The Counter Reformation

The Catholic Counter-Reformation led to renewed artistic energy in Rome, where art became an important vehicle for spreading the Catholic faith. A new, explosively dramatic style was explored by Italian artists such as Gianlorenzo Bernini, while Caravaggio and his followers pioneered a new style of dramatic realism that brought religious stories vividly to life. Meanwhile, in the predominantly Protestant Dutch Republic artists explored a new repertoire of secular subject matter, specializing in scenes of everyday life, while art and architecture became an important vehicle of state power with the rise of Absolute Monarchy in France and Spain.

As the Protestant Reformation spread throughout Europe, the Catholic Church responded by launching an aggressive campaign to combat “heresy” and reestablish Catholic dominance in Europe. This is called the Counter Reformation.

The Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was a series of meetings convened by church leaders between 1545-1563, where matters of church doctrine, policy, and reform were examined. The role of art was discussed at length, and the Council defended the use of religious images by arguing: “great profit is derived from sacred images, ” because through these images believers are “excited to adore and love God, and to cultivate piety.” But the Council recognized that sacred images had to be controlled, and a code of “decorum” was established to regulate the representation of Holy individuals.

Reacting against the nudity and distortions that had become popular in 16th century Mannerism, the basic rule was that sacred figures must be beautiful, well proportioned, and clothed. Anyone who disobeyed this rule would be sanctioned by the church: “if any one shall teach, or entertain sentiments, contrary to these decrees; let him be anathema.”

To enforce its authority the Counter Reformation church set up the Inquisition, a kind of Holy law court. In 1616 this court ruled that Copernicus was “foolish and absurd” and his treatise was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, along with Galileo’s Diologo.

Catholic Baroque Art in Italy and Flanders

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, St. Peter’s, Rome, 1624-1633

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Saint Peter’s Piazza

One of the leading artists of Counter Reformation Rome was Gianlorenzo Bernini, an accomplished painter, sculptor, and architect, and devout follower of St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. Bernini was invited to put the finishing touches on St. Peter’s Cathedral, which had been modified by several architects so that it would conform more readily to the traditional basilica plan (Bramante’s central plan was deemed too “pagan” for a Christian church!).

Bernini also designed the majestic colonnade enclosing the piazza in front of Saint Peter’s. He described the colonnade as being like the “welcoming arms of the church” reaching out to embrace its flock, making it a fitting symbol of the Counter Reformation Church’s goal to combat heresy and expand its popular base.

Gianlorenzo Bernini, David, 1623

This statue of the biblical hero David was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V. While Donatello had portrayed the calm moment after the battle, and Michelangelo represented the tense moment before, Bernini chose to represent the explosive, action-packed moment when David is about to release his rock at the unseen giant. The viewer becomes a part of the action (indeed, we must duck to avoid getting caught in the crossfire), creating the kind of “viewer participation” and personal engagement that was advocated by the Counter Reformation Church.

Bernini also adhered to the Church’s codes of decorum: modestly clothed, rather than nude, the figure is convincingly lifelike, though suitably ideal. One of the most expressive features of the statue is David’s face, which shows intense concentration as he bites his lips.

Gianlorenzo Bernin, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, 1645-1652

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa was commissioned for the private chapel of the Cornaro family, located in Santa Maria Vittorio in Rome. Highly theatrical in its stage-like setting, the work combines painting, sculpture, and architecture, and is a Baroque attempt at creating “virtual reality.” Members of the Cornaro family (many of them Cardinals) are depicted in theater-boxes in reliefs on either side of the chapel.

The centerpiece is a sculptural group representing a mystical image described in Saint Teresa’s published memoir. She described an angel who came to her, and pierced her heart repeatedly with an arrow:

“The pain was so great that I screamed aloud; but at the same time I felt such infinite sweetness that I wished the pain to last forever . . . It was the sweetest caressing of the soul by God.”

Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (known as Caravaggio) revolutionized painting in Baroque Italy. Denounced by one contemporary as the “anti-Christ of painting,” Caravaggio pioneered a new style of realism that pushed the boundaries of the Church’s rules of decorum. Rejecting the idealized representation of Holy figures dictated by the church, Caravaggio used real people from the streets as models for his pictures, and he placed them in darkened settings that look like the crime-ridden streets of Rome, where the artist often mingled with murderers and thieves (known for his criminal record, Caravaggio was even wanted by the police for murder). Accused of painting “saints with dirty feet,” Caravaggio’s powerful style was nonetheless sought after for his ability to bring the stories of Christ’s life to life, in a way that had never been done before.

