Baroque Art Across Europe

Baroque Art Across Europe

Baroque Art Across Europe
European art, during the 17th century, was characterized by the Baroque style illustrated in the architecture, statues, and paintings created during the period. Two such artworks derived from this period are an oil painting on panel entitled A Roemer with Grapes, a Pewter Plate, and a Roll and an oil painting on canvas entitled The Martyrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria. The former painting is a still life by Abraham van Beyeren, a Dutch artist from the Netherlands, and was created somewhere in the c. 1650s. The latter painting by Mattia Preti, however, was intended for a gilt ceiling painting in the San Pietro a Maiella church in Naples, Italy. Preti created the obvious sketch between c. 1657 and 1659.   Though van Beyeren and Preti’s paintings originate during the baroque era of the 17th century and convey some similar techniques in their reflective light and muted color, the artists also reflect their country’s distinctive baroque style as evidenced by the stark difference in subject matter and viewpoint.
The Netherlands’ baroque style during the 17th century was known for its emphasis on material possessions due to the peoples’ newfound independence and economic prosperity. The works tended to be on the smaller scale and were often times meant to hint at their affluence. The style is also known for its attention to detail as seen clearly within Abraham van Beyeren’s use of light in his painting.
The reflective lighting technique used by van Beyeren is evident upon a closer look at the grapes and cup situated on the table, each revealing a light source from the left side of the frame. Though at first the light source in the painting seems irrelevant, upon further inspection, a very clear window form is created with the reflection emanating off of the cup. Due to the cup and the grapes’ curvature of lines, it is difficult to determine from which way the window is directing light at the subject. When you first look at...