Baroque Art and Architecture: A Journey Through Masterpieces
Baroque Art and Architecture
The Colonnade of St. Peter
Undoubtedly the most unique construction of the entire papal building plan, the Colonnade of St. Peter’s Square was designed by Bernini. It aims to highlight the most important place of papal Rome as the focus of Catholic religiosity. The architect created an open ellipse, consisting of a set of giant Tuscan columns connected to the city and linked by a corridor. This diverts from the facade of the basilica, which stands out like a large theatrical stage where the Pope made his public appearances and especially the Urbi et Orbi blessing. This idea of a scenic display is subtly underscored by the creation of a central, oval-shaped space around the obelisk, suggesting the open arms of the Church to the pilgrim.
The Baldachin of St. Peter’s Basilica
Commissioned in 1624 by Pope Urban VIII, the bronze Baldachin was created by Bernini using materials stripped from the Pantheon. This extremely dynamic work is a large permanent canopy supported by four spiral columns with shafts decorated with plant capitals and Corinthian dynamism. The dynamism of the shafts is enhanced by fragmented classical entablatures. Large volutes top the stems in a pointed construction. The ascending canopy established itself as the central plank of the artistic renewal that had begun, taking on the mission to emphasize the most important place in Christianity: the tomb of St. Peter, sheltered under the great dome. But it also exalts Pope Barberini, whose family symbols, the bees and the sun, creep into the upper part. The columns highlight the busts of Urban VIII as the modern Solomon of Christianity, and Rome as the new Jerusalem, triumphant over Protestantism.
San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
The interior of this temple by Borromini is based on a cruciform plan with ellipses on two opposing triangles, all covered by an oval dome. The facade corroborates the winding design used in the interior. There are classic elements: two stories of columns with their entablature, but the ripple of its cladding gives the building a plastic elasticity, distorting the vocabulary of the ancient world.
Apollo and Daphne
This sculpture represents an important milestone in Bernini’s statuary. It subtly combines the idealized beauty of the classical with the precipitate movement of the Baroque, but also the breakdown of control. The incomplete transformation of Daphne, half woman, half laurel, speaks of Bernini’s vision of the changes in the field, regarding the passage of time and the changing appearance, capturing its metamorphosis in full development.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers
Built in Piazza Barberini by Bernini, this fountain simulates a natural rock surrounded by rivers representing four continents with their characteristic plants and animals. Although they appear to be natural, they are actually stone blocks that form a pyramid-shaped structure, topped by an obelisk. Its originality lies in the introduction of nature into the urban landscape. In its four corners are placed allegorical figures of the rivers, represented by Herculean characters. All of this is topped by an obelisk surmounted by a dove, symbolizing the Pope’s dominion over the four continents, while representing the Holy Spirit, whose grace is spreading everywhere.
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
Part of the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria, this is one of the best examples of Baroque interpretation of a miraculous scene. The spirit of the saint occupies the central part of the chapel, but on the side walls, Bernini opens two boxes from which members of the Cornaro family contemplate the miracle. Thus, these figures are integrated and merged with the real viewer. This theatrical sense is added to the very stage where the action takes place: a niche in which the figures seem to float on a cloud, an effect achieved by illumination in the form of a vertical beam, strengthening the contrasts. The iconography is based on a passage describing one of her visions, in which an angel, with a fiery arrow, pierced her heart, evident in Teresa’s tormented face and the drama of her folds. The subtle contrast between the textures of the materials speaks of the high degree of technical virtuosity achieved by Bernini, transforming the marble into thick fabrics, delicate skin, and a diaphanous cloud.
The Calling of St. Matthew
This religious subject tells the moment when Jesus Christ enters a tavern in search of Matthew, the tax collector. The room is surrounded by darkness and a light that forms the backbone of the composition. The figures do not have a defined contour, and some of their parts are submerged in the penumbra. This way of proceeding highlights the faces. In the scene, there is no physical movement, but Caravaggio has cleverly managed to create tension through the tenebrist light. Naturalism is present in the conformation of the faces of the characters, clearly drawn from the facial types who populated the Roman taverns, to which, moreover, Caravaggio was addicted.
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles could be considered a private palace that combines a palace, gardens, and a city. Located in France, it was conceived as a rational management of nature. André Le Nôtre designed the gardens and ordered the conception of the work. Versailles follows the strict rules of classical French facades. Its facades are built on three floors, housing the service area (lower), the main hall (ground floor), and the intimate rooms (upper). The facade has a first body in the form of a large base, finishing in a third level of small decorated windows. The advance of parts of the wall with columns is one of the few concessions to the Baroque. Although the interior rooms are ostentatiously decorated, they break the coldness of the classic line, displaying a Baroque register. It was built by Mansart.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
Professor Dr. Tulp gave a public anatomy lecture that he wished to record through a painting commissioned from Rembrandt. The characters surrounding the doctor are not medical assistants. It is believed that this strange and enigmatic composition underwent several alterations that deviate from the original created by the artist. Rembrandt is revealed as an excellent teacher of composition, using the body of an executed man as the center of attention in the work. The attention seems to be generated by the light treatment, as a reflective focus of light simulates a lamp that illuminates the viewers in a somewhat tenebrist environment. The study of portraiture is clearly individualized.
The Pietà
Created for the Church of Sorrows of Valladolid, this sculpture represents a group composed of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, and the two thieves, St. John and Mary Magdalene. The structure is pyramidal, with high physical stability. The folds are still angular, influenced by the Flemish style, and although wizened, it manages to convey the weighted anatomy of Christ, while expressiveness becomes the dominant note of the group. The mastery of polychromy contributes to the drama of the scene, increasing the realism and enhancing aspects of the Passion with the introduction of trails of blood on Christ’s head.