“Caravaggio was a violent man in violent times. The Sack of Rome in 1527 had ushered in a century of extraordinary strife and political intrigue for the populace of Italy . . . . In the late 1590s, Caravaggio’s contemporary street-life genre scenes attracted passionate admirers in Rome. Between 1600 and 1606 he was successful in obtaining the most prestigious commissions in Catholic Rome, decorating churches with large-scale religious compositions. His brilliantly staged assemblies of figures confront the viewer – resplendent with blood spurts, grime, dirty fingernails and feet. Caravaggio’s world emerged sharp-edged from the shadows, peopled with characters of an unnervingly ordinary humanity. Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and His World, National Gallery of Victoria

Caravaggio, Conversion of Saint Paul, c. 1601

Before his conversion, Paul had been a Pharisee named Saul who persecuted Christians with a vengeance during the Later Roman Empire. His “conversion” occurred with a blinding flash of light that threw him from his horse, as he heard the voice of Christ say to him “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

At first glance, Caravaggio’s picture looks more like an accident in a stable than a heavenly miracle. The horse’s hindquarters take up three-quarters of the picture, while the hostler in the background appears old and dirty. The scene takes place in darkness, illuminated only by a mysterious light that spotlights the characters. Caravaggio draws us into the scene by locating the action close to the picture plane, so that we are “up close and personal,” as if we are witnessing the miracle ourselves. The reclining figure of Paul is placed at an oblique angle to the picture plane, creating a strong diagonal that draws us into the action; this compositional arrangement is a hallmark of Baroque art.

This dramatic contrast between dark and light, called tenebrism, or tenebroso lighting, is one of the distinctive features of Caravaggio’s work. The darkened setting creates drama and mystery, while the lighting — which never comes from a “natural” source — evokes the mystical presence of God.

Caravaggio, Death of the Virgin, 1606

This painting was commissioned by one of the Pope’s advisors for a Carmelite church in Rome, but when it was completed it was rejected because church authorities regarded it as an unsuitable representation of the Holy Virgin Mary. Instead of depicting the Virgin’s death as a miraculous moment or transcendence, Caravaggio portrayed her as a bloated corpse, with no sign of redemption in sight (the figure was rumored to be based on the corpse of a dead prostitute). Others complained about the indecency of her exposed legs. As the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History explains, Caravaggio’s daring approach to the representation of religious subjects dealt with fundamental questions about the representation of holy figures

“Should a depiction of the death of the Virgin emphasize the theological importance of the event and show the Madonna as the ageless mother of Christ, as worshippers had come to expect, or should it emphasize the physical reality of death—as Caravaggio’s painting seemed to do (Death of the Virgin, Musée du Louvre, Paris)? Should Christ’s burial be depicted as a tragic drama or as a sacred event? Much of Caravaggio’s work . . . reveals the artist dealing with these crucial issues.”
Caravaggio and his Followers, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Artemesia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638-1639

Caravaggio’s dramatic style inspired a group of followers called The Caravaggisti. One of them was Artemisia Gentileschi, daughter of the painter Orazio Gentileschi, and one of the first female artists to achieve high-level recognition in Italy. This painting represents the muse of painting, an allegorical figure that was typically depicted as female. Recognizing the opportunity, Gentileschi used herself as the model, so that the painting is both a self-portrait and a tribute to her profession.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holfernes, c. 1614-1620

Gentileschi was attracted to stories from the Old Testament about heroic women, and the story of Judith is one such tale of female heroism. A member of an Israelite tribe held captive by the Assyrian General Holofernes, Judith courageously entered his tent, got him drunk on wine, and cut off his head, which she and her maidservant then stuffed in a sack as they made their escape. When Holofernes’s head was displayed to his armies they dispersed in haste, thus freeing the Israelites from their captivity.

