Baroque artists to use a heavy contrast between light and dark in his paintings in order to emphasize the sacrifice and pain in living life truly for God, as opposed to the wide range of colours in orderly Renaissance scenes (a good example of this is in Caravaggio’s ‘The Taking of Christ,’ painted 1602). Painted characters became more brooding, more pained, more unsettling.
Sculpture, too, underwent a transformation. Bernini’s sculptures became more intimate and perplexing, pointing to the intimacy and complexity of God. Some of his works, such as ‘Apollo and Daphne,’ (1622-25) shocked the Catholic Church due to their emphasis on the more carnal side to humanity, but Bernini also gifted the Church with numerous intricately carved portraits and busts of important figures in the Church’s history and from the Bible.
Baroque art’s main difference to Renaissance artwork is in its visual revelation of the complexity of the human character, and of the sacrifice required to obtain perfect communion with God. One look at the paintings in the Vatican will tell you that – Baroque paintings can be very disturbing and emotionally challenging to look at, and perhaps a little too intrusive for our taste, considering that the beautiful but lofty style of the Renaissance is widely believed the most beautiful and desired art movement. However, the Baroque period unveiled the flaws of the human character and celebrated it, breaking down walls between man and God, and creating a deep connection with the Catholic Church that was previously difficult for many to achieve. Could this be what helped Italy to gain the reputation of the world’s Catholic country?
'The Taking of Christ', Caravaggio (Wiki Commons)
'Apollo and Daphne', Bernini (Wiki Commons)
St Peter's Basilica, ft Bernini (Wiki Commons)
Ceiling painting, Church of St Ignatius of Loyola, Andrea Pozzo, 1865 (Wiki Commons)
ARTE E CULTURA
ARTE E CULTURA
IONA ROBINSON