painter Before Christ Crucified’ shows a painter who is standing right in front of the cross, looking upward, with an idealizing expression, at the face of Christ. His right hand is on the middle front of his chest, and his left hand holds some kind of a red rose that is partly subdued in darkness.  With the black background, there is plainness, grace, as well as mystery in the way Zurbaran (1660) portrayed the two beings.  There is intensity and naturalism in the colors and shades that were used. Although the picture appears to be realistic in form with a bit of parallelism in the lines and shapes, the two bodies glow in the dark, without much precision on where the light comes from. The art uses Tenebrism, using dark shades and tones, and with obscure implications that form an emotional sense of a drama.  It shows both the excellence and imperfection of the human sight (Web Gallery of Art, n.d.).            Lastly, the painting entitled ‘Christ Bearing the Cross’ done by Juan de Valdà ©s Leal (1661) portrays Christ while carrying His cross. With a dramatic representation of the event, a muscular man at His left whips Him down, while at the right side behind Him are the weeping women of Jerusalem. In front of Him, at His left side, is a high priest standing and with an expression that is solemn and contented. At the back are two soldiers, rocks, and a treeâ€â€with a background that is dark, obscure, and gloomy.  The style is Baroque, as it uses dark colors, shades, and tones, with an obscure implication and a sense of drama attached to the painting. However, it can also be an earlier representation of ‘Romanticism’ (Web Gallery of Art, n.d.), as it uses dynamic and impetuous forms, colors, and shades, with a touch of violence, energy, and the use of the asymmetry.  Colors used are dark and morose.            To define the painters’ form of art is to define the trends and their philosophies of art.  During the time of Cano (1652), his life in Andalusia, Spain brought him to the religious, Christian culture, where beliefs in Christ and the Bible made him express love and beauty by using shades and colors that dwell in harmony. He expressed the suffering Christ in a scene that has already finished the tragic part of the death and the suffering. He dwelt more on the beauty of Christ by using smoother colors and forms, and a tranquil shade of light. His expression of the need for harmony, smooth blending, beauty, and a naturalistic effect may have been due to the event that Andalusia was experiencing some migratory trends from the Muslim (Andalusian people, n.d.). Having been witnessed personally how Muslims were forcibly expelled from their homeland, he rather focused on the serenity after the death and crucifixion of Christ†¦ especially that Christ Himself was expelled by His own people.            As for Zurbaran (1660), he lived in Estremadura, Portugal, and learned to portray effects that are natural, austere, with certain simplicity and a grace that clearly revealed his emotions. The purity that is shown in his paintings may have been a personal longing for peace and harmony especially that, at the time the painting was done, The Battle of the Lines was occurring between Spain and Portugal (Battle of the lines of Elvas, n.d.)  As seen in the painting, Zurabaran (1660) is seen to be alone with Christ. The whole scene is covered in black†¦ probably to cover all evil and violence that were taking place within the area. As he was experiencing an inner crisis (Web Gallery of Art, n.d.), which internally made him wish for a miracle and a blessing, he focused, rather, on Christ as the sole savior of the world.            Lastly, when it comes to Valdà ©as Leal (1661), his being Spanish at a time when his country was becoming less and less powerful made way for expressions of pessimism, boldness, and vigor that made his painting dark, violent, and morose. That time of Spain was full of wars, difficulties, and crisis; yet it was only the beginning of Spain’s exertion. As a result, Valdà ©as Leal (1661) depicted the suffering of Christ at a time when His suffering is just starting to get worse†¦ and the cross is becoming heavier with each step.  Colors portray dark and gloomy shades and patterns that restate wars, conflicts, and violence of the age. The weeping women in the painting show the middle class, who were usually the sufferers of the community. The high priest, on the other hand, portrays the Church that did not really experience much of the difficulties. Obscurity may be the effect of a confused emotion. Conclusion            The portrayal of a painting has something to do with both the philosophy of the artist and the nature of the surrounding environment. Despite the similarity of the theme, each painter has his or her own way of expressing the subject.  Based on what the painter would want to focus on, or how he or she would want to portray the event or emotion, philosophy and environment reflect the finished product that is solely unique, majestic, and from within. References Andalusian people. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia database: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusian_people. Battle of the lines of Elvas. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2008, from the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia database: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Lines_of_Elvas. Web Gallery of Art. (n.d.). Baroque painting: the golden age. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from its official database: http://www.wga.hu/tours/spain/p_17.html.
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