Artemisia’s unique portrayal of Judith and Abra has prompted scholars to argue that Artemisia identified with the protagonist of the story in a way her male counterparts did not. This association stems not only from their shared gender, but also from Artemisia’s own traumatic experience. Artemisia was raped at the age of 17 by the artist Agostino Tassi, a close friend of her father. When Tassi failed to marry her, as the social dictates of the time demanded, her father sought recourse in court. During the trial, Artemisia describes her struggle against Tassi and her attempt to attack him with a knife. She also recalls the sense of betrayal she felt when she realized her female chaperone had colluded with Tassi and arranged to leave the two alone.

Caravaggio’s influence can be seen in the tenebroso lighting, and the oblique angle of Holofernes’ body, which draws us into the action. As Judith literally saws off his head, blood gushes everywhere, splattering her bodice and face, and making us feel as if we might get sprayed as well. Bloody scenes like this were popular during the Catholic Counter Reformation, in much the same way that action-packed violence sells movies today.

Catholic Baroque Art: Flanders

Map of Europe in 1648 after the Treaty of Westphalia

The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 led to a re-structuring of the political map of Europe, and a reconfiguration of religious alliances. The Netherlands was divided in two: while the Northern provinces broke away from Spanish control to form the predominantly Protestant Dutch Republic, the southern part of Flanders remained under Spanish-Hapsburg control, and was allied to the Catholic Church of Rome. It was here that the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens emerged as one of the leading artists of Catholic Europe, producing religious altarpieces and other works for courtly patrons that included monarchs, dukes, and members of the upper clergy. One of the most prolific masters of the century, Rubens set up his Antwerp studio like a factory, where he mass-produced his commissions, while the artist enjoyed the privileged lifestyle of an aristocrat. He was knighted by the Kings of Spain and England, and was trusted enough by his royal patrons to be sent on diplomatic missions.

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, 1610

As a Flemish painter, Rubens was heir to the realistic detail of artists such as Robert Campin and Jan Van Eyck, but on his travels to Italy he studied the work of Michelangelo and Caravaggio, and he synthesized these sources in a style that combined the realistic detail of Flemish painting, the superhuman idealism of Michelangelo, and Caravaggio’s intense drama, lighting, and composition.

In this painting, a group of men struggle to raise the cross on which Christ has been crucified. Their bulging muscles recall Michelangelo, but the attention to textures of skin and hair and reflective surfaces recalls Van Eyck. The darkened setting and spotlighting of the figure recalls Caravaggio’s tenebroso lighting, as does the the placement of the figures in the foreground, and the dramatically forshortened figure of Christ that draws the viewer into the action.

Baroque Art in the Dutch Republic

Map of Europe in 1648 after the Treaty of Westphalia

The Thirty Years’ War ended with the Treaty of Westphalia, which granted freedom of religious choice in Europe. While southern Flanders remained under Catholic Spanish control, the northern provinces broke away to form an independent republic called the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or the Dutch Republic. Governed by a prosperous middle class, the Dutch Republic grew prosperous through trade. Amsterdam became one of the world’s largest trading center, and its warehouses stored spices, gold, silk, ivory, sugar, and porcelain.

Pieter Saenredam, Interior of St. Bavo, Haarlem, 1660
Worcester Art Museum

Most Protestant churches looked like this one, painted by the Dutch artist Pieter Saenredam, who specialized in paintings of church interiors. The Protestant ban on religious images deprived artists of the lucrative church commissions that had been a mainstay of the profession. Artists working in Protestant countries therefore had to seek new kinds of subjects to attract clients.

The paintings were generally small in scale — since they were made for middle class homes. Small shopkeepers, butchers, and tailors also bought pictures to decorate their homes, as can be seen in this painting of a tailor’s workshop. Nor were the pictures “made to order” the way they had been in the past; instead, artists mass-produced pictures that were purchased afterwards by customers (of course, portraits were still done on commission). To facilitate this mass-production approach, artists specialized in particular genres. Typical genre subjects included portraits, landscape, still lives, and scenes of everyday middle class life.

Jan Steen, In Luxury Look Out (Beware of Luxury), 1663

How did the Dutch become so prosperous? The German sociologist Max Weber observed that Protestants shifted their focus from religious devotion to industrious labor, believing that hard work was a “calling,” and a moral obligation, and that the accumulation of wealth was a sign of god’s favor

Dutch genre scenes reflect these values in a variety of ways. Scenes of prosperous middle class life celebrated the virtues of industry, while idleness was denounced in satirical pictures that warned against the vices of laziness. Still life paintings celebrated the accumulation of wealth by depicting expensive objects in loving detail – yet Protestant leaders also warned against wasteful spending on mere luxuries. Vanitas symbols, that reminded viewers of the transience of all earthly possessions, drove home the message that such pleasures were only temporary.

