Spanish Baroque Painting: Styles, Artists, and Key Works
Spanish Baroque Painting: Characteristics
Spanish Baroque painting is characterized by a domain of naturalism. Patrons were primarily the monarchy and the church, leading to an abundance of religious themes. Still lifes and mythological subjects were less common, often featuring few objects, carefully arranged and with great symbolism. Portraiture gained importance, and later, landscapes emerged as a subject. The primary technique was oil on canvas, with two main approaches:
- A dark, solid style influenced by Caravaggio.
- A looser, more chromatic style, exemplified by Velazquez, capturing atmospheric values.
José de Ribera
José de Ribera (painter of the 17th century) was a Valencian painter influenced by Caravaggio. He was deeply concerned with light and shadow and showed a special interest in naturalism. His style, influenced by Caravaggio, is naturalistic, dramatic, powerful, and sensual.
Characteristics
Ribera was a strong character artist. His palette evolved from tenebrism in his early stage, similar to those of the street, to a Venetian and Flemish influence in his second stage, becoming more luminous. He utilized a loose brush and painted religious themes, mostly saints, with great realism and without idealization. Light was used to depict everyday life, even the unpleasant aspects. Prominent works include: The Bow-Legged Boy and The Martyrdom of Saint Philip.
Francisco de Zurbarán
Francisco de Zurbarán, from the artistic center of Seville, is known as the monastic painter of the 17th century.
Characteristics
Zurbarán’s style is characterized by realism, simple compositions, serene characters, immobile figures, highly expressive faces, and sculptural forms with marked drawing. He focused on monastic themes and still lifes with few, carefully ordered items. He is also known for the perfection of the objects’ qualities. Light is important, emanating from the figures but transfigured, not illuminating. White colors dominate. Prominent works include: Appearance of St. Peter to St. Peter Nolasco and Still Life.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (painter of the 17th century) is considered one of the best painters, interested in the sensible. He was gifted and studied light and shadows, creating intense tenebrism in some of his paintings.
Characteristics
Murillo’s style evolved from tenebrism to a looser and lighter color palette. His characters have a sweeter expression. He is known for the delicacy and grace of women and children. Favorite themes include religious and genre painting, featuring urchin scenes that highlight the softer side of a hard reality. Light is of great importance. Prominent works include: Immaculate Conception of the Venerable, Young Beggar, and The Holy Family with a Bird.
Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez (painter of the 17th century) began his career in Seville. His early pictures are dark, using dark and opaque colors. He felt a special interest in representing the qualities of fabrics and objects. Works from this period include: The Old Woman Cooking Eggs and The Water Carrier of Seville. At this stage, he emphasized genre painting and still life, marking a major first step towards realism. Later, in Madrid, he worked as a portrait painter. A work from this period is The Feast of Bacchus (The Drunkards).
During his first trip to Italy, his palette underwent a transformation. He abandoned dark colors and became interested in the study of landscape. His brushwork became more fluid. A work from this period is Vulcan’s Forge, which depicts the moment when the god Apollo visits Vulcan’s factory to tell him of his wife Venus’s adultery with the god Mars. The faces of the characters show the surprise caused by the news. This is a mythological theme.
Characteristics
Velázquez started with dark colors but gradually lightened his palette, and his brushwork became looser. He mastered aerial perspective, painting the atmosphere between the foreground and background, blurring distant objects as if air were interposed between the viewer and the objects. This achieved color. He painted all sorts of topics, from genre scenes and mythological customs to royal portraits, history paintings, and scenes of everyday life. Most important works include: The Feast of Bacchus (The Drunkards), The Water Seller of Seville, The Surrender of Breda (The Lances), The Spinners (The Fable of Arachne), and his masterpiece: Las Meninas.