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For more on the why and how of the Sculpture Synopsis, see the first post in this series. The series is also available as a playlist on my YouTube Channel.

Characteristic examples

Dates

The Baroque period is roughly 17^th century, but it begins in Italy in the 1590s (with the painter Caravaggio), and in some places continues  to 1750.

Location

The Baroque period starts in Italy and spreads to northern Europe, but is most popular in predominantly Catholic countries such as Spain, southern Germany, and Austria.

Dominant ideas

• Counter-Reformation continues. (See Dominant Ideas from High Renaissance.) The Catholic Church, refurbished, reformed, and re-energized by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), sets out to reclaim ground lost to the Protestants since Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses kicked off the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Since Protestant sects forbid most images in their churches, a succession of popes sponsors breathtaking art on a gargantuan scale – art meant to remind the viewer of the glory of God and his Church, not by logic and reason but via a direct appeal to the emotions.

• Consolidation of monarchies and rise of middle class leads to new patrons for art, and to popularity of more subjects (in painting: landscapes and still-lifes).
• Scientific revolution. Rise of science and exploration of globe lead to new interest in this world. Scholars begin not just to gather and apply Greek and Roman knowledge, but to check its accuracy and improve upon it. Major 17^th-c. scientific works include Galileo’s Starry Messenger, 1610 (first published observations from a telescope), Francis Bacon’s book on the scientific method, 1620, William Harvey’s book on circulation of blood, 1628, and Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1687.

Media

• Marble
• Bronze
• Gilt bronze
• Stained glass
• Polychrome wood

Subjects

• Biblical figures.
• Mythological figures: see Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne under Characteristic Examples.
• Portraits, ranging from busts to over lifesize equestrian statues.

Style

• Aim of Baroque art is to promote religious feeling by using emotional appeal. Characteristics: grandeur, drama, exuberance, variety of textures and/or colors. This is as opposed to medieval art, which is meant to teach Christian virtues via biblical stories (so the clarity of the narrative is paramount), and Mannerist art, which often aims at the amusement of a small, well-educated audience.
• Virtuoso workmanship, often with astounding combinations of lavish materials.
• The term “Baroque” is applied to 17^th-century art by 18^thcentury critics (including Winckelmann) who favor the symmetry and calm of Greek and Roman art. It began as a derogatory term implying that Baroque art was exaggerated, grotesque, and/or irregular.

Major innovations in this period

• Bernini creates multimedia, integrated ensembles on a scale never seen before, and seldom equaled since: illustration above. Shows his ability to integrate sculpture, architecture, painting, and light in order to convey intense, dramatic emotion. See Innovators in Sculpture, Ch. 10 for more.
• Bernini sculpts figures that seem to breathe, because their mouths are slightly open. See Innovators in Sculpture, Ch. 11 for more.

Big name in sculpture

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) is the Baroque’s most prominent sculptor, and one of the last “renaissance” men: an accomplished architect, painter, sculptor, dramatist, and composer. As a virtuoso sculptor, he employs unique combinations of materials to create works with emotional intensity and barely contained energy. Examples:

• The Cornaro Chapel and portraits that catch the sitter mid-breath. Photo above, under Major Innovations.
• Baldacchino in St. Peter’s, a giant pillared canopy of gilt bronze that relates the enormous nave of St. Peter’s to the scale of the humans who worship there. Photo below.
• Throne of St. Peter (Cathedra Petri) at St. Peter’s in Rome: blazes with light. Behind the Baldacchino in the photo below.
• Colonnade of St. Peter’s, whose arms gather worshippers into St. Peter’s. Photo below.

Where to see the originals of Baroque sculpture

• Bernini’s works are mostly in Rome, including St. Peter’s and the Galleria Borghese, whose founder was Bernini’s patron.
• Other Baroque sculpture: churches and plazas in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium. A useful starting point for finding these is the Wikipedia article on Baroque sculpture.

Further reading

• Domenico Bernini, Life of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Trans. Franco Mormando. The earliest Bernini biography, written by his son.
• Charles Avery, Bernini, Genius of the Baroque. The combination of text by Avery (a prominent art historian of the old school) with pictures by David Finn (a brilliant photographer of sculpture) makes this one of the best illustrated works on Bernini.
• Howard Hibbard, Bernini. Another good scholarly biography.
• Dianne L. Durante, Bernini’s Innovations: major works of Bernini plus a brief biography, written as background for a Bernini exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. (The labels don’t always present the sort of information I want to know.)

More

• For more on the why and how of the Sculpture Synopsis, see the first post in this series. The series is also available as a playlist on my YouTube Channel.
• Want wonderful art delivered weekly to your inbox? Check out my Sunday Recommendations list and rewards for recurring support: details here. For examples of favorite recommendations from past years, click here.