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, AustriaJacob Van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem, c. 1670

Peter Claesz, Vanitas Still Life, 1630’s

The most popular genre by far was landscape painting. Dutch landscape painting reflects a sense of pride in the nation’s industry and productivity, and the belief that Dutch prosperity was a sign of God’s favor.

Still life paintings portraying various objects arranged on a table were also popular. They often include expensive luxury items such as silver, crystal, and exotic items imported from far away lands. Dutch still life paintings reflect the middle class desire for material possessions, yet they often include reminders of the “vanity of earthly possessions” that Protestant ministers warned against. In this painting, the skull is an obvious vanitas symbol — a reminder that all earthly pleasures will some day come to an end. But other reminders of life’s transience include the timepiece, the cracked walnut, and the tipped over glass.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn, Tobit and Anna with a Kid, 1626
Rijksmuseum

One of the greatest masters of Dutch Baroque painting was Rembrandt van Rijn, who worked in a range of subjects, and was renowned for etchings and engravings, as much as for his paintings. Rembrandt continued to paint religious subjects, in spite of Protestant attitudes. Yet his approach to religious subjects remained consistent with Protestant values: Luther and Calvin both emphasized the importance of reading the bible, and Rembrandt’s religious subjects reflect his deeply personal interpretation of stories from the Old and New Testaments.

The Psychology of Light
If Rembrandt’s pictures are “quiet,” they are no less psychologically intense — and one of his primary means of conveying emotion and psychology is through his use of light. In Rembrandt’s pictures, the lighting carries all of the emotional intensity:

Rembrandt, Christ with the Sick (Hundred Guilder Print), 1649 Rijksmuseum

We can see Rembrandt’s use of lighting to communicate psychology and emotion in this etching, representing Christ amongst the sick. Like Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt was a master of the print medium. This particular etching sold for the record sum of 100 guilders, so it was nicknamed “The Hundred Guilder Print.”

The image reflects Rembrandt’s deeply humanist interpretation of the story of Christ’s life. In this scene Christ appears quiet, gentle, and serene, rather than heroic and grand. The figures that surround him are the outcasts of society — the sick, the blind, the lame, and the young — all of them studied from life. Christ gestures for the people to gather near him, as beams of light surround him, bringing brightness from the gloom, and hope and salvation to the afflicted. Rembrandt uses lighting to amplify the human tenderness of the scene, and to highlight the message of Christ’s love for all of humanity, regardless of wealth.

Rembrandt’s main source of income came from portraits. Calvinist ministers exhorted their congregation to beware of the vanity of worldly possessions, and the Dutch deliberately dressed in subdued colors in order to avoid flashy finery. But the Dutch also wanted to celebrate their wealth, and in his portraits Rembrandt knew how to make his sitters look “rich” while still appearing “modest.”

The most prestigious portrait commissions came from Dutch militia companies who regularly commissioned group portraits to commemorate their annual banquets. Traditionally, these portraits were very stiff and formal — much like a school photo — as can be seen in the above group portrait by Nicolaes Pickenoy. All of the heads are neatly lined up, and each individual gets equal treatment, since each is paying an equal sum for the painting, Rembrandt took a different approach to the group portrait by showing his militia company in action, as they form ranks to greet the arrival of the Queen of France.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch (The Night Watch), 1642
Rijksmuseum

Read more about Rembrandt’s Nigh Watch: https://www.christies.com/features/Andrew-Graham-Dixon-on-The-Night-Watch-by-Rembrandt-9786-1.aspx?sc_lang=en&cid=EM_EMLcontent04144A72B_1&cid=DM282924&bid=171450370#FID-9786

Later Work
The patron’s of Rembrandt’s Night Watch did not like the work, and they refused to pay him. We can only speculate as to their reasons, but the set back was just one of many that Rembrandt suffered at this time: in 1642 his wife Saskia died, and in 1656 he was declared bankrupt (Rembrandt was a notorious spendthrift, and had great difficulties managing his money). It was at this point that his religious subjects became more introspective and contemplative (as Simon Schama says, “he turned down the volume of the world and switched to an inner, quiet radiance”), but his painting style also changed dramatically.

