(1577–1640)
c.1612–21
Judith Slaying Holofernes,
Gentileschi
(1593–1652)
1624–33
Baldacchino,
Bernini
(1598–1680)
1633
Charles I,
van Dyck
(1599–1641)
1634–37
San Carlino (San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane),
Francesco Borromini
(1599–1667)
c.1638–40
Et in Arcadia Ego,
Poussin
(1594–1665)
c.1640
Adoration of the Shepherds,
Guido Reni
(1575–1642)
1648
The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba,
Claude
(1600–82)
c.1650–55
Madonna with the Rosary,
Murillo
(1612–82)
1656
Las Meninas,
Velázquez
(1599–1660)
1661–74
Château de Versailles,
Jules Hardouin-Mansart
(1646–1708)
1665
Alexander in Babylon,
Charles Le Brun
(1619–90)
1666–79
San Lorenzo, Turin,
Guarini
(1624–83)
EL GRECO
1541–1614 • MANNERISM, EARLY BAROQUE
Christ Driving the Traders from the Temple
c.1600 OIL ON CANVAS
106.3 × 129.7 CM (41¾ × 51 IN)
NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON, UK
During Christ’s lifetime, a market was held in the porch of the Temple in Jerusalem. Traders sold sacrificial animals and changed money. In a biblical story, a furious Jesus turned the traders away, claiming that God’s house should be one of prayer. Here, Jesus dominates the canvas, ready to unleash his whip. The traders recoil on his left and his apostles stand on the right. El Greco painted this subject several times. The version shown here, with its intense colors and elongated forms, is believed to have been painted in Toledo in about 1600.
Regarded as the first great genius of the Spanish School, Doménikos Theotokópoulos was a Cretan-born painter, sculptor and architect. He settled in Spain when he was in his mid-30s, and produced dramatic paintings demonstrating spiritual energy and intensity. His work projected a visionary quality and was a blend of Mannerism and the Venetian Renaissance, with some stylized and personal distortions.
Known as El Griego (the Greek), which became El Greco after his death, Theotokópoulos signed his work with his full name in Greek letters throughout his life. Little is known about his youth, but in 1563 he was referred to as a master painter, so he must have been running his own workshop. As a native of Crete, he would have trained in icon painting, which was influenced by Byzantine art. By 1570, he had traveled to Venice and Rome and was described as a disciple of Titian, which could mean that he was trained by Titian, that he worked in the artist’s workshop, or simply that he was influenced by him.
El Greco’s art illustrates the strict piety that abounded during the Counter-Reformation in Europe. In Rome, he began painting new interpretations of traditional religious subjects, but he did not receive any public commissions and worked mainly on a small scale. His rejection of Michelangelo’s techniques and his unconventional approach attracted enmity, so in 1576 he moved to Spain, briefly staying in Madrid before settling in Toledo, the religious capital of Spain at the time, where he spent the rest of his life. His individual style became extremely popular in Toledo and he gained major commissions, starting with a picture for the cathedral in 1577.
By elongating his figures, he aimed for graceful lines, dramatic compositions and arresting color. His palette is reminiscent of Titian’s but his distortions seem to derive from Tintoretto. He believed that color was more important than form and applied light colors over dark underpainting. Many works seem violent and stormy, which is probably a reflection of his intense religious beliefs (it is debated whether he was Catholic or Greek Orthodox). In several paintings, he seems to blend form and space—so for instance, skies and air can look just as powerful and dominant as figures and solid objects.
In assimilating ideas of the Renaissance and late Mannerism, he created dramatic illusions, portraying stories in fantastic, almost hallucinatory ways. Figures twist and stretch like flames; apocalyptic skies represent the anger of God; angels sit on stormy clouds looming over contemporary figures; and dramatic light and tone pull everything together. Although he painted fewer portraits than religious works, they include similar characteristics and he was also highly esteemed as a sculptor. But, largely because his methods did not fit in with any major style, he had no real followers, although much later, Goya and then Picasso revived his popularity.
Key Works
The Holy Trinity 1577, MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
El Espolio (The Spoliation, Christ Stripped of His Garments) 1577–9, SACRISTY OF TOLEDO CATHEDRAL, TOLEDO, SPAIN
The Adoration of the Shepherds 1612–14, MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN
The Opening of the Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse c.1608–14, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, US
Baptism of Christ 1608–14, HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA DE AFUERA, TOLEDO, SPAIN
CARAVAGGIO
c.1573–1610 • BAROQUE
Supper at Emmaus
1601 OIL AND TEMPERA ON CANVAS
141 × 196.2 CM (55½ × 77 IN)
NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON, UK
Caravaggio’s portrayal of holy figures as low-class people was considered by many to be blasphemous. This is after the Crucifixion when two of Jesus’ apostles are supping with a stranger they met on the road. Suddenly they realize it is Jesus. The vivid realism, dramatic lighting and the apostles’ shock involve viewers in the event.
Despite the controversies that dogged his short and troubled life, Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, was one of the most influential artists of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Often classed as the first Baroque painter, he introduced a completely new concept in art—that simple reality is more important than idealism.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in Milan but moved to Caravaggio in Lombardy soon after and later trained there. By the time he was 13, both his parents had died, so he returned to Milan to continue training with one of Titian’s pupils, Simone Peterzano (c.1540–96). In 1592, aged about 20, he traveled to Rome, which was being modernized and where the cultural environment embraced humanist beliefs. He was introduced to Giuseppe Cesare d’Arpino (1568–1640), the most popular painter and art dealer there, and through him Caravaggio quickly gained recognition and was commissioned by several prominent patrons.
Tormented, aggressive and often involved in fights, Caravaggio’s personal life became a series of confrontations with the Church, the state and those around him. He introduced elements of everyday reality into his art, abandoning the rules that had guided a century of artists before him. Rejecting the sketches, squared-up drawings and lengthy canvas preparations that most artists employed, he worked in oils directly from the subject, creating a look of spontaneity and immediacy. Aiming to produce forceful paintings that showed the truth, he was critically condemned for featuring working-class figures in religious works. Whereas Renaissance artists had idealized the human and religious experience, he portrayed it in blunt reality—ordinary people looking remarkably lifelike in everyday surroundings.