CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE THE BAROQUE IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND
France: The Style of Louis XIV
Key Images Jacques Callot, Hangman′s Tree, from The Great Miseries of War, p. 735, 21.1 Georges de la Tour, Joseph the Carpenter, p. 736, 21.2 Simon Vouet, The Toilet of Venus, p. 737, 21.3 Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, p. 738, 21.4 Nicolas Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women, p. 739, 21.5 Nicolas Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women, brush drawing, p. 739, 21.6 Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos, p. 740, 21.7 Claude Lorrain, A Pastoral Landscape, p. 741, 21.8 Henri Testelin after Charles Le Brun, The Expressions, p. 742, 21.9 Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis XIV, p. 742, 21.10 François Mansart, Vestibule of the Château de Maisons, p. 744, 21.11 Louis Le Vau, Claude Perrault, and Charles Le Brun, East front of the Louvre, p. 745, 21.12 Aerial view of Versailles, p. 746, 21.13 Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Garden front of the center block of Versailles, p. 747, 21.14 Hardouin-Mansart, Louis Le Vau, and Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, p. 747, 21.15 Hardouin-Mansart, Le Brun, and Coysevox, Salon of War, Versailles, p. 748, 21.16 Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Church of the Invalides, Paris, p. 749, 21.17 Antoine Coysevox, Charles Le Brun, p. 750, 21.19 Pierre-Paul Puget, Milo of Crotona, p. 750, 21.20
• In the seventeenth century, France was the military and cultural power in Europe, and Paris vied with Rome as the capital city of the arts.
• The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was founded in Paris in 1648. One of the founders was Charles Le Brun, who formalized the Academy into an institution and ultimately became the ″chief dispenser of royal art patronage.″ Under the control of the state, the Academy became increasingly authoritarian in exercising control over the arts.
• The art of Nicolas Poussin embodied the Classical style, which became a model for students training at the French Academy.
• Poussin regarded history painting as more ″intellectual″ than the naturalistic paintings of Caravaggio, reportedly telling a contemporary that ″Caravaggio had come into the world to destroy painting.″
• Poussin’s ″ideal landscape″did not reflect an actual place, but instead was an imaginary setting. This type of landscape can be seen in Poussin′s Landscape with St. John on Patmos.
• Claude Lorrain′s idyllic landscapes were also deeply classical.
• Versailles is an embodiment of the Baroque ideal of classical theatricality, serving as a stage to highlight the political power of the Sun King.
Baroque Architecture in England
Key Images Inigo Jones, West Front of the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace, London, p. 751, 21.21 Sir Christopher Wren, Façade of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, p. 752, 21.22 Sir Christopher Wren, Steeple of the Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow, p. 753, 21.24 Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England, p.754, 21.25
• In England, Baroque art was very influenced by classicism.
• Inigo Jones brought Andrea Palladio′s Renaissance Classicism to England with the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace in London, although the style only took hold in the early eighteenth century during the Palladian Revival.
• Sir Christopher Wren was the country′s preeminent architect, renovating St. Paul′s Cathedral and rebuilding London after the Great Fire of 1666.
• The influence of the French Baroque style can be seen in the façade of St. Paul′s, which resembles Hardouin-Mansart′s Church of the Invalides.
• The influence of Palladio was strongly felt by English architects; classicism nourished the designs of Sir Christopher Wren.
• The blending of English, French, and Italian Baroque architecture can be seen in Blenheim Palace, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, Sir Christopher Wren′s student.
Key Terms/Places/Names classicism history painting Louis XIV the Sun King Style of Louis XIV Versailles Jules Hardouin-Mansart Charles Le Brun Inigo Jones Louis Le Vau
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways does Sir Christopher Wren′s design for St. Paul′s Cathedral in London demonstrate a thorough knowledge of contemporary architecture in Italy and France?
2. Why is French Baroque art sometimes regarded as an expression of absolutism? How is this political ambition communicated in the art and architecture patronized by Louis XIV?
3. How is French ″Baroque classicism″ both related to yet different from Italian Baroque art?
4. Discuss the impact of art academies on the course of art in France and, later, in England.
5. How did Versailles serve as a stage to highlight the power of the French monarchy?
Resources
Books
Berger, Robert W. The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993.
Berger, Robert W. Versailles: The Chateau of Louis XIV. Monographs on the Fine Arts, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1985.
Lagerlof, Margretha Rossholm. Ideal Landscape: Annibale Carracci, Nicolas Poussin, and Claude Lorrain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.
Russell, H. Diane. Claude Lorrain, 1600–1682. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1982.