Rembrandt_van_Rijn_-_Self-Portrait_(1659)

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, 1659, oil on canvas, 84.5 x 66 cm (National Gallery of Art)

Rembrandt painted many self-portraits throughout his life, and they provide an intimate insight into the soul of the artist and the man. Like Leonardo, Rembrandt strove to express intangible nuances of mood and psychology:

To communicate the intangible psychology of the “invisible mind,” Rembrandt used lighting effects that create subtle nuances of character and mood, and he applied his paint in a loose “painterly” style that sacrificed detail in favor of expression. The character and personality that comes through from his self portraits is so convincing that we feel like we are in the presence of the man himself. As Jonathan Jones put it: “This is not like looking at a painting. It is like meeting Rembrandt. You have no idea what to say to him, and fear what he is about to say to you.”

In Rembrandt’s self-portraits we witness the culmination of Renaissance Humanism and its awakening self-awareness — for here we encounter an individual in the modern sense of the term.

Baroque Art and Absolutism in France and Spain

The consolidation of large and powerful nation states in Europe in the 17th century led to the rise of Absolute Monarchy, where powerful monarchs claimed absolute power that came directly from god. As secular power replaced the central position once held by the church, European monarchs relied on artists to promote their authority. Creating the “aura” of Absolute Monarchy was largely a matter of costuming and staging, and the exuberant style of the Baroque was well-suited to the representation of monarch’s who claimed the divine right to rule.

Baroque Art: Velázquez and Spain

Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656. Prado

Velázquez’s Las Meninas is his most famous painting. It is unique as a royal portrait because it lacks the pomp and fanfare typical of the era; it is more like a snapshot of everyday life at court. To the left, the artist is at work on a large canvas that is approximately the size of the picture we are looking at. In the foreground is La Infanta, who is attended by her maids (the meninas of the title). The family dwarf, dog, and other members of the royal household accompany them. All eyes seem to be on us as we enter the room – but “we” would never be permitted such intimate company with royalty (imagine paying a visit to Michele Obama and her daughters!). But the picture was not painted for the general public; instead, it was painted for the King and Queen, who we see reflected in the mirror on the back wall. This perhaps explains why everyone is being so attentive!

Why is this painting so captivating? — James Earle and Christina Bozsik (TED-Ed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loMy3sbW64g

Baroque Art: France (1600s/17th century)

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701

The most powerful monarch in 17th century Europe was Louis XIV of France, who adopted the title of “Sun King” to symbolize his status as the center of the universe. In this portrait of the aging king, Rigaud enhances the king’s stature by surrounding him with billowing drapery and “ennobling” architecture, while his pose suggests a haughty superiority, as he gazes down at the viewer.

Louis XIV made art — and fashion — a powerful instrument of his power. He rejected the austere black costume favored by the Hapsburg Monarchy of Spain, and introduced strict codes of court dress that helped promote French industry, and make France the fashion capital of the world.

The French Glory: The Palace and Park of Versailles (Unesco/NHK)

Versailles. Galerie des Glace (Hall of Mirrors), palace of Versailles, c. 1680

One of Louis XIV’s greatest projects was the conversion of an old hunting lodge at Versailles into a sumptuous palace worthy of his status. The main function of the palace was to keep the aristocracy under his control (about 3,000 people resided here), and to keep them entertained. Louis XIV was the center of the design, much like the sun is the center of the universe: the three roads leading to the palace intersect at Louis XIV’s bedroom, and the bedroom was aligned with the morning sun — so when the sun rose in the morning so too did the sun king make his morning levee!

The most spectacular room in the palace was the Galerie des Glaces — a long hallway with windows along one wall, and expensive Venetian mirrors along the other. It was fitted out with crystal chandeliers and furniture of silver and gold. Sumptuous and grand, the Galerie de Glaces provided an appropriate setting for the staging of Absolute Power.

