Sunday, February 15, 2009
Rembrant...the most important Baroque-era painter?
While most of this course has covered Baroque painters from Italy such as: Carvaggio, El Greco, Tintoretti and Gentileschi, the best painter of this time period might be from Holland. Rembrant van Rijn (1606-1669) is similar to these Italian painters in how he uses mysticism, chiaroscuro, and contrasts to convey his subjects. The main difference between Rembrant and his southern contemporaries is infact, subject matter. Most painters of the time painted "realistic" paintings of famous biblical scenes like: Jesus's last supper, St. Peter's crucifiction and Judith's slaying of Holofernes. Rembrant, however, conveyed scenes that were much more obscure and unknown to his viewers. These included, the return of the Prodigal Son, Jesus preaching, and many other common scenes that were previously not in art. He used contrasting colors to create drama and, miraculously, used layers of paint that caused these "everyday" biblical scenes to actually "lift off the page." It is more important that Rembrant painted common scenes because that was more realistic than conveying famous scenes. He allowed his viewers to feel like the biblical world was around them by showing them scenes that they could have easily seen, rather than if he painted the Bible's more exclusive moments. Everyday scenes, such as the one in the etching "Christ Preaching", were the most important pieces in Baroque art because they connected viewers to the more "everyday" moments of the Bible.
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This is an interesting post. The Italian Baroque artists were, of course, encouraged by the Catholic Church to use their talent to portray bold, dramatic versions of the Biblical teachings in order to teach the believers that were unable to read. Catholic peasants needed to only look at a stained glass window or a fresco in the church in order to be emotionally drawn in. However, Rembrandt was Protestant. Protestants rejected Catholicism because of its gaudy and over-the-top portrayal of Christianity, and as a result, Biblical images (like sculptures and paintings) were forbidden. Artists in Protestant countries typically used everyday scenes as their subjects. I find it interesting that Rembrandt would still use some religious themes, despite his faith. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteIt is very true that one of the main differences between Rembrant and his contemporaries like Carvaggio, El Greco and Tintoretto is their subject matter. All painted in the same Baroque style utilizing mysticism and chiaroscuro, and yet each of their paintings is extremely different from the other. When you look at The Last Supper by Tintoretto, you get a great sense of depth due to the angle of the the painting and everything seems to fit together. Whereas Agony in the Garden, there seems to be a kind of movement to the painting and everything is dark. Then, when you look at Rembrant's The Return of the Prodgial Son, it's different oo. The figures seems obscured and slightly blurry and shadow is employed to a greater extent than in the other two paintings.
ReplyDeleteSo while all of these painters utilized the Baroque style, in my opinion all of their paintings are extremely difficult. In this sense, I think it's impossible to say who was the best painter or who was the most important in the Baroque style. It's a very subjective question because each viewer likes different aspects of a painting.
However, I do believe Rembrant appealed to so many because of his new themes, like was mentioned earlier. Once scenes have been painted repeatedly, people get tired of seeing them and yearn for something new. Rembrant was able to give something new to art lovers and educate some people as well about different stories in the Bible they may not have knew about.
I never really thought about the fact that the vast majority of Baroque painters we talked about came from Italy. Indeed, it is almost impossible to argue against Rembrandt being the best painter of the time.
ReplyDeleteI feel it's probably impossible to declare who actually was the best painter of the period, but certainly Rembrandt should be mentioned for that title. Although his name may not be as familiar as Caravaggio or El Greco, his work is. When I think of Baroque style painting I think of his paintings before I think of anything by Caravaggio.
I think this post is very interesting for mentioning an underrated painter from Holland, because during the Enlightenment painters from Holland receive a lot of credit. Perhaps Rembrandt had something to do with this, maybe by opening the door for more Dutch painters.