DVDs
Versailles. (2004). Educational Video Network, Inc. 34 min.
www
Château de Versailles (Official website for Versailles) http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/index.php
CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE
ReplyDeleteTHE BAROQUE IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND
France: The Style of Louis XIV
Key Images
Jacques Callot, Hangman′s Tree, from The Great Miseries of War, p. 735, 21.1
Georges de la Tour, Joseph the Carpenter, p. 736, 21.2
Simon Vouet, The Toilet of Venus, p. 737, 21.3
Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, p. 738, 21.4
Nicolas Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women, p. 739, 21.5
Nicolas Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women, brush drawing, p. 739, 21.6
Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos, p. 740, 21.7
Claude Lorrain, A Pastoral Landscape, p. 741, 21.8
Henri Testelin after Charles Le Brun, The Expressions, p. 742, 21.9
Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis XIV, p. 742, 21.10
François Mansart, Vestibule of the Château de Maisons, p. 744, 21.11
Louis Le Vau, Claude Perrault, and Charles Le Brun, East front of the Louvre, p. 745, 21.12
Aerial view of Versailles, p. 746, 21.13
Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Garden front of the center block of Versailles, p. 747, 21.14
Hardouin-Mansart, Louis Le Vau, and Le Brun, Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, p. 747, 21.15
Hardouin-Mansart, Le Brun, and Coysevox, Salon of War, Versailles, p. 748, 21.16
Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Church of the Invalides, Paris, p. 749, 21.17
Antoine Coysevox, Charles Le Brun, p. 750, 21.19
Pierre-Paul Puget, Milo of Crotona, p. 750, 21.20
• In the seventeenth century, France was the military and cultural power in Europe, and Paris vied with Rome as the capital city of the arts.
• The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was founded in Paris in 1648. One of the founders was Charles Le Brun, who formalized the Academy into an institution and ultimately became the ″chief dispenser of royal art patronage.″ Under the control of the state, the Academy became increasingly authoritarian in exercising control over the arts.
• The art of Nicolas Poussin embodied the Classical style, which became a model for students training at the French Academy.
• Poussin regarded history painting as more ″intellectual″ than the naturalistic paintings of Caravaggio, reportedly telling a contemporary that ″Caravaggio had come into the world to destroy painting.″
• Poussin’s ″ideal landscape″did not reflect an actual place, but instead was an imaginary setting. This type of landscape can be seen in Poussin′s Landscape with St. John on Patmos.
• Claude Lorrain′s idyllic landscapes were also deeply classical.
• Versailles is an embodiment of the Baroque ideal of classical theatricality, serving as a stage to highlight the political power of the Sun King.
Baroque Architecture in England
Key Images
Inigo Jones, West Front of the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace, London, p. 751, 21.21
Sir Christopher Wren, Façade of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, p. 752, 21.22
Sir Christopher Wren, Steeple of the Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow, p. 753, 21.24
Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, England,
p.754, 21.25
• In England, Baroque art was very influenced by classicism.
• Inigo Jones brought Andrea Palladio′s Renaissance Classicism to England with the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace in London, although the style only took hold in the early eighteenth century during the Palladian Revival.
• Sir Christopher Wren was the country′s preeminent architect, renovating St. Paul′s Cathedral and rebuilding London after the Great Fire of 1666.
• The influence of the French Baroque style can be seen in the façade of St. Paul′s, which resembles Hardouin-Mansart′s Church of the Invalides.
• The influence of Palladio was strongly felt by English architects; classicism nourished the designs of Sir Christopher Wren.
• The blending of English, French, and Italian Baroque architecture can be seen in Blenheim Palace, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, Sir Christopher Wren′s student.
Key Terms/Places/Names
classicism
history painting
Louis XIV
the Sun King
Style of Louis XIV
Versailles
Jules Hardouin-Mansart
Charles Le Brun
Inigo Jones
Louis Le Vau
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways does Sir Christopher Wren′s design for St. Paul′s Cathedral in London demonstrate a thorough knowledge of contemporary architecture in Italy and France?
2. Why is French Baroque art sometimes regarded as an expression of absolutism? How is this political ambition communicated in the art and architecture patronized by Louis XIV?
3. How is French ″Baroque classicism″ both related to yet different from Italian Baroque art?
4. Discuss the impact of art academies on the course of art in France and, later, in England.
5. How did Versailles serve as a stage to highlight the power of the French monarchy?
Resources
Books
Berger, Robert W. The Palace of the Sun: The Louvre of Louis XIV. University Park:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993.
Berger, Robert W. Versailles: The Chateau of Louis XIV. Monographs on the Fine Arts,
University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1985.
Lagerlof, Margretha Rossholm. Ideal Landscape: Annibale Carracci, Nicolas Poussin,
and Claude Lorrain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.
Russell, H. Diane. Claude Lorrain, 1600–1682. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of
Art, 1982.
DVDs
Versailles. (2004). Educational Video Network, Inc. 34 min.
www
Château de Versailles (Official website for Versailles) http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/index.php