An Exploration of Baroque Art: Themes, Artists, and Impact

This essay delves into the Baroque art period, a significant artistic movement that emerged in the 17th century, particularly in Italy and Rome, driven by the Catholic Church to communicate religious themes with emotional intensity. The essay examines the contributions of key artists like Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Caravaggio, highlighting their works such as "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa" and "Crucifixion of St. Peter," respectively. It explores the profound impact of Baroque art on religious expression, the use of techniques like chiaroscuro, and the societal influences of the period, emphasizing the artists' commitment to conveying faith and devotion through their art. The essay also touches on the influence of the Baroque period in response to cultural movements and its impact on the formation of religious groups, and its role in shaping people's devotional practices. The essay concludes by noting the significance of the Baroque period as a culmination of spiritual and religious art, reflecting the period's obsession with light, realism, and emotional intensity.

Running Head: BAROQUE ART
BAROQUE ART
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Baroque Art
Baroque period is a style of art which used elaborated motion and interpreted the various details
in order to generate drama, sculpture grandeur, architecture, music, etc. The artistic style came
into existence in 1600 in Italy and Rome, and later it spread to Europe. The popularity of
Baroque art was encouraged by Catholic Church. The art came into existence to communicate
various themes of the religion with the emotional and direct involvement in order to respond to
the Protestant Reformation. The architecture and the art of Baroque were very impressing for the
visitors as the palaces were built around the court's entrance ("Artble", 2016). Gian Lorenzo
Bernini was the master in architect and sculptor in the 17th century. He was the expounder of
spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola. Bernini had various accomplishments, and one of them
was The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Bernini had a strong faith in Catholic and was close to the
members who belonged to the Jesus society. Caravaggio was one of the most famous Italian
artists during the time of late 16th and the early 17th century. He became popular for the dreadful
and disturbing realism of his work of religion. He also painted the story of Bible and one of his
famous sculpture was Crucifixion of St. Peter. The role of Catholic Church was very precious
during the period of Baroque as the church depicted the sacrifice of the Jesus and there were
various devotional exercises in order to create awareness among people, and they learned how to
open their sole while worshipping. They used to read Bible in the Catholic Church. The church
was very mesmerizing as it included unique furnishings, utensils, and functions. The bronze was
used for the railings, silver was used for the objects of ceremonial, the textiles were embroidered,
etc. People used to feel light and peaceful after visiting the Catholic Church ("Totally History –
Facts About Famous Events & Records of the Past," 2016).

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Bernini conveyed faith and commitment to the Catholic Church by making some tremendous
sculptures, and one of them was The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. He used to practice spiritual exercise
and always conveyed the meaningful messages in his sculptures like the sacrifices which were
made by the Jesus. He was very religious and spiritual, and he used to devote time to Jesus by
staying at home as well. Caravaggio conveyed faith and commitment to the Catholic Church by
building a strong relation with the members of the Society of Jesus. He used to make the most
famous and disturbing sculptures which used to show the pain and the sacrifices which are made
by Jesus and the people of the society. He was also a devotee of Jesus and used to practice
spiritual and religious exercises ("V&A · The world's leading museum of art and design," 2016).
The theme of the Baroque period was based on the liturgical expression, and it was related to the
music. As the music was composed for the purpose of various occasions of religion. The
Baroque period was influenced in order to respond the various cultural movements, and it further
influenced people in order to form the religion groups i.e. reformation. The values which were
incurred in the people during Baroque period was that they became more devotional and started
practicing various exercises of religion and spiritual. The chiaroscuro technique was used in the
various paintings of and sculptures of Baroque period. The painters of the Baroque had the
obsession of light. The paintings were based on the realism. The people in the Baroque period
started becoming more religious and started devoting more time in Catholic Church. They
became more social because the society was formed of Jesus. Therefore, the artists started
making sculptures in order to create more awareness among people like how Jesus sacrificed so
much for the people because people were so much in pain ("Home - Ignatian Spirituality," 2016).
The painting of the artist Bernini was The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Bernini created a complete
Chapel while developing a set of a stage. The masterpiece was inspired by the writings of

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Theresa. In the painting Crucifixion of St. Peter which was made by Caravaggio, showed the
three characters which were pushing and dragging the cross and one of them was nailed to it i.e.
Peter. He was a normal person who was afraid of death and was in pain. The execution of the
painting was wretched and unsettled. Therefore, both the artists contributed so much in the
Baroque period which was the period of religion. But unfortunately, the Baroque period was the
last period of spiritual and religion.

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REFERENCES
Artble. (2016). Artble. Retrieved 6 October 2016, from http://www.artble.com/
Home - Ignatian Spirituality. (2016). Ignatian Spirituality. Retrieved 6 October 2016, from
http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/
Totally History – Facts About Famous Events & Records of the Past. (2016). Totallyhistory.com.
Retrieved 6 October 2016, from http://totallyhistory.com/
V&A · The world's leading museum of art and design. (2016). Victoria and Albert Museum.
Retrieved 6 October 2016, from http://www.vam.ac.uk/