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Peter Paul Rubens is considered
one of the most important Flemish painters of the 17th century. His style
became an international definition of the animated, exuberantly sensuous
aspects of baroque painting. (see bio
and more paintings in Rubens
site at CGFA)
Definitions: As art history and criticism evolved and the seventeenth century was revalued, barouque appeared to be the opposite of classical, in reference either to antiquity or to the High Renaissance. In this sense the term suggested art that was naturalistic rather than ideal, and emotional rather than rational. Translated visually, this would produce an art of movement, vitality, and brilliant color. |
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Rubens, like Caravaggio, used light dramatically
to reveal and focus on objects, but unlike Caravaggio, whose light usually
revealed the harsh reality of things, Rubens use light to reveal
color and texture and to enliven adn enhance objects.
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Rembrandt used light to create much sharper contrasts between figures and objects in space. In deep shadows and shodowed faces we find that same mystery of life and death, pain and joy. Although these themes were present in Rubens's work, Rembrandt protrays them without explosive theatricality. The drama becomes more personal and introspective; it is not something that we witness, but rather something that we experience. The contrast is indicative of the difference between the theatricality of Counter-Reformation Catholicism and the individual piety of the Protestant north. (Humanities p. 137) | |
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Rembrandt The Descent from the Cross, 1633, oil on wood, Pinakothek at Munich. larger size 67KB |
Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola Doria, 1606, National Gallery of Art at Washington D.C. larger size 100KB |
The Artist and His First Wife, Isabella Brandt, in the Honeysuckle Bower, 1609, oil on canvas, Pinakothek at Munich. larger size 103KB |