See it in 3D: http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen7/f30-versailles.html

Equally spectacular were the gardens, designed by Andre Le Notre. Anybody with a backyard knows that nature tends to run wild with plants, trees, and weeds spreading everywhere, but this was unacceptable to a control freak like Louis XIV. Le Notre’s gardens transformed nature into impeccably manicured designs, symbolizing the king’s mastery of the disorderliness of nature.
Versailles, from gardens to Trianon palaces

Rococo: Art and the Aristocratic Pursuit of Pleasure

Characterized by soft pastel colors, and frivolous themes of love and pleasure, the Rococo style reflected the privileged and pampered lifestyle of the aristocracy. After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the French aristocracy abandoned Versailles and flocked to Paris, where the aristocratic “salon” became the center of social life (salon is French for “room”). Hosted by prominent aristocratic women, known as femmes savantes (learned ladies), salons were intimate social gatherings that provided a welcome relief from the rigid formality of court life at Versailles. This new culture of privilege and leisure gave rise to a new style of architecture, fashion, and design known as the Rococo. From the French word rocaille, meaning “shell,” the Rococo style is characterized by pastel colors, and delicate ornamental patterns in the shape of scrolling vines, flowers and shells. Decorative and light-hearted, the Rococo style was a reaction against the imposing grandeur of Louis XIV’s official style of art.

François Boucher, Madame Bergeret, possibly 1766. National Gallery of Art

The Rococo style affected everything from fashion, to architecture, furniture, interior design, and porcelain. It gave birth to French haute couture, and made Paris the fashion capital of the world. The style reflected the pampered lifestyle of the 18th century aristocracy:

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1766

In this painting by Fragonard a well-dressed lady flirts with her lover while another lover (an older man) pushes her on a swing. As the swing arcs upward, she kicks off her shoe flirtatiously, providing her secret lover with a peek up her skirt. Diminutive and sweet, the lady is like a fairytale princess, while the lush setting evokes an enchanted garden with its feathery-soft foliage and shimmering pastel colors.

The playfully erotic subject matter makes this work typical of Rococo painting — as does the style. While Louis XIV’s academy emphasized the virtues of disegno, Rococo painters opted for sensual appeal of Rubensque color. The rich shimmering colors and loose brushwork of Rococo painting was intended to provide pleasure (think of it as “eye candy”) rather than moral or intellectual enrichment.

The Enlightenment

French Revolution: peasants storm the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online

While the French aristocracy lived in luxury, the large burden of taxation fell upon the “Third Estate” (the bourgeoisie, urban workers, and peasants). The First Estate was the clergy (France remained Catholic after the Protestant Reformation), and the Second Estate was the nobility, whose title came through land and inheritance, and who controlled 90% of the nation’s wealth. Inspired by the American Revolution (which was largely a reaction against “taxation without representation”), the Third Estate rose up against the aristocracy in the French Revolution in 1789, and the ancien regime came to an end.

The Enlightenment
The intellectual context of the French and American Revolutions was the philosophical movement known as the Enlightenment. Descending from the Humanism of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment questioned all traditional values, customs, and accepted truths, and transferred faith in god and king to the modern belief in the certainty of “Reason” and “Science.” The Enlightenment also challenged the ancient tradition of Absolute Monarchy, and a social system predicated on birth rights.

In their optimistic vision of a new society governed by free citizens, Enlightenment philosophers conceived a new role for art. In the past, art had served the Church and State, but Enlightenment philosophers believed that in the new society, art should be “for the people,” and that it should be moral instead of immoral, and teach people right and wrong. For this reason, they denounced Rococo art for its “frivolous” subjects and lack of moral values. In contrast, they argued that the aim of art should be “to make virtue attractive” and “vice odious.” (Essai sur la peinture).

Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery, 1763-65

Reflecting the new Enlightenment faith in Science, this picture shows a group of young children being shown an “orrery” — a mechanical model of the solar system. They are being shown how the earth revolves around the sun – a doctrine that was censored by the church just a century earlier! The painting’s use of familiar Baroque techniques (Caravaggio’s tenebrism, and his dramatic composition) is here used to serve a very new kind of religion: the religion of science.

William Hogarth, Marriage à la Mode: The Marriage Contract, 1743-45

The influence of Enlightenment ideas can also be seen in the work of William Hogarth, a British painter who specialized in “moralizing genre” scenes. Usually conceived as a series, Hogarth would typically narrate an extended story through a sequence of canvases, which were then made into engravings that could be mass-produced and sold to a wider public.

Hogarth’s Marriage a la Mode is a satire on the tradition of the “arranged marriage” — an ancient aristocratic custom. The first scene takes place in the Mansion of Earl Squander, who is arranging the marriage of his son to the daughter of a wealthy ship owner:

“In the first scene the aged Earl (far right) is shown with his family tree and the crutches he needs because of his gout. The merchant, who is plainly dressed, holds the marriage contract, while his daughter behind him listens to a young lawyer, Silvertongue. The Earl’s son, the Viscount, admires his face in a mirror. Two dogs, chained together in the bottom left corner, perhaps symbolise the marriage.National Gallery, London

William Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode: 2, The Tête à Tête, 1743

The next scene portrays the couple’s inevitable demise:

“In this, the second in the series of paintings, the marriage of the Viscount and the merchant’s daughter is quickly proving a disaster. The tired wife, who appears to have given a card party the previous evening, is at breakfast in the couple’s expensive house which is now in disorder. The Viscount returns exhausted from a night spent away from home, probably at a brothel: the dog sniffs a lady’s cap in his pocket. Their steward, carrying bills and a receipt, leaves the room to the left, his hand raised in despair at the disorder. National Gallery, London

Neoclassicism

The style that most successfully fulfilled the Enlightenment demand for an art of edifying moral virtue was Neoclassicism. Enlightenment thinkers admired Classical art for its clarity, simplicity, and lack of fussy ornament. Johann Winckelmann, who pioneered the study of art history as a scholarly discipline, extolled what he called “the noble simplicity and sedate grandeur” of Greek statues, and he especially admired their emotional restraint (a relief from the overblown drama and theatricality of Baroque and Rococo art). Neoclassicism, in contrast, was regarded as an ideal vehicle for expressing the Enlightenment values of reason, logic, and moral rectitude. The fact that the first democracies were established in ancient Greece and Rome only added to the appeal.

Jacques Louis David
Jacques Louis David became the leading painter of the Neoclassical style in France. After studying in Rome, he developed a radically simplified and austere style based on his study of ancient classical art. His new style was embraced by Enlightenment critics as a much needed corrective to the melodrama of the Baroque, and his electrifying subjects of stoic virtue and manly valor were praised as a welcome alternative to the frivolous and often licentious themes of Rococo art.

David's The Oath of the Horatii is based on a heroic story from ancient Rome: the three sons of Horace (the Horatii) swear an oath on their father’s sword to fight against the Curatii brothers, from the neighboring city of Alba. The women of the household are weeping because one of the men’s wives is a sister to the Curatii brothers, and one of the Horatii sisters is betrothed to one of the Curatii brothers (talk about complicated!).

In spite of these familial bonds, the picture extolls the men’s unflinching determination to fight for their nation, and it is for this reason that it became a symbol of the French Revolution: like the Horatii brothers, the citizens of France were called upon to renounce their personal emotions in pursuit of a higher ideal of democracy and freedom.

Neoclassicism in the United States

Neoclassicism was also popular in the United States, as can be seen in this portrait of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson was an avid fan of Neoclassicism. While travelling in Europe he discovered Andrea Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture, and upon his return to Virginia he began working on his lifelong project of remodeling his home in Monticello.

Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, 1770-1806

View of the State Capitol Washington DC in 1852
When a competition was held for the design of the United States Capitol, a Neoclassical style was favored. The style was politically apt, since the first great democracies had been established in ancient Greece and Rome, but it was visually appropriate as well. The Baroque style of architecture was too grand and imposing for the newly established democracy, and connoted the disparaged values of monarchy. Democracy needed an architecture of “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur,” and the simplicity and clarity of classical architecture made it an appealing model.

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Hall, Melissa. Baroque Europe – art 109 Renaissance to modern. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://art109textbook.wordpress.com/new-online-textbook-2-2/chapter-3-the-italian-renaissance/introduction-art-and-civic-pride-in-florence/.

Hall, Melissa. Rococo Art – art 109 Renaissance to modern. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://art109textbook.wordpress.com/new-online-textbook-2-2/chapter-3-the-italian-renaissance/introduction-art-and-civic-pride-in-florence/.

Hall, Melissa. The Enlightenment – art 109 Renaissance to modern. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://art109textbook.wordpress.com/new-online-textbook-2-2/chapter-3-the-italian-renaissance/introduction-art-and-civic-pride-in-florence/.